Monday, April 26, 2010

DIY OF A DIFFERENT SORT

Despite the freezing weather last night, and the fact that there is still snow on the ground, one member of our community was very busy.

Yup, the resident Beaver was doing his thing,
leaving all the evidence behind.
The really interesting thing was that he decided to drop a tree right beside the walking path, . . .

meaning he (or she) had to climb up a fairly steep 25 foot embankment, drop the tree, and haul all the goods back down.

(This picture doesn't do justice to the steepness of the climb.)

But that wasn't the first time.
The night before, Beaver had been busy too.
J and K (our granddaughter) found this work
when they were walking home to our son's last evening.


This was, actually, just a bit of an afterthought.
 The real prize lay about 50 feet north.


Those six were about the diameter of your forearm. Not small stuff at all. Not only cut, but hauled down to the river.
So far, the lower trail (just a muddy footpath along the river's edge) hasn't been walkable. Now, I'm going to have to go down there and find out where the Beaver's lodge is.
I don't think Beaver will mind a visit from Bear,
though Sadie might be upsetting.

10 comments:

The Blog Fodder said...

Those are great pictures. How wonderful to have your own neighbourhood beaver lodge to watch all summer.

Rob-bear said...

®BF: Indeed; but first I've got to find the lodge, which may be a bit tricky on foot (easier if I had a canoe).

Rosaria Williams said...

Rob-bear, they are keeping you busy keeping track of them.

BTW, I appreciated the article you sent me.

Rob-bear said...

Beaver, being Canada's national animal, is a particularly interesting creature. I just worry that the Watershed Authority is going to raise the river and drown out a whole bunch of Beaver, Muskrat, and others, along with the nests of geese, ducks, and shore birds. Anyhow, I'll keep track as best I can.

BTW,glad you enjoyed the read.

French Fancy... said...

I can just picture you in a canoe with a Davy Crockett hat paddling away on Beaver Search.

(how come you are playing a drug song now? That's not like you, Rob)

French Fancy... said...

p.s, actually I've just read a Wiki page where it was strongly denied that a drug message had been intended - but then they would say that - those hippies.

Gutsy Living said...

I have never lived close to beaver region nor bear region either. I had to ask my husband, who was born in Bradford, PA, "Can a beaver really cut the tree trunk like a saw?" He answered, "beavers are the best animal engineers." Does that mean I'm a city/suburban woman or a tropical/beach woman?

Rob-bear said...

®FF: Ironically, I used to have a Davey Crockett hat (which wore out) and a canoe (plastic), which some friends now enjoy.
Drug song? What drug song? If it's about Puff, that's no drug song. It's a beautifully innocent story of a boy and make-believe friend. Peter Yarrow has been really annoyed by people suggesting otherwise. It's a bit like the Bible: people can find things in there that the writers never wrote.

®Sonia: You may be a wonderfully OC gutsy writer, and a great Belize beach woman, but a bush gal you are not. Beavers can build dams across fairly wide rivers that are strong enough for people to walk on. The only way to get rid of those dams is with dynamite. Lots of dynamite. (If you only blow a small hole, the beaver will have it fixed in no time flat.) Your husband understands.

Anonymous said...

My sister and brother-in-law erected their home on a hill between two large lakes. On one lake, the trees were falling like...well....trees, and the resident beaver was a good 35 pounds of teeth and nails and was not a happy camper.

So my family gathered around the lake at nightfall, armed and dangerous, pointing toward the center of the lake where the evil beaver lived.

Suddenly they realized that, due to the posts they had taken for the shoot-out, they were aiming in direct line-of-fire to each family member stationed around the lake.

Rob-bear said...

®Dana: Glad your family members didn't take each other out with their guns.

Beavers can get a touch agitated when people mess with their territories. Bears, likewise.

The best approach is "live and let live," unless the beaver is starting to dismantle your house.