I broke out the bushwhacker to begin trimming back woody growth along the trail head and up to the culvert. Unfortunately, a missing part resulted in cutting short the effort. Undaunted, I headed back and prepped the lawnmower to deal with non-wood, dead weeds along the trail. After changing the oil and gassing up, I grabbed the throttle bar to start it, and the throttle cable snapped. The universe was telling me to go take a hike, so it I did.
On this trek, I headed to the far end of the lower pond. If you remember, last fall the beavers began reinforcing the long abandoned, original dam and then promptly began another dam only about 20-30 yards down stream.
The old dam was reinforced to raise the level of the lower pond and afford the lodge more protection. The second dam was most likely made to assist in moving branches and logs for their winter lodge, food, and dam work.
When I observed them last fall, I wondered what the spring would bring. Today's walk seems to suggest they are continuing to work on BOTH dams. If they do, the pond will continue to grow eastward toward Ham Road and possible southerly, toward Rt. 27. Neither of those growth areas pose any problem for the condos.
However, continued work on the original dam at the end of Locksley will result in a rise in the level of the lower pond. This is an area we need to watch this spring and summer season.
Here's an overview of the activity on the lower pond.
Great video of the area,the beavers have been busy!
ReplyDeleteWhat did you use to take the video?
I just used my cell phone, a Motorola Turbo 2. However, this spring and summer, I expect to spend a lot more time around the pond, shooting with the Canon HF C40 that I just ordered today. One of my must get shots is to get slow motion of our Great Blue Heron.
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