This is the idyllic view where I spent a decade gazing into the lives of beavers. Their lovely family. Their five dams, (six if you count the one down stream this spring). The entire Alhambra channel was a beaver neighborhood for more than two presidential terms.
This is what it looked like yesterday. I know folks don’t always click on the videos, but CLICK ON THIS ONE. This was shot by Martinez resident Bill Nichols with his phone just before high tide yesterday morning. Did you have a bad day yesterday? This proves definitively once again that beaver lives are way harder than yours.
So buck up.
Rusty was also concerned about his Napatopia beavers in all the rain. He went down late morning and took these photos. This wise beaver is once again playing snoopy and sleeping on top of the submerged lodge. You wouldn’t know he was disconcerted, 
because while he’s homeless he decides to have a snack and groom.
Beavers aren’t exactly multi-taskers, but everything they do is useful. Our little dramas seem kind of silly in comparison to their epic struggle. Whatever comes their way, beavers are firm believers in the oldish adage:
“Don’t sweat the small stuff. And its all small stuff.”
Mind you, if my house was in the middle of a scene that looked like this, and I was flooded out of it in 
the middle of my night, waiting for hours after evacuation before I could get back home and gather my things, I probably wouldn’t idly be grooming.
One of my favorite things about beavers is their steady unflappability. They cope with life as it happens. They do not w
orry, plan, or panic. Which is not to say they’re unemotional. Look at this one who finally drifted asleep on his ‘red-cross cot’ at the shelter. He just can’t stay awake a moment longer. He’s done all he could coping with this calamity and looking after his family. Shhh, he deserves the rest. But look at his paws. He’s clutching a security blanket – er- branch after all his trouble.
Here’s closer look from Robin a little later.
