Moose

For the past few years I have pretty much stopped eating red meat.   But I’m not a fanatic about it and I do allow exceptions.  The “Maine” exception for me is when I drive up to my camp in Rangeley, ME.   About half way up I usually stop at Roy’s in Auburn for one of the best burgers on earth….with cooked onions….served on a napkin.   Roy’s is usually packed with a lot of heavy-set meat eaters enjoying lunch…and my guess is that for them it is more the rule than the exception.  

I wonder if the moose in Maine make any exceptions in their diet?  Unlikely since they are herbivores and eat only plants.  This time of year they eat mostly the grasses and other vegetation around lakes and in fact need to eat about 50 pounds of the stuff every day!  I’ve seen quite a few moose in and around Rangeley’s lakes over the years but had never painted one.  So since I do get an occasional request for a moose painting I decided to paint a moose on my last trip up to Rangeley. 

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A moose looks like it was designed by a committee and my moose painting is no different.  The moose I painted though also looks like he has eaten most of the grass around the lake, that he is bored with it all and that he’s thinking, maybe just this once, about making a dietary exception….perhaps raiding one of the backyard grills over the July 4th holiday!  Probably not though since I’m sure he’s more disciplined that most of us part time carnivores....already  looking forward to the holiday and another trip up to Maine.  And a stop at Roy’s!

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