It was darned cold and windy this morning as I headed over to my friend’s house to show some of our Master Naturalist friends the beaver dams and ponds I visited earlier this month.
At least it was sunny! Ponds are among the trees in the distance.
I recovered from being lost and going down the wrong road, and everything went fine. I remembered all my beaver facts and just started spitting them out authoritatively. I think I even taught people some things they didn’t know!
Ruby howled her approval.
I had a good time looking at the area again and seeing changes. There were trees with new evidence of bark chewing, which made me happy.
Click to see these larger
We saw the beaver trails, an entrance they use for one pond, and some tracks. I think people enjoyed themselves. I sure did!
Beaver trailPond entranceIntrepid visitors
After we were done, we ate at one of our local Mexican restaurants. I enjoyed a delicious cup of Mexican hot chocolate in a beautiful mug. It got me thinking about how much there is to treasure about Mexican culture, so on my way home I got a few yummy Mexican baked goods. Mmmm.
It was pretty nasty outside so I didn’t do birding and I just took care of birds and equines quickly. I’m glad they all have good shelter now (I saw evidence the turkeys used their hut last night).
Cold-looking sky
Mostly I watched football, read, and crafted today. Here’s what my tan themed temperature block for January looks like so far. I like it.
I’m getting some criticism for sharing thoughts more directly on Facebook, but that’s fine. Feel free to fire me from your life if my truth bothers you! it’s becoming more important to speak out and be brave.
What an adventure I had today with my fellow Master Naturalist! We escaped to the wilderness known as her property outside of Cameron and searched for a rumored beaver dam on the spring-fed creek that runs through the land. It was a beautiful warm day for exploring.
Blue skies
At first we looked in the wrong place and got attacked by much greenbrier and dewberry vines that tried very hard to trip us. I did determine that the water was not out of its banks and was very clean.
Creek not floodedMany sticky vines in hereMy friend not falling down
My friend called the folks who’d been on the property monitoring their deer lease or something, and they redirected us upstream. There we found what appeared to be weird flat areas with brown vegetation.
Looks like brown vegetation.
That was actually duckweed on a big ole beaver pond! To say I was excited would be an understatement. The dog was also excited and immediately went swimming.
Best view of the dam and pond behind it
I enjoyed investigating the dam construction and listening to the water trickling through the spillways. It’s hard to believe animals can do this, even though I read that book all about beavers recently.
Also they dig big tunnels. Here’s an entrance.
We found trees that had been gnawed by beavers (some from the previous dam a few years back). There were also trees whose bark had been gnawed.
Sniffing out big rodents
We moved upstream some more and found a second dam, which has created a magical pond full of fish, butterflies, and plants. It was hard to pull myself away from the tranquility.
Buckeye enjoying duckweedThe colors are so niceRandom upper pond photos
But, I wanted to see if there was a third dam below the first one we found. Sure enough, following the cool beaver trails led to another one that my friend thinks is a reconstruction of the original dam.
The old dam has trees growing on it. Hard to see, but it’s in therePond
Here I located the tunnels they dig for entrances and exits, which is fascinating. I even found some beaver tracks in ant beds, but my pictures weren’t great. That’s okay, just seeing evidence that the amazing mammalian construction workers was a bucket list item for me.
Gnawed woodPathI think this is a beaver tracksOld chewed treeThis shows holes but they are hard to spot.
Since we had time and a truck, we went off exploring other parts of the property, which are mostly hay fields. We stopped and got to see a spectacular Northern Harrier fly right in front of us when we both had our binoculars. They’re beautiful hawks with a white patch just above their tail.
Harrier, from Pexels.
We then explored a ravine that lead to the big creek and observed how it is slowly moving northward. I did not fall down when I clambered down the embankment. I held onto trees.
Ravine areaRavine Happy houndThis creek is bigger than some rivers
We ended our exciting afternoon doing some more birding back by my friend’s house and enjoying each other’s photos. I’m so pleased to cross another mammal off my list of Milam County sightings, even if I didn’t see an actual beaver. All my beaver knowledge really helped me see the signs of them. I’m sure they’re glad the prowling humans and dogs are gone!
The Hermits' Rest 