the Way of the Turtle

MOONLIGHT & BEAVERS
3.4 Mile Walk on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Thursday, December 16, 2010

Had some errands to run so I decided to head over to the bike path for a walk before heading home. It was a good night for it... cold but not too much so, no wind, and a bright half moon lighting everything up. Clear moonlit nights in the winter can be very, very cool... the snow reflects the light all around, so who needs a headlamp? The snow does make it tough to walk quietly (crunch, crunch, crunch) but most of the time I wasn't trying to sneak up on anything anyways.

When I got back to the park, I stopped and listened to the river for a little bit... and heard chewing noises coming from down by the boat put-in. As I was walking toward the hill I heard the very distinctive splash of a beaver tail in the water, and as I made my way down toward the water as quietly as possibly I watched the dark shapes of three beavers come up out of the water and resume munching away at whatever they were gnawing on. They popped in and out of the water several times as I inched closer, and the light I had with me wasn't strong enough for me to get a clear look at any of them, but it was definitely a trio of beavers.

One thing that really jumped out at me was how much I wanted to run while I was walking down the path... had I been dressed a bit differently I might have gone for it. I think tomorrow after work I definitely have to get out and run a few miles... and then maybe a few more Saturday...

JMH