On her Facebook wall, KXLY meterologist Kris Crocker posts this photo from a viewing friend, with the note: “Frequent 'Pic of the Night' contributor Cindy Murphy has done it again! I LOVE this shot of two moose playing on her property in Spirit Lake. She says there have been four moose hanging around the past couple of days. Isn't the Inland Northwest amazing?”

• Neon/A Butterfly Moment
• Spring tease/A Family Runs Through It
• Religious big government — 2012/Arch Druid
• Gravity is a curse/Bay Views
• The day the music died/Dennis Mansfield
• It's not about religious freedom, it's about health/Fort Boise
• The choice is yours!/From A Simple Mind
• Coeur d'Alene's Frosted Cupcakes has grand re-opening/INW Business Watch
• Zagtastic! and: Fast & furious February/Slight Detour
• Slang terms for law enforcement/Writing North Idaho

HucksOnline numbers (for Wednesday): 8349/4937; and (for Thursday): 8012/4942

A reader emailed me today asking where he could bring a friend from out-of-state to see a moose. Most of us who live in this region take moose for granted.  We see them regularly, if not predictably. Seeing a moose for the first time would be a big deal for this reader and his friend.  But where to send them? I had a moose in my yard near Hangman Creek a few weeks ago, but I haven't seen hide nor hair of the bull since. Mike Miller of Spokane snapped a photo of this bull moose on Wednesday while dayhiking along the Little Spokane River. Just last year, moose were chasing dogs accompanying hikers in the Dishman Hills. I put out a few queries to Fish and Game officers. So far, they haven't come up with an area where you could regularly be likely to drive up and see a moose, although moose are being poached not far from I-90 near Cataldo/Rich Landers, SR Outdoors. More here.

DFO: Is there anyone out there beside me who hasn't seen a moose on the loose around town?

Question: Where would you tell a visitor to go, if s/he wanted to see a moose?

Under the influence of a tranquilizer dart, a 600-pound bull moose walked onto U.S. 95 Monday morning and collapsed on the trunk of a woman's car. Idaho Fish and Game officers located the moose after receiving a call around 10 a.m., according to Regional Wildlife Manager Jim Hayden. The bull, most likely a yearling, was reported near the Kootenai County Sheriff's campus on Government Way, then strolled over to Dalton Children's Center on Dalton Avenue. While the moose was lying down next to the building, officers fired an air-powered dart into its leg, Regional Conservation Officer Craig Walker said. The moose rose, wandered into the middle of U.S. 95, and fell against the trunk of a small sedan stopped at the Dalton Avenue red light. Its upper body rested against the vehicle, while its legs remained on the street/Nick Rotunno, Press. More here. (KCSD courtesy photo shows moose hiding behind bush at sheriff's office)

Question: What would you do if you encountered a wandering moose in your yard?

A wandering moose apparently had some business with the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department this morning. Major Ben Wolfinger emails this photo to Huckleberries Online that shows an increasingly regular sight in urban areas around Kootenai County. You write the cutline. (Courtesy photo: Kootenai County Sheriff's Department)

Top Cutlines:

• 1. Having had a terrible split with him in the past, once Bullwinkle heard Rocky was going to retire he decided it was time to stop by, bury the hatchet and wish him well — KeithinCdA.
• 2. According to Sheriff’s Lieutenant, Kim Edmondson, the moose was at the Sheriff’s Office to get a Concealed Weapon Permit due to the increasing wolf problem — Ben Wolfinger.
• 3. (tie) Having lost their 7th in a row, the Mariner Moose was spotted headed East saying, without Dave Niehaus it aint worth it” — TalkJOC; and: After enjoying a few too many cocktails at the Beacon and spending a night in jail for accosting Mrs Mudgy the Moose in downtown, Bullwinkle wanders off to sober up — CoeurGenX.
• HM: Everyone else (superb cutlines today)

Deputy City Editor Scott Maben and his 6YO young daughter, Joey, encountered these two moose on the loose near a bus stop in the Centennial Place area along Hanley Avenue, near Lake City High School, this morning. Joey, a Mudgy & Millie fan, wanted to pet and ride the mama moose and her calf. And she wasn't the only excited youngster who wanted to do so at the bus stop. Scott, the only adult present, served as a traffic cop, keeping the children from getting closer to the moose munchers.

In the hills above Rathdrum & Hauser at the old Brand X Ranch, Jana Tritto photographed these two bull moose trimming an apple tree this morning. In his Outdoors Blog, Rich Landers points out that winter weather is moving moose closer to townto nibble tender landscaping plants. And that Fish & Game officers advise householders and towns people to gave the large animals wide berth. You can read Rich’s post here.

• Cartoon: Wikileaks show truth re: U.S. diplomats/David Horsey, P-I
  
• Flood advisory lifted as storm passes over region/Mike Prager, SR
• Playing cards would feature unsolved cases/Meghann Cuniff, SR
• Montana student allowed to return after gun incident/Tristan Scott, Missoulian
  
• NW Montana soldier critically injured in Afghanistan/Vince Devlin, Missoulian
  
• Murder victim was a street kid with a huge heart/Meghann Cuniff, S&G
• Army: Boise soldier can’t present photo of dead civilian/Associated Press
• USWS: Wolverines warrant protection, but … /Daniel Person, Chronicle
  
• UMontana prez defends perks as part of job/Chelsi Moi, Missoulian
• Orbusmax Special: Time Bomb store’s name leads to airport evacuation in Oregon here
  

Question: Have you seen a moose in town or your yard lately?

John Austin: I love north Idaho. I sighted my first migratory eagle this morning at Wolf Lodge Bay. There’s something about seeing an eagle flying through the snow showers, against the backdrop of Beauty Bay, that is very special, even from the icy confines of I-90. Deena and I also saw a baby moose on the Trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s recently as it emerged from Cave Lake near our home. Our Great Dane pup noticed it first, and alerted us to the possibility that its mother was nearby. Needless to say we hurried back the way we came, discretion by far the better part of valor. At times like these, when I am surrounded by things that most people will never see, and experience emotions most will never feel, I’m reminded why I love it here.

Question: Why do you love North Idaho?

Earlier this morning, County Clerk Dan English posted this photo of a moose snacking on the herbage in the Dan’s back yard in Twin Lakes. On his Facebook page, Dan of the County writes, “I understand Cliff Hayes, my opponent for Clerk this year, also had a moose in his yard recently. The Bull Moose Party is obviously pretty independent and must be checking out all the candidates carefully before the November General Election.”

“This young bull moose made short work of the flowers in front of a Pinewood Drive home in Post Falls on Tuesday evening,” posts Kerri Thoreson/More Main Street. “On Labor Day he visited the backyard of Cliff and Jeanne Hayes several blocks to the west for brunch. Since swimming across the Spokane River on Friday and enjoying the hospitality of the Riverside Harbor neighborhood over the weekend, he seems to be making himself quite at home.” More here.

• 10 ways school is different this year from last/A Butterfly Moment
• Fall is here/Bay Views
• Never ending mail, and: Food directions of bottom of boxes/From A Simple Mind
• Teacher or learner/Gathering Around the Table
• What a difference a manicure makes/JeanC’s Cat House & Shooting Gallery
• 3BT: Drive in the country, family history, Sollozzo/Kellogg Bloggin’
• God in all His glory/Live, Love, Laugh, Hope
• This and that Thursday/Slight Detour
• He is for … /Tumblewords

Hucks Online numbers (for Wednesday): 10,079/6414, and (for Tuesday): 8970/5408

Don Sausser sends along this photo he took during a recent trip to the Sprag Pole Inn at Murray. E-mails Don: “We noted this moose frolkicking in a nearby estuary along Prichard Creek. She seemed a little bothered by we two-legged animals.”

• Home again/Accidental Rabbit Trails
• Fire danger stupidity/Bay Views
• Harvest time/Bent’s Beer Garden
• Wonder how Hillary — or Sarah — would handle it?/Dogwalk Musings
• Fairness of it all/From A Simple Mind
• ‘I am Ironman,’ who are you/Jamie Lynn Morgan
• Dear fuzz butts/JeanC’s Cat House & Shooting Gallery
• 2 sisters remembering a 3rd sister/Main More Street
• Parental units/My Life’s A Freak Show Without A Tent
• How EOS shave cream saved my life/Prime Beauty
• River walk/Robin Loznak Photography
• Vermilion miles away from here/Skookum Photography
• Big weekend ahead/Slight Detour
• Forty-three miles north of soul/Tumblewords
• HBO Numbers (for Thursday, July 15): 7833/4749

Question: Am I the only one in North Idaho who hasn’t seen a moose in the wild?

Facebook friend Debbie Berger spotted this young guy as she was crossing a bridge from Horsehaven back to Coeur d’Alene over the weekend. It was crossing Lone Burnt Cabin Creek. E-mails Debbie to HucksOnline: “I was thinking as I crossed the bridge that it was a perfect moose feeding area and that I wanted so badly to see one. Bam! No sooner did I think the word ‘moose’ and up popped his head.”

DFO: BTW, there’s a moose that’s been running around town today; in CdA, I believe (as a result of the Scanner Traffic frequency in use). A few minutes ago, a home owner reported that the moose was standing in his front yard. But the F&G says it won’t respond unless the moose begins causing problems.

“Butch,” the Washington State University Cougar’s mascot, left, clowns around with “Moose,” the Seattle Mariners’ mascot, prior to an MLB baseball game between the Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners Friday in Seattle. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Of all wildlife/vehicle encounters, moose are generally the most dangerous. In part it’s because their weight makes for a massive obstacle to hit at any speed, but in part it’s also their size—those gangly legs are generally the part that gets hit by the average car, causing the moose to be flipped into the vehicle. Which is exactly what happened to Adam. The moose’s legs hit his car on the right front fender, causing her body to crash into the windshield, roll over the top of the car and then down the back. The moose died. So did the car. “I can buy another used car like this for less than what it would cost me to fix this one,” Adam explained as he looked over the crushed windows and dented body. Which is what he hopes to do as the car itself runs just fine, and he can use it for spare parts/Trish Gannon, River Journal. More here.

Question: Have you ever hit wildlife with your vehicle?

A bull-moose calf snacks on some low-hanging branches Friday in a backyard in Post Falls, Idaho. The calf and a cow have been taking up residence in the neighborhood since Monday foraging through gardens and trees. (AP Photo/Coeur d’Alene Press, Jerome A. Pollos)

MamaJD/Special to Huckleberries Online

“A moose stopped by (the Bentwood subdivision) for a visit,” e-mails MamaJD. “Actually, a neighbor kid couldn’t make it home because the moose was in his way. The moose was nice enough. He posed for a few pics and even obeyed the traffic sign as he made his way thru the neighborhood.” Also on the moose patrol was ThomG and Mr. & Mrs. Mike Kralicek, who happened to be driving by.

I am fascinated by the story (of the moose rescue at Priest Lake). Fish and Game officials, who weren’t on the scene, would have left the moose to die. Their thinking is that it is a potentially dangerous animal and the risk of human life for one moose isn’t worth it. This is the same agency who won’t remove a carcass from the highway because it isn’t their job. The rescuers were also chided for feeding the beast because the food was contrary to the moose’s winter diet and could kill it. Somehow I don’t imagine the moose ate enough to make much difference other than to warm her innards/Dogwalk Musings. More here.

Question: Did you residents who saved the moose from Priest Lake act properly? Or should they have opted for safety and allowed the animal to die?