Am I Important?

The weatherwoman said this weekend would be peak colors in Duluth. Perhaps she is right but it is hard to know with the foggy drizzle. I went for a walk near a stream I monitor hoping not to get shot by hunters and wishing I had worn my favorite color instead of my navy blue raincoat. Entire families on 4x4 off road vehicles went by. The people on the noisy vehicles appeared to be having fun in the mud but they sure tear up the roads around here. White throated sparrows call out. Woodpeckers are drumming on the trees. Crows and ravens are chatting. A rooster crows. I noticed a trail going through the woods on my left. Last time I was here I figured out it was a beaver trail. I saw the ferns and tansy stems near the stream on the right side of the road were all flattened toward the water. I saw a big deep rut in the road and I figured the beaver carried a heavy log.

This is where I suspected the beaver carried that log. A river otter would be cool but I think otters would have a narrower trail.

Lo and behold! A brand new dam built by busy beavers. Already the water is a good six inches higher above the dam. Beavers are an important part of our ecosystem. I don't know what impact this beaver dam will have on the plants and animals and birds and fish and reptiles around here but I suspect it will be helpful. Beavers are herbivores. I eat herbs too. In fact, as I walk along and snap off the yellow tansy heads I gather rosehips in my pocket. Like a beaver, I am preparing for winter. Are these beavers a young couple or have they been together for a few years? I hope the giant beaver is selected to be the state fossil this year. The milk from the mother beaver is 19 percent fat. Does this couple have baby beavers and if so, how many? A beaver can hold it's breath for 15 minutes. I am lucky to hold my breath longer than 1 minute.

If beavers are an important part of our ecosystem, am I an important part of my ecosystem?