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| My best shot after he left my house. |
I closed my now working garage doors this morning, pulled about to head out down the drive, and saw the beaver hauling a tree across the driveway. By the time I pulled out the phone and got the shot, he was across the road on his way home to the bog. A car stopped for him, thankfully, and we waved good morning to each other when the beaver was safe.
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| See the forest behind the bog? Is that too far for a beaver to walk?? |
I love beaver really. But they clearcut areas of my trees. One year an entire hillside was cut. I worried about erosion until I realized that all the roots were still in the ground holding the soil in place. And now I have to worry about their well-being as they cross the road.
They had left the bog for a few years. John and I couldn't decide if they left because their population was too large for the bog or if they had cut all available and appropriate brush. Come to find out, they never truly left. There were just so few (possibly only one) that their activity was nearly invisible. There are two lodges over there at the moment. You just can't tell if they are active. The only swimmers I see have been otter, also. Not beaver.
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| He's taking willow. |
It will be lots of fun if there are enough beaver to follow next season (or even follow this winter with this mild weather). There will be more water for the red-winged blackbirds and moose. The otters will be abundant and the geese will be safer while nesting. There will be squabbles between beaver and otter, otter and geese, and the blackbirds will argue with everybody. The herons will stay away until the blackbirds leave in early August. I'll be able to see fish jumping out of the water as they snatch bugs out of the air. The osprey and peregrine falcons will be hunting, as will fox and coyote. Bears will be in the bog enjoying the water and the drowning trees. The plant life in the bog will host more wonderful and diverse insects and the snapping turtles will return to dig nests on my land.
None of that is possible without the beaver.
_/\_/\_
Beaver are amazing.
ReplyDeleteA friend of ours from church owns a nice, large piece of property and he wanted to have a pond. The Army Corps of Engineers denied his request and then a nice beaver couple moved in and gave him one the Army Corps couldn't take away!
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ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteNeat sighting of the beaver, I have seen various trees pretty far from our lake that have damage done by the beavers. I was amazed how far the tree was from the water. Take care, enjoy your day!
And such a busy boy he is! You are truly blessed to have and enjoy so many of nature's own all 'round you.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the beaver photo. we used to fish a state park lake where there were beaver. in the Spring we would hear the babies talking in the lodge and of course see all the shrub "trees".
ReplyDeleteNice to see Nellie give you a kiss in the photo of 12/8.