Early Morning Encounter

I've been enjoying more and more special guest appearances on my morning walks lately.

When I crossed over the Assabet River this morning, I briefly stopped to watch the fast gushing water go under the bridge just after the Damon Mill. Low lying tree branches are still dipping into the water as the banks are overflowing with water from all of last week's rains.

All of the sudden in the murky brown water I saw a little brown furry head...

It seemed much larger than a muskrat and when I saw the larger body size with a long beaver tail trailing behind...I was surprised to realize it was a beaver! I had no idea that beaver might be living that close to our place. And, it got me wondering where there might be a lodge or dam that they've built. My future walks will have to include some investigating some side roads and trails. Might have to get out a map and see the path of the river and any side streams and see what I can find.

Of course, it immediately brought to mind the memory of a previous beaver encounter that I had years ago...

(I know, I know...I can hear the knowing groans now..."Here she goes with "The Beaver Story!")

What the heck...I don't know if I've ever written it down before, so here we go...for those of you who've heard this a hundred times over the years, I guess you can stop reading now!

Years ago, after waitressing the all-night shift at one of the diners outside of Amherst where I was spending my summer break from UMass, I headed home to the log cabin in the woods that I was caretaking for one of my professors. Before heading up the mountain to the cabin I decided to stop at one of the local ponds and take a dip to clean off the sticky waitress grime that seemed to come with that job.

The sun had hardly peeked through the trees that surround this pond and the cool early morning temperature caused the whole pond to be covered with a low-lying fog that was so dense I couldn't even see to the other side of it.

I slipped into the cool, cool water and started to swim in the morning quiet with only a cardinal boldly whistling from one of the nearby treetops. As always when I swim I get into a certain rhythm that sort of lulls all the busy-ness in my brain....a meditation of sorts.

So it was in this meditative state that I looked up from my breastroke rhythmic breathing and through the fog saw a little brown furry head coming straight at me! I stopped quickly, though at that point the water was too deep to stand up, so I just tread water quietly while I assessed what was before me. Fortunately my critter friend stopped at that moment also.

We both just sat motionless observing each other. At this point I realized that I was face to face with a beaver, with only about 12-15 feet between us!

                                       

I don't know what possessed me, but I decided to swim parallel to the shore now instead of straight across the pond. To my surprise the beaver swam parallel to me, keeping the same 12-15 foot distance between us. As I swam, I peered under the water toward him and I could see his large webbed feet paddling and his long flat tail trailing behind.

Keeping a guarded eye on him, I turned in his direction and just at that moment he faced me. I got a bit nervous and thought that this time he was going to come and attack me with those enormously large teeth that they have. Instead, he slapped his tail on the surface of the water with a big THWACK! I froze still in the water and stopped swimming. He stayed right where he was so I then continued to swim in the opposite direction, again parallel to the shore. He joined me again, keeping our same distance between us.

This went on and on for about 10 minutes. I don't know why, but I didn't feel threatened now so I was enjoying the little "relationship" that we'd carved out in our short time together. Swimming together for about 50 feet, my turning, him slapping his tail, then swimming together again for about 50 feet. One way,turn, tail slap, other way, turn, tail slap...back and forth, back and forth...

Bizarre!

Once I figured out that I would be "safe" if I just kept my distance with him, I looked beyond him and noticed a large pile of sticks that was his lodge. It sat about another 25 yards behind him.

Ah! Protecting his home from me the "great predator!" I finally realized what was going on.

Eventually I stopped our laps and decided to return back to where I started from, but not before looking face to face with him one more time and thanking him for our swim.

And, that, boys and girls, is the story of the day that Janet swam with a beaver!

   

      

Comments

[Rich]

Great story! But are you sure that this really did happened and it just was n't one of fancy day dreams.

[jen]

How could I not comment on the beaver story...i would hear it every spring, inside the dining hall while rain tapped at the roof. We'd be waiting out a storm or just getting warm by the fire. The circle would begin with the various nature-news reports we had encountered that day or any other day in our lives. If I can recall correctly I also heard it inside the TeePee as we huddled round the fire to keep warm. The long January nights had the need for lots of stories. Now, thinking about it...i also heard it out on bumbkin island the night we got stranded in the Nor'easter. And now that I remember, I think the time you shared it at Bowers Spring was especially captivating but not as suspensful as the time we heard it hanging out by the fire at the Lincoln House. Ok...I guess maybe I should have groaned like you said...but you know... I love the beaver story!!!