It’s Monday, and we all probably need encouragement for the week ahead. Here’s a new treasure from a long lost sunken ship. This is the best beaver educational footage you are likely to see anywhere – even on the BBC. The only thing it doesn’t explain is why Canada pretended like they were betrayed to learn Gray Owl wasn’t native when it was already common knowledge. The adorable footage at 2:43 is so captivating I can almost feel it the sensation.
High tide this morning, and a myriad of little fish, pocking the surface of the water so it looked like it was raining even though the sky was clear. A kingfisher was so excited he made a perch on the cyclone fence near the secondary dam while the green heron settled down in the middle. A snowy egret strode back and forth near the footbridge, wiggling his toes to attact interest and spearing the unwary.
The secondary was a soup again, although the tree trunk from Saturday was firmly in place. Reed came home at 6 carrying a sapling and swam through the dam with the alarmed look of someone trying to make their bed at the same time they’re getting out of it. A few more visits and it looked a little better, but certainly nothing to boast of. The water was so clear you could see his feet under the water when he would dive to excavate more mud.
A mysterious thing happened after Reed came back, and it happened on Saturday morning too. A second beaver approached the secondary but did not cross over. At the time I described it as having “one beaver outstanding”. He or she zig zagged back across the creek, but did not come any closer. In the end they disappeared into the east bank or beyond it. On Saturday when I saw this I believed all our beavers were accounted for, Dad within sight, Reed near by and the larger yearling busily mudding the primary dam. Today I was less sure of the cast of characters but still I wondered, who is this mystery beaver? Had a beaver sneaked over or through in a way that I missed? Or was this a stranger who wasn’t yet sure of his welcome? or HER welcome?
Is a new beaver applying to join the colony?
Well, I have no answer, only questions. This mystery will require several trips to the dam and a good deal less REM sleep on my part to solve, but never mind. It’s a question worth answering.
