Running With The (Insert Animal Here)

Surprised, I slowed my run to a jog.  Hidden by the vegetation, a young female moose was consuming its morning meal on the slope of the ditch.  Startled by my presence, she leaped out onto the road in front of me.  With a frightened look, the moose began trotting ahead of me on her long spindly legs, hooves clip-clopping on the asphalt.  After a minute or so the cow turned sharply to her right, and, with a combined look of fear and relief, leaped back into the bush, crashing her way through the underbrush to safety.

In the past few weeks, during my early morning runs, I have had various wildlife encounters.  A black bear has crossed my path, more frightened of me than I of her, a small curious fox has followed me a number of times (with locals pulling up beside me in their vehicles asking "Did you know that a fox is following you?"), and now a moose (of which sightings have been rare of late).

I've heard of running with the deer, running with the wolves, running with the bulls, but ... running with (well, behind) the moose?  That's an encounter that I had to write down (or rather, type out).