Beaver Lodge Up Close

This is more a nature post than a photography post, but it does include photographs. One of my walks is up along the old Champlain Canal trail North of Waterford, NY. It's about a four and a half mile round trip from my residence and I try to make it once a week.

About a half mile North of Division Street, where the trail heads North, in Waterford a Beaver has decided to build a lodge along the side of the trail, built into the bank of the canal. Now, I've never seen the Beaver but the circumstantial evidence is overwhelming. Gnawed off trees, trails where branches have been dragged and, of course, the lodge itself.

The first time I noticed the lodge was this Spring. I can't say if it was there before or not. I seldom walked this route prior to this year. This shot is from May 9, 2015:

The next two shots are from December 12, 2015. You can see the progress the beaver has made building up the lodge over the Summer and Fall.

It will be interesting to see what happens if this portion of the canal is drained this year, as it usually is. I'll try to keep heading up that way, snow cover allowing, of course. So far so good.