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'Twere Oliphaunts what I was ranting about hooves, not happypottymouses. Sheesh!It had to be happypottymice because Oliphuants, as everyone know, don't have hooves!  Sheesh!
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enthusiast
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Has anyone read Bill Bryson's book - Made In America (or something like that) where he mentions the moose as being one of the most, if not THE most stupid creature on earth* (hooves again!!) - an example of their rather dozy nature being that they apparently run towards an approaching car in the hope of escaping it (I can't get hold of a quote from the book right now). I would like to add, however that, since there has been apparently no study of moose phycology it is possible that their dozey nature is due to constant and deep immertion in interlectual and philosophical thought (e.g: hmmm, grass... one of the many roots of all life and matter possibly created by, but not limited to, some type of divine, yet obviously debatable, intervention... " then again, it could just be something like, "hmmm, grass... mmmmmmmm!"
*With the possible exception of certain homo sapiens...
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(not your quote but)
Hunters will tell you that a moose is a wily and ferocious forest creature. In fact, a moose is a cow drawn by a three year old. A moose runs as if its legs have never been introduced to each other. Even its antlers are hopeless. Other creatures grow antlers with sharp points that look wonderful in profile and command the respect of adversaries. Moose grow antlers that look like oven gloves.
-Bill Bryson, A Walk in the Woods
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moose talkHi, musick!  sorry, I just couldn't keep meself from loosing such a golden opportunity!
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(not your quote but)No, no - that was exactly the quote I was thinking of, I just got the name of the book wrong, thanks for finding it! 
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Carpal Tunnel
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Dangerous Drunken Moose
Herds of drunken Moose from Norway have crossed the frontier into the Russian region of Murmansk. These animals are
considered as dangerous because of their aggressive behaviou
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OP
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wwh, where on earth did you read about drunken moose from Norway? How did they get drunk? I've heard of elephants eating fermented bananas and getting drunk...
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I was interested in this new (to me) use in Dr. Bill's article:
For the next three to four weeks, the bull will work at gathering a harem of cows, breeding each one in turn as she hits the peak of her estrous cycle.
Many (most?) AWADers will have far more experience of breeding than I do, but I always understood the transitive use to refer to people choosing two animals to mate with each other in order for them to produce offspring with traits the humans think desirable. Here it seems to be used to mean "mate with". Is this a standard term that has hitherto escaped my notice or is mate with now considered too blunt to be used in polite company (assuming the readers of Close to the Land are considered polite company, of course)?
Bingley
Bingley
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Terrific story, wwh, and very well-written. Makes me long to breathe in the scent of cranberries. I liked this part especially:
Challenges are most often dealt with through posturing and display of antlers. Whoever looks the biggest wins.
Of course, the writer went on to describe situations in which the bulls fight and injure each other, sometimes fatally. But I like this part above that indicates that sometimes size itself wards off battles.
Bingley, I found the use of 'breed' in the quote you mentioned odd, too. I think of farmers breeding animals (and, please, y'all, no chicken/sheep comments), but I don't think of animals breeding each other. Must check a dictionary.
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