The Weather is Not Cooperating

Today our park pilot gets back.  Yeah!!!! That means the fun gets to start up again.  First on the agenda moose surveys.  I am suppose to be out looking for moose right now while they are gathered together and the bulls have not lost their racks yet.  At the beginning of the week we had wonderfully perfect weather to go look for moose.  There was lots of fresh snow fall that makes viewing for moose in the air so much easier.  The skies were clear and there was no wind.  Perfect flying conditions except for one thing, our pilot has been gone for the entire month and gets back tomorrow. 

Yesterday of course, it warmed up to 40 degrees, melting all our beautiful snow.  There were strong winds all day with gusts up to 50 mph.  So awful conditions for moose surveys and for flying.  I did get a report that the Alaska Fish and game had surveyed two of my transects and counted 93 moose on one and 114 on another.  I wanted to verify those numbers.  But today the weather is iffy because there is still rain and freezing rain in the forecast and gust up to 40 miles an hour.  So who knows.

I was so depressed when I got home yesterday because of the weather.  I went upstairs to change out of my work clothes and looked out my window.  I saw large tracks going into the woods behind my house but from the upstairs window I couldn't tell what they were.  I called Craig in and asked him if he had walked into the woods.  Nope was his reply.  He then smiled and said maybe it was a moose.  That did not make me feel better and I had to hurry outside to see just what had made the tracks.  Well, it wasn't a moose.  I can't tell you how upset I would have been if a moose crossed my back yard and I didn't get to see it.  The tracks were from a large dog that has been lurking around the neighborhood.  Not even anything interesting. 

I got an email from the biologist at the Fish and Wildlife office telling me wolves were everywhere and asked if I wanted to meet to plan our trapping them in February.  I of course said yes.  At least it would be more interesting than spending my day in front of my computer.  Do you think the moose have some control in the weather just to keep me from seeing them?