Eager for lily pads

A few days after my surprise encounter with a swimming beaver, I went on another walk around the beaver ponds.  I had hoped that the beaver I had seen before might be back patrolling its pond, so I was disappointed to find the pond empty (at least of visible beavers).  However, I did not give up, and in a pond a short way down the path, I found two beavers.

A beaver eating a rolled up lily pad.

These beavers were busy with the important task of rolling up and eating lily pads.  One after another, the lily pads disappeared into the beavers.  Fortunately for the beavers, the pond was so full of lily pads that an imminent shortage seemed unlikely.

* To see this video in high definition (1080p), you may need to: 

(1) click "YouTube" to watch on the YouTube website

(2) change the settings at the bottom of the video screen

Lap swim

While on walks in Maine, I frequently come across fresh evidence of beaver activity.  However, the beavers themselves are more elusive.  Beaver ponds seem like the obvious places to look for beavers, so each time I am near one, I scan the water...

A beaver pond with its telltale drowned trees.

... and sometimes even spot a beaver-shaped object... only to realize a moment later that it is only a rock or a log.  The beavers' lodges are easy enough to find, but never appear to be the sites of much activity.

A beaver lodge in the beaver pond.

On this particular occasion, after satisfying myself that there was no beaver in the pond or by the beaver lodge, I started photographing some insects and a frog at the edge of the pond.

A frog by the side of the beaver pond.

Then, when I looked up again, a movement in the water caught my eye.  To my great surprise, it was a beaver!

A beaver!

The beaver was swimming just a few feet from where I was standing at the edge of the pond.  I was startled by it, and it may also have been startled by me, since it made a large "plop" with its tail and dove underwater.  Happily for me, though, the beaver soon resurfaced and started swimming back and forth across the pond for several minutes.

* To see this video in high definition (1080p), you may need to: 

(1) click "YouTube" to watch on the YouTube website

(2) change the settings at the bottom of the video screen

Happy Fourth (Crab Spider)!

Happy Fourth of July!  To celebrate the date, here is a picture with four crab spiders, including one happy spider with a fly.

Can you find all four crab spiders?

In case you had any trouble spotting all the spiders, here is the picture again, with the spider locations marked...

Three female and one male Misumena vatia crab spiders.

 ... and here is a closeup of the happy spider with her large meal.

The most successful of the four spiders, eating a fly.