Because the beaver isn't just an animal; it's an ecosystem!

Tag: st Joseph’s Island MI


 

UPDATE: DADT Overturned 65-31

“The arc of history is long, but I’m pleased to note that it’s still bending towards justice.”

Steve Benen



Beaver, Beaver, in the rain
Checking on the dam again
Your creations, teeth and hands
Shape our waters and our lands.
(apologies to William Blake)

We crept down to the dams to see how they were fairing in the chilly rain last night. The first pond was swollen convex,  brimming like the very moment you have filled the top champagne glass in a fountain and it is about ready to dribble down to feed the  next layer.  The second dam looked the same and we saw a beaver swimming up to check on it. It was terrifying and lovely to be so close to the coming storm and so easily able to get back home to a cozy fireplace.

The beaver did not look at all distressed by the weather, or its approaching effect on its handwork. I thought, as it swam between the two dams that it might be eager. I guess storms like these are the closest beavers get to being ‘ready to rumble’. The beaver seemed to be checking the currents and the pull of the water from below, then raising to feel the drops above the surface. I thought of a not entirely unwelcomed challenger on familiar terrain. “Aha, so the game is on!”

We left them to their monumental task, and returned to our fireside, for obvious reasons. Speaing of which, have you seen these photos from the Great Lakes? The freezing gale winds created an ice sculpture of a lighthouse of St. Joseph’s Island that will shiver you just to look at. Once in Martinez, maybe 12 years ago, we had a fast quick freeze that zapped the fountain in the Plaza with a shadow of this magnificence. Each trickle from the next level of the pond was frozen solid in mid air. It was cruelly beautiful, like something from the ice queen’s palace.

You probably need warming up after that. Here’s just what the Dr. ordered;

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