This morning’s visit to the dam started with shadows, first a gray tailed phantom below the secondary dam which turned out to be a raccoon walking feeling his paws blindly downstream in search of tasty morsels. Apparently it was working rather well because he went as far as I could see in his swirling, hurple-gait. (And yes hurple is a word and it describes exactly what raccoons do since their front and back legs aren’t the same length.)
Then Reed loomed onto the scene, floating very slowly so he could keep an eye on the interloper. When the raccoon moved out of view he decided to do some work and carried a couple of loads of mud onto the dam. It must have been very low tide because when this beaver came home he had to walk up the creek in places. (:30)
Someone had definitely eaten their wheaties that morning because after this roaming beaver returned s/he went straight to work, lifting mud onto the dam and poking branches into better places. Swirls of mud hovered at the banks and scooping locations, and often only the wrinkle of water or a fizz of bubbles told you where the beaver would emerge next. There were several rounds of this;
And equal potions of this
Then working beaver dove into the bank hole by the footbridge. I noticed Reed was in the water, watching this subtly. Then working beaver re-emerged and swam towards Reed, and they circled about in an exchange that I was so happy to see I didn’t attempt to film. (I haven’t seen beavers interact since…March?) Then working beaver and Reed retired to the bank lodge. And I cheerfully came home.
Yesterday we picked up this years tshirts, designed by Amelia Hunter and lovingly printed by Courtyard Customs. I think you’re really going to like them. If you can’t come next saturday to get your own, you can always order one off zazzle and add your own name or logo!
