A week ago in Anchorage, Alaska, Mr. Ronald Rydstrom had some surprising guests in his garden—a mother moose and her two calves. They spent the entire day lounging on his lawn, making themselves right at home.
The moose family seemed at peace, enjoying the safety of the garden. The mother moose even took the time to feed her little ones, creating a heartwarming sight. The calves, feeling secure, cuddled up together for a nap. Meanwhile, Rydstrom snapped photos of these sweet moments from inside his house. When he shared the pictures online, they quickly went viral, reminding everyone how much we still cherish innocent, adorable scenes like these.
Rydstrom had been watching the moose family from his window. When he noticed them, he raised the blinds for a better view, but the moose didn’t even seem to notice. He’d been waiting for the perfect opportunity to take a photo with a little keepsake his cousins had sent him from Iowa—a Flat Stanley. He’d promised to take a picture of it with the moose, but in the three months since he’d been working from home, he hadn’t caught the moose at the right moment. Now, though, he was finally in luck.
He took some pictures with Flat Stanley and some without, but as the moose family settled in, he didn’t want to miss a single moment. “I was working, but I couldn’t stop checking on them. Every time I looked, they were still there,” he said. Rydstrom would snap more pictures as the day went on, occasionally distracted by his work with the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra. The moose, meanwhile, seemed unbothered by his presence, though they were always alert, their ears up as they grazed and rested.
From 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., the moose family enjoyed their peaceful day in Rydstrom’s garden. They took a couple of short walks around the neighborhood, but each time, they returned to rest in the yard. A neighbor had spotted the same moose family earlier that morning, a few miles away. He noticed that the mother moose was breathing heavily—clearly, they needed a safe place to rest, and Rydstrom’s yard was the perfect spot.
One amusing moment caught on camera showed one of the calves knocking over a pot. “Note the smile on its face as it knocks it over,” Rydstrom joked. The little one didn’t seem to take responsibility for the mishap, pretending it had nothing to do with it.
As the day wore on, the calves continued to relax, moving toward the sun. It was a beautiful sight, watching them unwind in the warmth of the garden.
While Rydstrom was glad to observe the moose family from inside his home, he knew it was safer that way. Female moose, especially when protecting their young, can become dangerous if they feel threatened.
As the moose family wandered through the garden, they nibbled on plants, patio furniture, and even garden decorations. The calves were particularly curious, chewing on everything they could find, just like babies. At one point, a neighbor had to turn off and on some decorative garden lights to scare the little ones away from trying to eat a light bulb. Rydstrom laughed, “They were trying to eat everything in sight, and I was just glad they weren’t breaking anything!”
