WALKING ON "WATER"!
Winter affords us some interesting opportunities to explore places we might not see otherwise. Right now, here in Maine, we are locked in a pattern of consecutive days of well below freezing. We are able to walk on our ponds and marshes to examine the plants and animal activity. This week, I walked on the Lily Pond again to check on the beaver, and have to admit to being quite concerned for its livelihood. The lodge was sealed over with snow and ice, and I could not find any signs of broken surface ice. I worry that the vent in the roof of the lodge is closed off, and the animal may be in trouble. I decided to go to the wetlands on the way to Sprague Pond to see how the beaver lodge looked there. In contrast, this lodge looked as if there were air passages in the top. You will also notice that in the absence of an opening in the ice near the lodge, there were sticks (see on the left) that could be retrieved for food. I am just wondering how long beavers can survive when locked inside a lodge for days on end. I may have to go back and poke some holes in the Lily Pond's beaver lodge's ceiling.

Those of you who have been to Sprague Pond, know that you have to cross over a walkway behind the dam that beavers have built (probably the ones inside that lodge). The dam is frozen solid with no openings in the ice, though I could hear water trickling underneath the walkway. It is just a whole new world out there! I did read that beavers can survive a couple of weeks when iced in. I also learned that sometimes where there is a dam, the beavers will make holes to allow the water level to lower leaving an air space for breathing under the ice!

I did enjoy the new adventure of walking over this wetland. There are many patches of Leatherleaf, the darker, almost reddish low growing plant you see in the picture above. I also saw this growing in smaller numbers when walking on the Lily Pond. Leatherleaf if a beautiful plant that retains its foliage through the winter. Its branches arch, with the leaves becoming smaller near the tip. I found some plants with remnants of its bell shaped flowers. (See below).
Ironically, the only tracks I observed on this frozen wetland were those of snowshoes that preceded me. I also saw tracks of a vehicle that traversed over the ice. To be truthful, the wind was blowing, and all tracks - even mine - were subject to erasure. I did see some faint deer tracks and read that those animals may browse on Leatherleaf.

You're probably not surprised to learn that I went back into the Cattail Marsh to look again for Red-winged Blackbird nests. Again, the frozen conditions made that possible. This time, I was with a friend and she pointed out something I hadn't seen - a muskrat lodge, there in one of the open areas. Unlike the beaver, the muskrat uses softer materials such as the cattails themselves. Their construction is smaller, but provides winter comfort and protection for these resident rodents. I still haven't found the sought after nest, but this winter isn't over! 2/19/07 Ronnie - walking on water!