Beaver in the Morning

This morning I got started before dawn and reached this cove just after the sun had risen. I posted about this place last March but back then the water level of the lake was about 15 feet lower. Instead of the pretty expanse of water pictured below, instead it was a stream of water flowing between high banks.


In any case, at the end of that body of water seen above, you can just barely see a concrete structure. That turns out to be a bridge with two tunnels---seen below---that allow water from the uphill side of the road to flow down into the lake. And apparently it also allows a colony of beavers to live on one side of the road and forage for food in the lake.

I tried to go through the tunnel in my kayak but I only got about 3/4 of the way through before my rudder grounded and I had to push myself back out backwards. Kinda got my claustrophobia thing going a little. Funny now, not so much then! The tunnel started seeming a whole lot narrower when I couldn't get the kayak to move for the first few seconds.


And here's one of the beavers. At one time I had 4 surrounding my kayak though only one came very close. I kept trying to focus on the fellow but he was swimming faster than I could zoom in on him---and then he did the tail slap thing and dove under my kayak. After that none of the beaver allowed me closer than about 15 feet before they dove underwater. C'est la Vie. I lost my shot at a really great close up.

Comments

kenju said…
There's a fat groundhog who lives somewhere near our neighborhood entrance, and at least 4 out of 5 days, I see him grazing. What surprises me is that he is usually only about 5-10 feet from the road. Of course, I can't stop to take his pic with cars whizzing by. Someday, I'm going to sneak up on him!

I love your water photos.
7:43 PM
Unknown said…
Claustrophobia indeed! Sounds like quite an adventure, Utenzi!!
7:57 PM
Anonymous said…
A beaver of a tale for sure. :-) I am envious of your proximity to these creatures.
1:14 PM
Shephard said…
I love the last shot... great... it's like the Beaver version of The Lock Ness Monster. Or something like that.
~S
3:44 PM
srp said…
Now why is the theme from Jaws running through my head with that last picture... I need to sleep... construction people showed up on SATURDAY at 7AM... my one day to sleep.
7:15 PM
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