Day 434 A First

Daily Note

Every day, a photograph, a poem.

How fortunate we were with our unfortunate trip to Omak. Unfortunately, in our small town in rural Washington, we have NO FedEX contacts or drop boxes, so to return my old iPHone with Apple’s box and postage, we needed to drive to Omak to one of the drop boxes.

Fortunately, on our drive home in the late evening, we finally, after over thirty years here, saw the reputed moose living around the wetlands on the Desautel highway from Nespelem to Omak.

My poem and pictures tell the story from last evening:

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First Time

Beavers build wetlands 

beside the Desautel highway, a break 

in the forest 

of the Okanogan—

tule, cattails, lilies

and last night, after thirty years 

of driving this road,

for the first time 

where the road narrows 

between granite and pond 

where we cannot stop

there,

in the blooming yellow pond lilies,

three moose surprised us 

and we surprised them— 

all three cars—

in the evening gloaming,

slowed at once to view 

the strange twig-eaters, 

the creature’s name in Algonquin,

before they rumbled off

Sheri Edwards
052121 14136521
Poetry/Photography

A Bit About Moose

The name for moose came from a Native American tribe, the Algonquin, and translates to “twig eater.” This is an appropriate name as these animals predominately consume twigs, bark, and leaves of trees. In areas with abundant wetlands, moose will eat aquatic vegetation and willows. But in less wet areas, like northeast Washington, they also eat the woody browse in early stages of regrowth following disturbances like fires, logging, and clearing. Moose are considered a pioneering type animal and adapt to a variety of available forage that change seasonally.”  

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Today’s photos

Another use for a plant stand…. and pinweed in the driveway because I like weeds.

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