As the days get shorter and the nights get colder, the beavers are picking up the pace and working hard to build their pond before the ice closes the waterways.Yesterday my mom and I headed down to the river at the back boundary of their property to see how things were coming along.
The little furry engineers have built a big dam which caused flooding upstream and created a really nice pond. I hope that the pond will be
permanent and give us a nice swimming hole to enjoy next summer. The dam still has a lot of rushing water so I imagine the beavers instinct to stop the sound of the rushing water has them cutting and hauling and patching all night long.We found two beaver lodges in the pond. One was well camouflaged, close to the dam and hard to photograph; the other was far upstream and built into a bank right at the end of the first beaver trail that I found a month ago. That made sense to me because the trail led to a large grove of young popple trees which the beavers must be hauling and storing for their winter food supply.
I just can't get enough of this beaver activity and am so happy to have them in an observable location. At night, I sometimes wake up and wonder what they are doing and try to imagine their busy little night-time world.
11 comments:
Beth,
Oh so good to know blogging is alive and well in Maine, I am moving there in the spring time...from Illinois. Oh my world is about to get majorly rocked! Jayne sent me your blog link, so thankful. I'll continue to read and wonder right along with you, thanks so much for the stories. Take care-
We have a few beaver lodges close by. You inspire me to go and check them out.
Do you think you will ever get a chance to head down there at night--maybe during the next full moon? It would be fun to see if you can catch sight of them working.
Beavers are neat little animals, so determined with no doubts about what they need to do, what the goal is...very zen;)
Leave it to beavers. A nice swimming hole would be nice when the ice melts. Keep us posted so we know if we need to bring a swim suit when we come. Pappy
Truewonder, We will be glad to have you join us in the adventure of living in Maine. Be in touch if you need help or information.
Ruth, Be sure and share your observations, I'm so excited about being able to keep an eye on them.
RuthieJ, I think so, especially now that daylight savings time is ending. You'll be the first to know--thanks for the suggestion.
Bookbabie, they are zen--they just work and work and work and I wonder if they even realize why they are doing it.
Texican, bring a bathing suit--there are plenty of cold mountain streams to dive into!
When I was little there was a stream behind my house. I was always going down there and collecting specimens for the tank that lived in the house. Now I spend time observing the wildlife on my pond. Observing nature can be an amazing and exciting pastime, enjoy your beavers!
What a wonderful part of paradise!
How lovely to peep into the beavers' secret world.
Such wonders on your doorstep.
Thank you for letting me look over your shoulder.
Beth: Came over from Jack and Joanns site. I love your beaver post and hope to stop back to see how they are doing with the dam.
I also visit the Texican and he sends me some really radical things to prove his point. I think more like Joann but feel the times I responded have fallen on depth ears so I quit responding.
SJ, and you enjoy your ant farm. I love ant farms. One time I was staying in a cabin and the snow was up over the windows and the mice had made tunnels in the snow on the outside of the windows and I could watch them run through their tunnels--it was like an ant farm (but maybe a little ickier).
Annette, thank you for visiting and for leading me to your lovely blog. I will enjoy keeping up with your posts.
Fishing Guy, What can I say--I'm the lone democrat in my family--they all taught me to think independently and argue my position and they thought it was so cute on a little girl but wouldn't you know it, I used my brain to think differently than the rest of them but they still love me and vice versa--the election will be over soon.
Beavers and beaver's dams always make me think of "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis. Mr. and Mrs. Beaver were main charecters in that book and I'm sure they would approve of your nighttme musings. As for me, I had to chuckle when I read that. Now I will lie in bed and think about you imagining the beavers! I think you've started something here!
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