Friday, August 8, 2014

Those Beavers!

Okay. I'm going to diverge from my obsession with horses to something else. (For now, anyway).

I know! Let's talk about Beavers!!!!

After spending five days under New Mexican skies, C and I had one more free night to make camp somewhere in the Colorado mountains before heading back to our home in Wyoming. Climbing up and out of the desert sage we drove along a twisting road to the south fork of Hardscrabble Creek in the San Isabel National Forest. We slowed down. Along the willowed banks of the creek were numerous beaver dams. The area looked familiar even though neither one of us had ever been there before. Then it dawned on us. We were seeing the exact creek where they had released some beavers! We had watched the PBS Nature special just days before going on our trip to New Mexico. The program is aptly called LEAVE IT TO BEAVERS. It was an amazing story of one woman's passion and dedication to saving beavers and changing the minds of those who think they are pests or just want their soft, luxurious fur to wrap around their shoulders. At the request of some ranchers who know that beaver labor creates wetlands, raises water tables, restores silty top soil and cleans the water, they had this gal, this live trapper and relocator of beavers, release some into their portion of Hardcrabble Creek. And what a success it has been!

I couldn't believe we had stumbled upon this particular place, with no idea that our campground was just a stones throw from this beaver haven. So, there we were, admiring the meticulous dams and beaver lodges made from gnawed down aspen trees, the hard work, the good work of some beautiful beavers that had become famous on a television program.

Naturally, I am now enamoured by the beaver. They are creatures we don't think too much about, but ought to.


And the significance of this sign? My husband nicknamed me Squirrel many years ago. I was his girlfriend which after a while, turned in to his squirrelfriend. And now, well, I'm just plain Squirrel.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20 comments:

  1. wat een heerlijke plek om te zijn er zijn duidelijk heel veel bevers aan de sporen te zien.

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    1. het zijn zulke ongrijpbare dingen, ik voel me erg gelukkig te hebben gezien deze man druk aan het werk, zwemmen rond met stokken in zijn mond! ze zijn interessant en oh zo lief karakter architecten!

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  2. perfect post, red dirt squirrel….

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    1. Hahaha!!!! I knew you'd be the one to respond to that in such an endearing way!! Funny, huh? xx

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  3. I like beavers!! :) Genesis 1:24 "And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.”

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    1. Yes, each according to their kind. Let them do what they do!!
      I like beavers too!!

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  4. A great post about these adorable creatures who are an essential part of the Eco system. You got great photos xx

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  5. And Formby, is the home of the red squirrel. :-)

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    1. Then I shall go there, for sure!
      Is it near you? xx

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  6. They are the cutest and so industrious. Great shots!
    xo!

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  7. i wish i could visit you one day! i love the shots. i've never seen a beaver before, and when i read your post about it, somehow it reminds of the tv show The Grimm - haha

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    1. Ha! I've never heard of that show but I imagine it is cute and entertaining!? I will look that up, Niken! :)

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  8. I have always wanted to see a beaver in person. I have never even seen a beaver dam. I don't think they're very prevalent here in Kentucky.

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    1. I'm not sure about that. Are there rivers around you? I bet you could find a lodge. Go look!! ;)

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  9. we have beavers in longmont, loud little tail-slappers that have helped to thin the overgrowth around the local ponds. i'm not sure how the flooding of last fall impacted them, but there are lots and lots of tree stumps near the ponds and evidence of beaver dams along the river. it always reminds me that there must be a balance struck between the creatures native to this region and the human population who has since come and claimed their turf. it simply cannot be a one-sided proposition, and why would anyone want it to be??

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  10. You always say the most thoughtful and philosophical things, Janet.
    I love that you feel that way. It resonates. Thanks a bunch for your words here!

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