Another frigid morning and a dusting of snow set the scene for the Greater Lovell Land Trust docents and me as we tramped about the woods today.

Hiking up a trail, it suddenly occurred to us that we were zooming–not exploring in our usual slow pace. Blame it on the cold. Blame it on the fact that we had a mission and I had a time frame.

We knew of the beaver activity in these woods and were eager to take a closer look at their recent work. Oh darn. Such a task.

A couple of small dams stopped us in our tracks.

And then we slowed down and began to notice.

Debarked logs and holes caught our attention.

Fairly fresh holes where a beaver recently came up for air.

Through the trees we spied the lodge.

Cut saplings spoke of food and construction,

while carved statues dotted the landscape.

Hieroglyphics marked many a tree base.

We saw signs of success,

near success,

and potential failure–this one fell away from the pond and was hung up on other trees.

While circling the pond, we paused to offer admiration–of the speckled alder catkins,

ice works,

burls,

and relationships.

We reveled in a close-up view.

And recognized more activity in broken ice and air bubbles.

With discerning eyes, we recognized a pathway and water channel,

and wondered about melted snow that possibly indicated recent action.

Dam construction occurred in a variety of ways and created more than one shallow pond.

An obligation I had ended our exploration sooner than is our norm. On our way out, we crossed a small dam–thankful that we’d taken time to ponder and wonder about these ponds that serve as pantries and highways. Though our visit was as temporary as this change in the landscape may be, we were happy to have the opportunity to give a dam.