So this is the video splice that’ll be shown tonight at the John Muir Association Conservation Awards, followed by Mike’s acceptance speech. I’m particulary happy with my arteless efforts to combine Part I with the Introduction because it features our beloved beavers. Those are two of our 2008-born yearlings working on the dam – there is a 33% chance that one of them is GQ, which is nice to consider. I’m hoping that the video will perch in Shelton’s consciousness and follow him back home to Yosemite where he’ll tell his fellow rangers about these successful long-term solutions for beaver management.
It should be a grand night, and I learned yesterday that Susan Kirks (of PLAN and badger fame) will be coming so she may want to finish the evening with a little beaver viewing. I already invited our guest speaker but he isn’t sure they’ll be time. I’ll keep nudging and see if that changes.
Last night we saw all three kits at the primary dam and enjoyed the audio of excited little girls watching them from the bridge. “Ohh, daddy that was a beaver!” The other exciting noise of the night was a frogish-toadish ribbet coming from the landscaping on the street. I’ve been hearing it the past few nights so I know it’s local. It isn’t the massive chorus of pacific chorus tree frogs we get after a rain. I only hear it at night, and about 20 feet away from the water. I guess its a toad, but it certainly sounds nothing like the California toad I find when I try to research it. I’ve written a host of creeky experts and I’ll let you know what they say.
For now, shh. Don’t tell the Green Heron.
