So she was pulling me merrily along the bike trail on Foster Island, when she stopped and refused to lead. I tossed her back in front and told her to go ahead.
Yup, that's a real command. I need her to be able to lead: to pull, actually. She reluctantly began to move slowly along the shoreline, with me tottering among the skinny trees and slippery leaves.
I was dumbfounded when I first saw it:
Ellie stopped directly on command and waited.Girl, do you see that? Let's go in for a closeup:
We swung around the windfall mess that clogs the "pond." Sure enough, there is no mistaking a beaver lodge. And the chews, fallen trees and even scat all around would attest to the size of a beaver, not just a cute little muskrat.
Will the Water Board or Department of Environmental Conservation allow them to stay?
My camera will be loaded and ready for my first beaver in the wild shot from now on!
pb
Little Pond
4 comments:
Don't get it ... Ellie afraid of beavers? Whether she is or not, she did a good job of tipping you off. Very useful companion you have there.
(And, actually, I did have to peer at that last photo. Up and to the left of center, inside that thing that looks like a fort? Are you sure Ellie wasn't worried about those two, white, six foot tall, cat heads? It really really looks like a couple of giant housepets were watching you take your pictures.)
tom in NC
Gee, they're even clearer under magnification. It's like a bad 1950's monster movie - I would think that the Water Board or Department of Environmental Conservation would be more worried about Foster Island's infestation of giant mutant felines.
tom from NC
Hee, hee! Gimme a break, Tom!
Ellie may indeed have scented something. "Afraid" is something else, though.
I do not doubt that, having gone a pretty sad round with a skunk last summer, she is giving a wide berth to anything musky. Beavers are not mustelids, but they may stink enough to worry her.
What a wonderful find! We have beavers somewhere in our county, but I've only seen trees that were cut down by tooth work. I'll be looking for your first beaver picture.
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