Beaver lodge

Not long ago I commented to twillhead that although I have seen beavers along the Eramosa River, I have never seen a lodge. Days later I spotted one on the far side of the river, but I didn't manage to walk around to take pictures until this morning. I had to walk up to Victoria Road bridge then backtrack downstream. This walk is always worthwhile. The land slopes steeply uphill on the south side, and the river has cut a limestone cliff about 10 metres high. It faces north and never receives any direct sunlight except for a few days in midsummer. Ferns grow on the surface, but in winter it is bare.

Near the bottom of the photo you can see two tiny red arrows. A third one was situated an equal distance to the right. I guess someone from the university is conducting geological research here. I wonder what.



This same limestone underlies most of Southern Ontario. Similar strata can be seen along the Niagara Escarpment, over which the Falls fall. Around Guelph, where the land is gently rolling, I was suprised to find such a cliff. I had lived in this city for 16 years without knowing about it. It is hidden by a dense maple woods growing alongside the riverbed and ascending the slope above. This green belt offers a wonderful, quiet trail for walking and cycling. It is several hundred metres wide in places, bounded by a golf course on the uphill side.



I followed the trail for a little way before turning toward the spot where I had seen the lodge. At that point the floodplain widens, so I had to poke through undergrowth for a hundred metres or so. The first sign I saw of beaver activity was this sculpted stump. Beavers are hard workers, but they must have a sense of humour. I christened this the Alien Beaver Baby.



This stump had been gnawed a long time ago, however I didn't have far to go to find the lodge.

( Wanna see a beaver lodge? Two pics. )