The Elusive Moose

“When’s the best time to see a moose?”  That’s probably the hardest question to answer any time of the year.  The best time, unfortunately, is when the moose doesn’t know you’re there.  And that’s almost impossible.

See, moose have these huge, hairy ears that pick up the slightest noise.  They hear everything. Ask any hunter and you’ll get stories about a twig breaking, chewing gum snapping, a metal grommet clinking or even the infamous muffled sneeze.  And yes, in that brief second, that moose is gone.

I’m one lucky Vermonter.  I’ve seen “our” moose five times between 2006 and 2010.  The first time was Spring 2006 along route 7 in the Mt. Tabor area of the Green Mountain National Forest.  Brian and I were driving along and he said “Did you see the moose?”  Of course, I had missed it, being the driver and having to concentrate on the road, so we turned around and went back and there he was, a young bull moose, wallowing in the water, happily munching down all sorts of plants.  We pulled into the parking area, got out, and leaned on the car just watching him eat.  Within about 20 minutes the parking lot was filled up and the moose, instead of walking away, turned around and faced all of us in the parking lot.  This was when I first decided that “our” moose was a camera hound and had a sense of humor.   He stayed there eating, watching the people, “posing” for pictures, for a good 45 minutes.  When he left, he just sauntered deeper into the woods, taking his time, never even looking back to see if he was followed.

We felt very lucky to have seen him.  Other people were commenting that they had never seen a live moose before.  One fellow had lived in Vermont all his 75 years and this was his first moose sighting.  He had taken lots of photos and was going home to get them up on his Facebook page and send to his family.  I had seen tracks before, but never seen a moose in the wild.  Little did I know that the moose and I would have an interesting relationship in the future.

Apparently, the Silas Griffith Inn is right on the Moose Highway from Danby Mountain to the Green Mountain National Forest.  I would find moose tracks in muddy areas, moose scat on the trails, and occasionally strands of hair caught in the berries after the moose was helping himself to the newly ripened blackberries.  But one morning in May, around 4:30 AM, I was awakened by the dogs.  All three of them were barking at the window.  Then they stopped and I heard this unearthly noise and looked out the window.  There, in the field beyond the gazebo, was the moose, bellowing.  He stopped, and the dogs started barking again.  He shook his head, and wandered off.  Eventually the dogs calmed down, but I wasn’t able to fall back asleep.  I got up and started getting ready for the day.

All our guests wanted to know what that “awful noise” was in the middle of the night when they came down to breakfast.  I explained, and we went up to the field, where I showed them the tracks and fresh scat.  Everybody was excited, and some guests even set their alarms so they could see the moose.  But he didn’t bellow the next morning, and no one saw him in the moonless pre-dawn light, although he did visit, as evidenced by his fresh tracks.

A year later I saw him in my garden eating the baby peas.  I was not amused as I watched him munch down one whole section after another.  But I wasn’t going to argue – he was taller than I was and I could plant more peas.  That’s actually the only time I ever caught him in the garden, although he does eat from the apple trees all the time.  He’s a very picky eater and will sample apples, taking only a bite to see if he likes it, leaving the apple if it doesn’t meet his standards, and finishing it if he does.  I’ve found a lot of half eaten apples still hanging on the trees with huge, moose toothmarks.

Over the next few years he only woke me up twice more.  I think the dogs got used to him and just didn’t bother to bark anymore.  But he bellowed, and I looked out and saw him, a beautiful moose, king of the area, telling the world that this was his land and we were just temporary interlopers.  And when you’re 6 feet tall at the shoulder and weigh over 1,500 lbs, well, I’m not going to argue.

So, c’mon up to Vermont, where moose tracks abound.  Maybe you’ll be one of the lucky few allowed to see our camera happy moose.  But even if you never see him, just remember, he’s watching your every move.

The Psychic Innkeeper….

Much of Innkeeping seems to be anticipating the needs of your guests.  We already provide the basics of a comfy bed, clean bedding, hot showers, sanitized bathrooms, hearty breakfasts and more.  Most of the time we remember the little things, like Suzy takes her coffee black while Phil likes a little coffee with his milk.  Or we make sure the table with the children has the coloring books and crayons all ready for when they come down to breakfast.  Even putting dog treats on the dresser for Mommy and Daddy to give to Fido instead of leaving them in his bowl is one of those little details that most guests appreciate.

But somehow, somewhere I missed the obligatory Innkeeper training class “Mind-reading 101”.  It has to have been part of the curriculum that one day I missed school back in tenth grade.  I keep looking for the class at the Innkeeper’s Conferences, but I never see it.  I’m beginning to think I have to be a mind reader to get the class list…

For those who missed that same Mind-reading 101 class, let me explain a little further.  Innkeepers are not psychics.  We can anticipate most common requests, and be prepared for other irregular requests, such as a ratchet wrench to tighten your bicycle chain.  But we cannot read your mind.  Unless you tell me, I won’t know that you are on a special diet that only consists of mangoes and fermented yak butter.  Nor will I be aware that you had a childhood trauma involving a clown and a venetian blind so you need to have a room with no window shades.  And there is no possible way I will know that the beautiful Green Mountains will trigger your migraines because you are allergic to the color green.  You need to tell me these things, preferable before you arrive.

Nor can I predict the weather. 

Up here at our Inn we sell the Vermont Weather Rock.  It is a beautiful, environmentally friendly, user friendly, solar powered technological wonder, naturally made in Vermont over thousands of years, carefully hand picked and placed in a lovely wooden box, complete with easy installation directions and an interpretation guide.  You take the rock out of the box and put it on an outdoor window sill where you can see it from the inside of your house.  Then you go back into the house and look at the rock through the window and refer to the interpretation guide.  If the rock is wet, it is raining.  If the rock is white, it is snowing.  If the rock is invisible, it is a moonless night and you should be asleep.  Get the picture?  The Vermont Weather Rock is guaranteed to be 100% accurate for the exact moment that you look at it. 

Now, many times guests will call and ask me what the weather will be in 3 weeks.  Or they ask if it will be good skiing weather in May.  Who knows – this is Vermont, after all.  I’ve even had people ask if I could guarantee rain, since they just wanted to sleep all weekend.  Usually, I reply by going and checking my weather rock and telling them that day’s weather, and that they if they want they can call back closer to their stay.  The most unique question I ever got was “What will be the best day to see Fall Foliage in your area?”  My reply was “When the leaves are still on the trees and have changed color”.  For some reason, this was not considered a very helpful answer and I was able to add several new words to my vocabulary.  The guest called back the next day (Yay! Caller ID!!!) to ask the same question, and I gave the same answer.  I had to look up some of the words that time.

So what’s the point of all this?  If you have a special request, a dietary concern, an allergy, or want to visit someplace in particular, you need to let us Innkeepers know so we can help.  Especially dietary concerns and allergies.  Most small inns do not regularly stock soy milk or gluten free foods. And some food allergies, such as shellfish and peanut, can be deadly.  We need to know so we can be prepared and provide you, our guest with the best possible experience.  Let us know if you are allergic to animals. If we are an Inn at a farm or an Inn that takes pets we might recommend you stay someplace else.  If the smell of salt water makes you ill don’t go to the seashore.  Likewise if you are afraid of heights and elevators maybe a room on the 37^th floor is not a good idea for you.  We won’t know unless you tell us.

Remember, your Innkeeper is probably not psychic, but it’s a very short trip to psychotic!