The Moose Molar: or, when you know you're Alaskan

So the other day, while picking up in the far back row of our vehicle, the one I rarely dare venture into, and clean even less, and never without steadying my heart first (I never know what horrors await) this is what I found. A moose tooth. Which is not the worst thing I've found in my car, not by a long shot.

Not too bad, I thought. At least the skull wasn't still attached. Big Fish found it by the river the other day, but I didn't know she kept it.....in the car.

And then, it hit me: Big Fish really is interested in wildlife, and maybe she will be a vet after all. Furthermore, I felt Alaskan. For a brief moment, it was so tangible. Because life is mundane most days. Wherever you live, there you are. Living in Alaska can be exotic, but those moments seldom reveal themselves. Yet, this moment for me, was one of those. Usually I find notebook pages, drawings, pencils or remnants of nacho chips under the seats. And now, moose molar in back of car.... I checked it off on the list.

Alaskan Wildlife

I know what most people think at the mention of wildlife in Alaska: moose, bears, wolves, arctic fox, ptarmigans....well, this last week has been a little different. First we ran into a thieving, hot-dog eating squirrel, then met "Lucky Bird," the talking, laughing cockatoo in downtown Fairbanks taking a walk on her owner's arm. So...

Last weekend we attended an outdoor picnic at the University. It was a beautiful day, and we had lots of fun especially when we noticed that a thieving squirrel took Small Moose's hot dog right off his plate, then ran into the woods. (That's for the best in my opinion, since I don't condone hot dog eating in my family anyway. I even felt sorry for the squirrel I have so much disdain for hot dogs: )



Then just a few days ago while visiting friends downtown, we met "Lucky Bird" the cockatoo. Lucky repeats "Hello Lucky Bird!" over and over again, and she pulls her owner's zipper down on her sweater, but the funniest thing is her laughter. She laughs just like her owner... The children had a blast with Lucky Bird, and the more the children laughed, the more the bird laughed back. Her owner has had her for 15 years, so I asked how many times she's heard "Hello Lucky Bird!" by now. She gave a long-suffering smile and said "Too many to count."

Lucky also does a mean Darth Vader. Her owner thinks it's the sound of a group of people talking together but I beg to differ. Anyway, it's caught on video right as it starts, so judge for yourselves. Lucky seemed camera shy at first, but then started with her laughing routine, and closed the show with the zipper-pulling trick.