From Dusk till Dawn
A mist hangs in the air over Shoemaker Lake in the early hours, adding a bluish hue to the morning. In my mind, it is a reminder of a far distant time. It is quiet and peaceful, a time for me to catch up with an old acquaintance.
Standing in the shallows of Shoemaker Lake, my back resting against a tree, embraced in its branches, which were providing support and convenient camouflage, I waited, watching the ripples on the surface of the water. I ignored the short and choppy ripples produced by surfacing fish and turtles. I was looking for a slow, deep undulation on the surface of the water, a telltale sign that I should ready my camera to take photos in the dim morning light.
I was not expecting to capture birds in flight, a quick flick of my thumb to increase the shutter speed was all that I could manage as an osprey headed straight toward me over the lake. Two blazing red epaulets flashed from behind the osprey. A red-winged blackbird aggressively pursued the predator, chasing the osprey away from its fledgelings.
After the unexpected excitement, I decreased my shutter speed and patiently waited.
The acquaintance that I mentioned earlier had been missing for quite some time this year. Over the fall and winter months, its activity was clear to see. The harvesting and stashing of saplings had left diagonal cuts on the remains of its food source. But when spring came, there was nothing. No sign of life at all around its lodge or in the waters of Shoemaker Lake.
I observed plenty of activity from its close cousin the muskrat (https://wildlakeside.blogspot.com/2020/03/muskrat-on-move.html), however, I had all but resigned myself to the fact that the beaver had either left or had passed away.
On the night before the 16th of June, my mind wandered at work and I daydreamed of walking my usual route at Lakeside Park. The beaver was swimming in Shoemaker Creek as if it had never left and I was thrilled at the thought of seeing it again.
And that is exactly what happened when I started my walk the next morning. As I approached Shoemaker Creek, the beaver was swimming in the water with only its head visible. It was looking right at me, just as I imagined.
It was as if it had been there all the time and perhaps it had.
The beaver dived and resurfaced with a hefty bundle of neatly trimmed and debarked branches that it then carried up the bank.
It is always a high point in my morning when I have the pleasure of watching the beaver for a short while before, just like me, it goes to rest the day away.
I'll leave you with one more photo of the nocturnal beaver going about its duties.
A beaver's work is never done.
Copyright © wildlakeside.blogspot.com 2020 Scott Atkinson All Rights Reserved.
Standing in the shallows of Shoemaker Lake, my back resting against a tree, embraced in its branches, which were providing support and convenient camouflage, I waited, watching the ripples on the surface of the water. I ignored the short and choppy ripples produced by surfacing fish and turtles. I was looking for a slow, deep undulation on the surface of the water, a telltale sign that I should ready my camera to take photos in the dim morning light.
I was not expecting to capture birds in flight, a quick flick of my thumb to increase the shutter speed was all that I could manage as an osprey headed straight toward me over the lake. Two blazing red epaulets flashed from behind the osprey. A red-winged blackbird aggressively pursued the predator, chasing the osprey away from its fledgelings.
After the unexpected excitement, I decreased my shutter speed and patiently waited.
The acquaintance that I mentioned earlier had been missing for quite some time this year. Over the fall and winter months, its activity was clear to see. The harvesting and stashing of saplings had left diagonal cuts on the remains of its food source. But when spring came, there was nothing. No sign of life at all around its lodge or in the waters of Shoemaker Lake.
I observed plenty of activity from its close cousin the muskrat (https://wildlakeside.blogspot.com/2020/03/muskrat-on-move.html), however, I had all but resigned myself to the fact that the beaver had either left or had passed away.
On the night before the 16th of June, my mind wandered at work and I daydreamed of walking my usual route at Lakeside Park. The beaver was swimming in Shoemaker Creek as if it had never left and I was thrilled at the thought of seeing it again.
And that is exactly what happened when I started my walk the next morning. As I approached Shoemaker Creek, the beaver was swimming in the water with only its head visible. It was looking right at me, just as I imagined.
It was as if it had been there all the time and perhaps it had.
The beaver dived and resurfaced with a hefty bundle of neatly trimmed and debarked branches that it then carried up the bank.
I was overjoyed to see the beaver again, and when I returned home later that morning I sent an e-mail to a fellow lover of all things Lakeside, saying just that.
But what was the beaver up to with its bundle of branches and why were they all perfectly smooth with their bark removed?
Beavers cut down saplings and trees, but they are not actually after the woody part of the branches. That is inedible.
The inner part of the bark, the cambium layer is what the beaver eats. The leftovers, the debarked branches, are used to reinforce the beaver's lodge. Packed with mud, the thatched wood roof hardens to an impenetrable barrier, protecting the beaver from any predators as it sleeps in its lodge.
The beaver munched around the branch, stripping the bark as if eating corn on the cob.
The beaver does not just eat the inner layer of the bark of trees though, it has a varied diet and after a little more construction work...
The beaver took a short break.
It swam over to the shallows and paddled in the mud with its hand-like front paws.
The beaver pulled up a handful of delicious roots to eat.
Referred to by Native Americans as the "Little People", the industrious beaver is always busy about its work. Shoemaker Lake is our beaver's haven.
The lake supplies the beaver with a safe and easy route to its food source and also provides the beaver with everything it needs to construct its home.
It is always a high point in my morning when I have the pleasure of watching the beaver for a short while before, just like me, it goes to rest the day away.
I'll leave you with one more photo of the nocturnal beaver going about its duties.
A beaver's work is never done.
Copyright © wildlakeside.blogspot.com 2020 Scott Atkinson All Rights Reserved.
Comments
Post a Comment