Bonding with a large Old Beaver

It had been a tough day and I took a break by walking down to the bare rocky shoreline and leaned against a large bolder that lay close to the water.

I was at the north end of The Lake of the Woods and it was a beautiful day. There was very little wind so the tiny waves made a gentle hiss as they came ashore on the rock shelf.
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The warm sun felt good and I particularly appreciate that there was none of the regular loud and invasive boat traffic racing about the bay. As I idled back and my mind stopped racing, I appreciate the fact that I lived in a place where I could enjoy moments like this.

I had been there about five minutes when out of the corner of my right eye my peripheral vision picked up some motion on the water. At first I thought it was a fish so I sat motionless and did not turn my head.

As the head in the water got closer I realized it was a beaver and it was heading towards me. My two feet were flat on the rocky shore and about five inches from the water. My arms were crossed over my chest. The beaver stopped by the rock and I could see it was a large adult.

The beaver then pulled himself up on the rock ledge and sat down alongside my feet. but in an upright position. The two of us sat there together, facing the same direction, enjoying the view and solitude. I slowly lowered my head and eyes so that I could get a better view of him. His head was as high as my knee and only inches away.

If some one had had a camera it would have made a great shot.. “Two old local residents enjoying the sun and solitude.”

The beaver at this point started washing his face and paws and then worked at cleaning his fur. He was quite thorough and after about five minutes was quite spiffy when he was done. By now I realized this was a very large old beaver and it had to weight over 80 pounds. He was so close I could have reached down and patted him on the head.

My butt was going to sleep on the hard rock and I knew I could not sit there any longer. I did not wish to startled the beaver too much so I simply moved the toe of my boot that was closest to him about two inches and touched him softly on the side of his foot.

My intensions were good but the beaver reacted as if he had been kicked. He instantly dived in to the water and paused only long enough to smack his large flat tail down on the water surface. I was generously soaked from head to foot as he dived deep and left for a more pleasant location.

I head back to work dripping wet but thoroughly refreshed.