Yesterday morning my father passed away. He was 84 years old and died in his sleep. I thought it would be fitting to mention that the very first time I saw a Martinez Beaver he was with me. It was January 2007. I didn’t know it then, but the beaver we saw was also a father.

Full fathom five thy father lies;

Of his bones are coral made;

Those are pearls that were his eyes:

Nothing of him that doth fade,

But doth suffer a sea-change

Into something rich and strange.

William Shakespeare:The Tempest

December 1, 1928 – February 24, 2013