Return of the Beaver

I honestly cannot remember the last time we saw our resident beaver.  It has probably been several months.  But Julia and I were the lucky ones to see him around 8:30 this morning.

I had gone out on the back deck to shake out a rug.  I really wasn't paying attention to the backyard or the creek . . . until I heard a loud SMACK on the water.  Since I have had a beaver "scold" me before with a slap of its tail on the water, I instantly knew who had made that large splash in the creek.

Julia was playing just inside the patio door.  I dashed inside to grab the camera and to summon Julia out onto the deck with me.  Mr. Beaver (as we call the critter) swam in circles in the creek for a little bit before climbing out of the water.

Julia and I couldn't believe he actually came out of the water!  Julia commented, "This is just like at the zoo, except in real life!"  The beaver wandered around our backyard for a little bit before heading back into the water and swimming upstream.

You might have noticed that only Julia and I are in this story.  Evelyn was at a birthday party sleepover, and Troy was at the gym.  Hopefully we'll be seeing more of this guy (and/or his family?) in the weeks and months to come.  We've missed him!