4/09/2010

Muskrat Love

It's definitely impossible to write anything about muskrats without humming along to Muskrat Love in the background...one of those little ear worm thingies la da da da, candle light...so I'll just put it out there right now, and after you've finished reading this, you can go to 

That little housekeeping item aside, while I was doing some housekeeping of my own the other day,
I looked out the window, down towards the beach. It's hard to miss, as we live on the beach, and have direct access to it, and all that lovely sand that occasionally I am forced to sweep up if I want to open the door to the patio, or if John has gone missing!



Where was I? Ah, yes, digging myself out of a hole...I looked out to the river's edge, and saw a little brown blip where previously it was just flat, cool, blue water. So, gleefully abandoning my broom, I grabbed the camera, and moved slowly across the top of the sandy slope to take a closer look.


It's definitely a muskrat, and definitely heading towards the shore, with purpose and intent.  Why so definite? Because beavers are much bigger, and as you can see, there are no tasty trees on this beach for a beaver to trim down and feel safe while doing so. Like this...

So, now, back to the sandy shore and Sammy Muskrat...I took that first shot, and blinked, and he was gone - he'd totally disappeared! No tell tail - er, tale - wake, no little brown head bobbing further away,
no nothin'.
So, I ventured a little closer.

Ha! The little bugger has a hidey hole home, right at the water's edge, and obviously, he had leapt ever so quickly  -or slithered, whatever, right down into it! Clever 'skrat.
So I waited, and of course, he did reappear in pretty short order.

He posed for a split second, and then faster than you can say lickety split, turned tail, and headed off up river ...likely looking for some furry piece of fluff to share his dark and murky den.

NOW, you can listen to Cap't and Tennille...


And if you'd like some scenic sky shots, click here:



13 comments:

Pat said...

Great shots of that cute little muskrat! Your shots of the full moon in the previous post were absolutely stunning. Wow.

Murr Brewster said...

Oh my, to live there! You don't want to know what kind of 'skrat I'd have to stalk here, or what kind of hole it would disappear into.

FAB said...

Hi Susan. Not a species I am familiar with but presumably a slippery chap! Love the location. FAB.

Jenn Jilks said...

Great shots! My Muskoka !I'm not worried about the hail, though. It will not last...
Loved your story. We sound like kindred spirits.
I have a muskrat, too. I have the video to prove it...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kFbldlgDCo Right in front of me! it was funny.

Dave said...

Muskrats are much nicer than chipmunks...

Bill S. said...

Great captures and post about one of the animals that settled the west.

Carolyn said...

I love watching the four legged critters in our domain. Your pics are great and it looks like the snow is gone. I do hope that your weather is getting warmer. The pictures in this weeks post are from the Beaches area in Toronto. I am off to Ottawa tomorrow.
Have a great weekend.
Smiles

Felicia said...

What a cutie! You were lucky to be around when he popped his little head out of the water!

faye said...

I have never had an opportunity to
photograph a muskrat.. but now I have
that blasted Captain and Tennille
song in my head and I will be humming it for days...THANK YOU
VERY MUCH... OKAY.. I am kidding...
I happen to love that song ..
too weird I know.

Kelly said...

Ahhhh....so cute! I love these little critters.

"Muskrat Love!" I remember singing that song sitting on the bench while playing softball. I think I was in the 6th grade. I was getting ready to go bat!

A human kind of human said...

Had to google muskrat first to see what it is. Interesting fellows. I love the situation of your house. I must be so nice to have a view over the water all the time. It is a secret dream of mine to live as close to nature as you do.

Kcalpesh said...

You rightly identified the muskrat :-) Nice shots! You live in a really beautiful place!

Pixellicious Photos

jabblog said...

What a beautiful place to live, sand indoors and all! Love the muskrat - I'm sure you'll see more of him and eventually - them!