The boreal chorus frogs are waking from their winter naps.  I heard a few last night.  In a couple of weeks, their calls will be deafening.

There was a slight breeze that swayed the tall aspens.  The tall, white trunks looked beautiful against the cloudless, blue sky. 

Geese flew from pond to pond; their honking echoing through the trees.  I was able to sneak up and observe the geese as they swam but the ducks were skittish and took off each time I tried to get closer.

When I finished the loop and returned to the beaver pond where the trail begins, I noticed one beaver adding mud to the dam.  I was just in time.  I prepared a front row seat for the early show.

I sat down along the edge of the pond.  The beaver noticed me and swam back and forth; eying me over.  There was no tail slapping; just gentle dives and surfacing.  Each time it surfaced, it looked in my direction.

I watched for forty five minutes.  During that time the beaver dived and dug up the soft mud to add to the dam.  It chewed off the old bulrush stalks and added them to the mud.  When it got hungry, it found some new green growth amidst the old stalks.  The night was calm and there was no traffic so I could hear the chewing.

I had my binoculars with me but didn't have to use them.  The beaver was only eight feet in front of me and the dam it was working on was only about twenty feet away.  I had the best seat in the 'house' and was not disappointed by the evening entertainment.