Beaver supporters have been reading the weather with worry these last days. By tonight we should get some rain, and by tomorrow there’s a urban creek advisory for flooding dangers and a high wind warning tonight. NOAA tells me that
THE ORIGINS OF THIS STORM STEM FROM A WESTERN PACIFIC TYPHOON NAMED MELOR THAT AFFECTED JAPAN LAST WEEK.
(So our NZ friend was kind of right, that trouble did roll across the Pacific!)
If we don’t get a tree (or telephone pole) blown over somewhere, we can expect some dam washouts and a mess of horrible polluted runoff whooshing past the beavers front door. The first big rain is always the worst, and the slurry seal the city laid on Saturday will not have had enough time to dry and will most likely wash off and sludge down the gutters and into the creek.
Jon was cleaning our gutters yesterday but he’ll be hovering around to keep watch on Tuesday. In addition to natural and unnatural traumas, we’re worried about a sudden bright idea from public works to take out one of the dams to allow better flow or let a tree pass. The best defense against that is a video camera, so if you happen to have rain gear you might snatch a photo or two with your cell phone.
As for the beavers, well, they’re like new landlords: with acquired wealth comes increased responsibility for repairs! Now they will have four dams to fix. We’ll see how they manage that responsibility and how they arrange their priorities. Any bets on what gets fixed first? Last season they emphasized the second one, but maybe this year it will be the fourth? I’ll keep you posted.
