Spring Treats

What a treat it must be for the beavers to have fresh young leaves to eat after a winter diet of bark stored in the mud. I love to watch them as they stuff the leaves in their mouths, closing their eyes  to savour the freshness. They eat rapidly, teeth clicking as the leaves disappear into their mouth. First the leaves are eaten, then the small branches. Next they hold the saplings in their hands revolving them as they strip the bark. When they are finished the limbs are shiny and clean with no bark remaining. Poplar bark apparently has more nutrition than other barks. They will also eat young maple and birch, but they prefer poplar.

selecting fresh poplar

 

The beavers often dive when approaching poplar branches. They come up right in the middle where they select the next  branch  that appeals to them. They use their hands to hold the branch and lop it off with their very sharp teeth. Then they swim to the dam with the branch and  begin by eating the leaves. Tulla listens carefully. She can’t quite understand  the new sounds. She tilts her head, trying to figure it out 

Sometimes they can’t wait to start eating the delicious leaves . They eat  right off the sapling, not bothering to swim to shore with it. The leaves are fresh and green after the long dark winter. It’s easy for us to understand their delight when we sample the first spring crops of asparagus and rhubarb from our own garden.

Sometimes the clicking of my camera bothers the beavers. On this morning she decided that she wanted to eat in peace and towed the whole tree top down the dam. I comfort myself,  realizing that I have so many pictures of the beavers that it doesn’t matter if she goes out of camera range once in awhile.

towing the tree top along the dam

 

Tulla and I sit on the bench, enjoying the morning sun and the rest of the activity at the pond. There are ducks feeding, tree swallows swooping over the water and a red tailed hawk riding the wind above us. It sound idyllic but spring is also a time for black flies and ticks. We never had ticks in the north until a few years ago. Now, they are rampant. Everyone suffers from their presence. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be a wild animal infested with ticks. The black flies have been here forever and drive us crazy but they are not life threatening. The ticks are. I often wear a net shirt with a total hood when I am at the pond. When we come home, I check Tulla and me  carefully for ticks and frequently find several. The black flies will be gone in a week or so, replaced briefly by moosquitoes, ( that’s what we call them on Moose Mountain) for a short time. Then for the rest of the summer we are almost bug free in the woods and meadows.

  The big news today is that the first hummingbirds have arrived for the summer. The porch  is alive once again with their swooping flights. I love to watch them. They are extremely difficult to photograph but I shall try.

 The herb garden is almost finished. I have made it much smaller and dug up all the invasive mint, oregano and witch grass. It was a Herculean task and took many days. It is right by the front door, a constant guilt trip when it was so badly out of control. I have moved some of the mint and oregano to their very own beds where they can be free to invade to their heart’s content. The rest of the mess I threw over the bank far away from the garden, where they will probably thrive.

 It’s time for another morning visit to the pond. Tulla is waiting impatiently by the kitchen door.