Wednesday, March 14, 2007

how sweet is the beaver

trudged through knee deep snow, opened my portable chair on the edge of a partially ice covered Connecticut river. Binoculars pressed to my eyes I saw what looked like a dog swimming at the river bank. Not a dog, but a big healthy beaver passed and was chewing on a downed tree. He's a shy guy so as soon as I gasped he ducked under the water leaving a bubble trail to watch. Each breath broke the surface with a tiny ripple. I watched the blue sky in a smokey reflection punctuated by beaver's exhale.
the air was crisp, the mood upbeat but somber, the snow giving and deep, the silence broken by bubbles bursting and all of this made me feel so happy.