The Strathcona Wilderness Centre was my destination of choice this evening.  It was a quiet night with nobody else on the trails so I set out with the hope of seeing some of my favorite forest creatures.

I noticed moose tracks in the soft clay.  I was two thirds of the way around when I looked into a small clearing and saw a young bull moose nibbling on the willows.  I've seen this guy before and he must have recognized me.  He watched me for a few moments and then continued feeding; knowing that he would come to no harm.

The pond at the end of the driveway was quiet when I arrived for my walk but a lone beaver was swimming in it when I got back.  It was not happy with me standing there and tried to scare me off with a couple of tail slaps on the water surface.  It dove and swam in front of me for almost twenty minutes.

On the way home, just as I pulled up to my driveway, I noticed a tiger salamander crossing the main road in front of my house.  It was moving slowly and vehicles were coming so I got out of my mine to try to get it off the road.  It didn't want to cooperate.  I saw the tail curl and lift.  Luckily the car that was coming saw the little guy and made sure to drive around it. 

Tonight the air was calm and cool.  The birds called from the tree tops.  The setting sun shone through the openings in the tree canopy.  The fall colors are prevalent.  My forest friends were out to say hello.  It was the perfect evening for a walk on the wild side.