~~CLOSE ENCOUNTERS -- ALASKAN STYLE~~

By Cherry Metzner

"When Falkor was a young Eclectus boy and green to life in Alaska, he received his indoctrination to the local wildlife in a most unusual way. My husband and I both work, but upon getting home in the afternoons, we immediately get Falkor out of his cage so that he can watch the goings on as we prepare dinner, and to let Junior, our faithful watchdog out. That evening started out like every other evening but when I went to say hello to Falkor, I suddenly heard my husband's loudest and most commanding voice -- "Junior, No! Leave the moose alone!", followed by a very proud doggie begging for his cookie. So, like a good mom, Falkor and I headed for the door to reward an ecstatic Akita with a tasty peanut butter cookie.

Then I heard hubby's low, gentle voice -- "Well, hello baby--come on over here."  Turning to see what on earth had gotten into him, I saw a timidly approaching yearling moose coming right up to the window.  Fascinated, since moose seldom come to visit at the kitchen window like a favorite neighbor, even though they are more plentiful than human neighbors, I wandered over...completely forgetting that Falkor was on my hand.  Standing at the kitchen sink, hubby sweet talked this baby moose right up until her nose was touching the window, at which point all sorts of things happened at once and time seemed to fragment....

Falkor erupted in warning screams that seemed to insist, "Run you fools -- the monster is coming through the window!. Run for your lives!" at which time he tried to take flight.  The moose snorts and backs up, all the while watching the bizarre scene unfolding inside the house.  Turning, I see Falkor land on Junior's head and Junior immediately jumps up, throwing Falkor off balance as he tries valiantly to fly under the kitchen table. In the meantime Junior, the frazzled dog, is vacating the premises as fast as possible knowing that the silly bird is completely and totally "off limits" to him.  Now, Falkor is under the table trying to decide between screaming and running, and not doing either very well.  Junior is peeking around the corner, 'cause his cookie crumbs are still lying on the floor, and the moose snorts in disgust and walks away.

John and I are both trying to catch our breath from laughing so hard(throw in a dash of adrenalin inspired by our terror that Junior might forget his training) and I'm on the floor trying to coax Falkor back on my hand, while Junior is 'sneaking' in to get his cookie crumbs.  I finally gathered poor little Falkor up and we went and hid in a nice quiet spot until he had calmed down.  Junior got his cookie crumbs and hubby tried to get on with other chores... but I could hear him still chuckling.  Now, we have only frozen moose snot on the window to remind us of that wild and crazy event in cold and quiet Alaska.  Come the May thaw, even that memento will be gone but who could forget the hilarious meeting of a tropical bird and a moose from the frozen tundra -- the stuff memories are made off!

Now, five years later, the sight of a moose seldom elicits the Eclectus warning scream.  Falkor watches calmly as moose graze, play, and share their lives with us, however, he still draws the line on moose in the entry-way drinking from the fountain. This time I agree. It is one thing to have a cute baby moose looking in your window but quite another to have a moose that is bigger than most horses standing on your porch three feet from the window, dwarfing everything around her, drinking from the fountain -- no matter how daintily she sips!"