Winter Muskrat

While looking at the creek in the backyard this afternoon, Troy saw some splashing.  As he looked in the direction of the splashing, he noticed a muskrat.  And then another.  And then another.  Three muskrats were hanging out along the creek's banks, where the ice had melted enough to give way to water.

 I was able to get some good shots of this guy, eating some green vegetation on top of the ice.  According to a book we girls read, muskrats do not hibernate.  They are active all winter, swimming underwater from lodge to food cache to everywhere in between.  And, apparently, these rodents come above the ice when the weather gets warm enough.