Last night there was delightful beaver viewing below the Marina Vista bridge. Three kits whining and mewing to each other over who was getting the best blackberry branch. The fourth kit, who appears to go his own way, was in residence not to far off. (So those who have worried do we still have four, yes, we do!)
The kits would chew down the branches like corn on the cob, making loud smacking noises on the way. The newest shoots were the tastiest and first eaten, then the leaves, then the stalk unless something better came along. They ate with such speed it reminded me of being a child and trying to eat a treat very quickly before your sibling came in and wanted a bite.
At one point one lucky kit decided he’d take his branch away from his brothers to enjoy in private. As he swam off, the littlest fellow grabbed onto the end of the branch. For a while the pair had a tug-of-war in the water, each pulling the tendril in opposite directions. Then the bigger kit decided just to swim off anyway and pulled his brother a ways through the water. The little one quickly bit through the branch and acheived his own freedom, but eventually picked up the branch and decided to follow his sibling anyway.
Quite a show.
Envious of their acquatic cuteness, a family of raccoons approached the bridge for their share of oohs and ahhhs. There were about five little ones, and they followed mom up the oak tree at the edge of the bridge. We thought they were hiding from human threats, and then noticed the tree was bursting with acorns. Each little raccoon made his clambering way out onto the skinniest branches to strip them from the tree. There were sounds of crunching and glimpses of black-and-white-bandit-heads on every furthest branch. Like a omnivorous Christmas tree. I of course left my camera at home that night, but this is from our own Cheryl Reynolds on a prior visit.
