Greetings and salutations, everyone. Happy Friday. Wilson here…and as always, I’m joining those lovable pups from the Adventures of the LLB Gang. Well hallelujah…we finally received some rain last night. Arvada officially received somewhere between 0.40″ and 1.41″ of rain, with the heaviest moisture occurring in the western foothills. In our neighborhood I think we received somewhere in the middle. It. was. beautiful. And comes at a good time since our temperatures are slated to be in the low to mid-90’sF next week. But like my Mum always says, we’ll take that moisture.
Wilson: Besides the news about receiving rain, Mum has a new critter obsession now. We’ve know about this critter appearing in our area because we’ve seen evidence of him but had never actually seen one in person. Well that’s history now. Meet our newest critter in the ‘Hood. He is unnamed as of now so I’m asking for your help in suggesting a name for him since Mum can’t decide. Let me just say she is over the moon giddy about running into him a couple of mornings since last week. She couldn’t capture any good photos since she didn’t have her big camera with her and whenever she did, we didn’t see him but she’s been researching about beavers nonstop. Can you imagine being replaced as the love of her life by…{gasp}…a…rodent??
The Mum: You are not being replaced, let me reassure you. It’s just I’ve never seen a beaver before in real life and I certainly never expected to see one in the city. This is monumental so I’ve been trying to find out about this fella. Did you know that beavers are the second largest rodent (behind capybaras) in the world and weigh up to 110 lb (50 kg)? With their stout bodies, large heads and those famous chisel-like incisors, beavers have brown or gray fur, with hand-like front feet, webbed back feet. Their tails that are flat and scaly and are used as a rudder as well as a alarm system when they slap it on the surface of water. Beavers can be found in a number of freshwater habitats and typically eat tree bark, aquatic plants, grasses and sedges. They are considered a keystone species because their damn and lodge building activities create wetlands that are used by many other species.
Wilson: {with his paw against his forehead} I can’t believe I’m being replaced by a rodent. This is just humiliating…
The Mum: {interrupting} Let me assure you that you are not being replaced. But seeing one of these guys is pretty monumental. They’re nocturnal you know.
Wilson: Well we do practically take our morning walks in the dark so I guess that makes sense…
The Mum: Oh for heaven’s sake…stop being so hyperbolic. We walk early to avoid the heat…seeing that beaver was a bonus-just like that day we ran into the coyote pup. Did you know their eyes, ears and nostrils are arranged so that they can remain above water while the rest of the body is submerged and their nostrils and ears have valves that close underwater? They also have a translucent third eye membrane that covers their eyes when they are submerged. Isn’t that cool?
Wilson: {harumph} Big deal. They can’t cuddle with you like I do.
The Mum: No, you’re right about that…for which I’m grateful. You’re still my favorite pet, so don’t worry. But I will always want to better capture that guy in a photo. You’re still my bestest floof.
Wilson: Well I guess I feel better about that declaration. Thank you for that. Now that you’ve pledged your undying love for a rodent, how about I share some other slices of nature we encountered this week?
The Mum: I did not pledge undying love for a rodent but I’d love to see what else you have today.
Wilson: Just to prove we do walk in the middle of the night at dawn, here’s a beautiful sunrise we encountered a couple of days ago.
The Mum: That was a pretty spectacular sunrise through the coyote habitat.
Wilson: Umm, meh…I’d have been happy sleeping in but whatever.
The Mum: Oh come on…you love the cool mornings as much as I do. What else do you have?
Wilson: You’re right, I do like the cool mornings because I know it’ll be hotter later. The wildflowers are lovely. With the blanket flower (Gaillardia) a kind of chamomile is blooming with them.
The Mum: To show how hot and dry it’s been, look at this rye grass. Crispy-crunchy.
Wilson: I’ve noticed gladiolus are starting to bloom and there are some real beauties in the neighborhood adjacent to the golf course. Just look at these babies.
The Mum: They really are pretty. I’ve always thought those “sword lilies” are quite showy and this house has a gorgeous selection. They do tend to flop over so I’ve never planted any in favor of other plants that stay upright without support like these gorgeous lilies.
Wilson: Well that’s all I have this week. We hope you have a terrific weekend and don’t fry in the heat that is set to return. Mum is helping the rescue out tomorrow at the annual Denver Dog Fair. This is one of the best public events for dog rescues. They find homes for so many dogs and there are vendors selling everything you can imagine associated with owning a dog. I’ll be happily snoozing on the sofa (don’t tell Mum) while she’ll be dealing with crowds, parking and all the things I wouldn’t enjoy. What are your plans? What ever you do, we hope you can find some time to get out and enjoy what Nature shares with us. And don’t forget to suggest a name for the rodent. I was thinking of Theodore like that Leave It To Beaver kid or Norbert, a famous beaver who lived at the Detroit Zoo. What do you think? I have no doubt that if Mum has anything to do with it, she’ll be sharing more photos of he who is to be named. Sigh. Have a wonderful weekend!
Live, love, bark! 🐾
We saw critters like that in the creek along the trail too! Thought maybe muskrats because they seemed small, but it is hard to see them well. I loved it when their face fur was all fluffy when dry, LOL!
I can so understand your thrill at seeing the beaver. A few years ago, we had one in the manmade lake… I took a bunch of pics and videos of it as it sat on its tail grooming… https://www.instagram.com/p/CW3tlPzv9r4/?img_index=1
I hope you do manage to capture the otter on film, too!
And yay for the rain! Not much but it’s better than nothing, right?
Have a marvellous weekend, you two 🙂
Always great photos, but I love the rye grass one especially. Topaz, Aggie, and Frankie and I will be at an adoption event tomorrow. Paws crossed for us and for you and all the rescues!
Thanks, we think that rye grass is pretty cool. It was gorgeous when it was green but looks pretty cool all dried out too-I love the texture. The dog fair is the best event around the metro area and they managed to place loads of pets in fur-ever homes last year so we’re optimistic. Plus they have great resources like vets, pet photographers, dog trainers, behaviorists and jillions of vendors selling some of the coolest collars, leashes, clothes and treats. It’s extremely well run and we like that the organizers truly have their act together. Too many of the others just aren’t as well organized even if their hearts are in the right place. Good luck to you at your adoption event. Have a great weekend!
We got an inch or so of driving rain the other day too and now we will have high humidity and upper 90’s starting Sunday for a while…yuck! Glad you got some rain finally. As for the beaver, Mom loves them but we want to catch them. Solution? We eat raw and one place we order from has beaver which we get now and then. Nelson isn’t to thrilled with it but Bailie and I love it. So you could order some to eat and take your frustrations about being replaced out that way? Have a fun weekend!
You have our deepest sympathies. High temps are one thing but add humidity to that and ugh…it’s miserable. I may have to have mum look for a source to get beaver but I know she hasn’t seen any yet. Maybe Chewy’s? We’ll check it out. I’ll eat pretty much anything. I know Mum won’t replace me with a rodent but you should have seen her excitement. We hope you have a fantastic weekend.
I am so happy you got some rain! Did it rain or snow in the mountains?
How fun to see a beaver! How about Barry Beaver for a name? 🙂
We were thrilled! Some of the higher foothills received significant rain (Evergreen and Kittredge received as much as 6″ of rain in a 2-hour period which caused some flooding and debris). Mum was beside herself when she saw the beaver and actually considered calling him Barry. It was a very exciting moment. Have a lovely weekend.
Your fur-iend,
Wilson 🐾
Whatever you do, do not buy a cuddly soft toy beaver for Wilson…
Ha! “Wilson: {with his paw against his forehead} “–I always enjoy these conversations.
Thanks, Jacqui. So glad you like our weekly conversations. Have a fantastic weekend.
I’ll vote for Cleaver, for the obvious reasons. That doggie fair looks a great time…have fun and good luck getting those adoptions!
Thanks, Tom & Reiko. We liked Cleaver too. That dog fair is one of the best we’ve been to-the organizers are pros and run a great event. With over 20 rescues, tons of dogs were adopted last year and you simply can’t beat the selection of everything you could possibly need or want for your dog. It’ll be a great event. Have a terrific weekend.
ooh this guy… the mama said she would love to swim now too…. you have gladiolas? wow… we get them in august… mother nature has a special calendar this year ;o)
Special calendar indeed. Like everything else in the garden this year, they seem early to us too. But they sure are pretty. We hope you have a great weekend!