Archive for April, 2007

Welcome chipmunk

Published at April 26, 2007 in Connecticut. 0 Comments

My Aunt Holly writes:

On Wednesday, during this glorious weather we have been having here in Connecticut, I was out in the backyard surveying all the work to be done and also feeding the birds / squirrels when out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a movement. Pivoting quickly to my left, I spotted the dearest little chipmunk scooting across the yard with a peanut in its mouth. Up the drainpipe it went. I find this unusual because in the 25 years we have lived here, I have never seen a chipmunk. I can only hope it has a large family and that I see it and them again soon. Welcome chipmunk.

Thanks Aunt Holly! We at beaverlikemammals.com join you in hoping that an entire chipmunk family has moved into your backyard.

A beaver bonanza!

Published at April 24, 2007 in North Garden and Virginia. 0 Comments

Wow, today was a rich, rich day in terms of beaver sightings! Maybe the richest day ever! Walter claimed to have stumbled upon a beaver dam in the woods by his house and he took me there to check it out. To get to the location we walked along the train tracks for some time, then cut through the woods, climbing over logs and thorny bramble things. On the way, we found some animal bones and an ancient NYC sweatshirt. The dam was really amazing. Much longer than I expected, and so neat and perfect. Walter, who knows about this sort of thing, pointed out that the dam was curved, which makes it stronger. Apparently, humans build curved dams as well. Beavers must be so smart, and know a lot about engineering (or whatever it is you know about if you build dams). Here is a picture of the location, and a picture of the dam:

Location

Dam

Here is a picture of a cute little beaver foot print in the mud:

Beaver Footprint

After examining the dam, we walked for quite some time along the edge of the lake, which Walter told me is called a littoral (noun: a region lying along a shore). The only reason I mention it is that he mentioned it about ten times, so I guess it must have been important to him, and hey, improving one’s vocabulary is always a good thing. Anyhow, we walked along the littoral, balancing on fallen logs and getting scratched by brambles, and seeing many chewed-on beaver sticks, like this one:

Stick

And then finally, we came to a beaver house! It was a big pile of sticks, half in the water, half out. We climbed on top of it, which was probably not very nice, but we did make an effort not to squish it or in any way hurt it or its occupants. Here is Walter on top of the beaver house, with the NYC sweatshirt. As you can see, the “C” is in a really weird place:

House

I know you are probably thinking that it could not get more exciting than this, but as we were looking at the house, Walter suddenly shouted “OHABEAVER!!!” and I looked up and saw a real, honest to goodness, live beaver dive under the water with a loud slap of his tail! It was so exciting. The beaver definitely did not seem very happy about the two of us being there. He swam around and stared at us and slapped his tail a few times. Here is a movie. Please note, not only is this the first beaver movie to appear on this site, it is my first ever iMovie. Go me. If you listen closely, you can hear some really insightful comments by me and Walter:

Anyhow, it was a totally exciting day, and even though Walter has not submitted to this site, he is certainly a friend to BLMs. Thanks, Walter.

Do hair and nipples a BLM make?

Published at April 10, 2007 in Charlottesville and Virginia. 0 Comments

Michael writes:

This beaver-like freak of nature jumped on me this morning when I was trying to sleep.

I’m not sure what it is, but it has hair and nipples, so it must be a mammal.

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Cultured BLM on Route 250

Published at April 8, 2007 in Charlottesville and Virginia. 0 Comments

Liz writes:

Between the exits for Dairy and McIntyre, across from the
“art-in-place”, I frequently see a little groundhog in the grass as I
pass by. Today, even though blustery and cold, he was out.
Undoubtedly, he was investigating the building process of the whale
tail.

PS- I hope to get you a picture, soon, of my friendly neighborhood raccoon.

He has risen! An Easter BLM sighting

Published at April 8, 2007 in Connecticut. 0 Comments

My mom writes:

Just wanted to let you know that your Aunt Roe and I, while driving over to pick up Grandma, spotted a beaver like mammal on I91 between exits 37 and 38. It was approximately at 12:27PM. The animal stood for a few second and then slowly waddled back to a wooded area. It had a kind face and was a goodly size. momxx

My Aunt Holly spies a beaver

Published at April 7, 2007 in Connecticut. 0 Comments

Hey Phoebe - I am so excited because I saw a beaver just in time for your new web site. Because of all the rain we had here last week in Connecticut, a large pool formed in my next door neighbor’s yard and lo and behold (kind of like at Christmas) I spotted a BLM - and I think it was a beaver. I took Wishbone out there this morning but he didn’t track it down. Perhaps it is gone but I will keep an eye out.

Love from your Aunt Holly

A philosophical post

Published at April 6, 2007 in Batesville and Virginia. 0 Comments

Hayley writes:

Behind my house there is a creek, and I sometimes take my dogs to swim in it although not as often now because my chihuahua crawls down groundhog holes and I am terrified they will bury him and he will die. Anyway, there is a beaver dam on the creek and a family of beavers. They are so cute and they work together as a team to build a happy home to shelter their young. So hard working and never complaining, why can’t humans be more like beavers?

PS - Are those panties on the beaver’s head?

Thanks Hayley, for raising this interesting discussion topic. Why *can’t* humans be more like beavers? Thoughts anyone? Feel free to leave a comment by clicking on the “comments” link.