Althouse: The evening swim.

July 3, 2008

The evening swim.

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28 comments:

Mr. Bertram Battersby said...: Whenever my wife makes split pea soup, it always comes out brown, so she has to use food coloring to get it to look green.; 7/3/08, 8:01 PM
XWL said...: Is that a beaver shot?; 7/3/08, 8:22 PM
Meade said...: "Wen you take off de skin of dat leetle mushrat,
An scrape off de musk an forget about dat,
Wat a beautifule fur, mon Dieu! dat is fine,
She sell for two dollar at any ole time."; 7/3/08, 8:37 PM
XWL said...: Meade, you're probably right about it being a muskrat and not a beaver, but then I wouldn't be able to make my Beavis and Butthead like comment and instead would have to make a Captain and Tenille reference, and I so much prefer Beavis and Butthead.; 7/3/08, 8:50 PM
Meade said...: So do I, X.; 7/3/08, 9:03 PM
Anonymous said...: looks like a nutria.

Originally from South America, but brought to New Orleans for their fur.

It looks like they have made it to the Chesapeake Bay and are wrecking havoc with the eco system.

We have a few 10 ponders in the lake near our house, in the big-ish state outlying Louisiana.

…if it’s possible to out lie Louisiana.; 7/3/08, 9:04 PM
Ann Althouse said...: I thought it looked like a muskrat, but there were signs near an electrified fence that said it was there to protect the plants from the beavers that come out at night, so I do think the area was infested with beavers.; 7/3/08, 9:07 PM
Meade said...: Then it probably is a beaver. But muskrats often go where beaver go - fetid swamps, cesspools, Captain and Tenille concerts.; 7/3/08, 9:35 PM
George M. Spencer said...: Groundhog!?

(Same as a woodchuck.)

I've seen three in the past year. Lovely mink-like coat.

I think they're good luck.; 7/3/08, 9:47 PM
Anonymous said...: They key to identification is the tail, obviously. Beaver has that great cricket bat tail.

I doubted that nutrias were that far north, but then I was surprised to see that the MD dept of conservation was fighting them.

Yeah. Probably beaver.; 7/3/08, 10:55 PM
Ann Althouse said...: I have several pics and can't see the tail in any of them.; 7/3/08, 11:30 PM
Beth said...: Yankee nutrias? What the heck?

Those toothy bastards have traveled farther than killer bees.; 7/4/08, 12:39 AM
Ruth Anne Adams said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/4/08, 5:14 AM
Anonymous said...: "I've chewed up much in Concord."
—Henry David Beaver

Here's a photo of the work of beavers near where we live. They don't protect the plants from beavers around here. There used to be a professional trapper in Concord, Mass. to keep them under control. He was practically run out of town on a rail some years ago, because the newer sort of animal lover wouldn't think of hurting a hair on any sentient being, even when said sentient beings are tearing up the woods and flooding the streets.

We saw the evidence of beavers if not the beavers on the day when I took my youngest pond water collecting for his science class. No beavers, but plenty of mosquitoes! They don't spray much around here, either.; 7/4/08, 6:36 AM
ricpic said...: Swimming in my little lake,
How dare you say that I "infest,"
With endless work a dam I make --
Rivrush to critter waterest'.; 7/4/08, 6:43 AM
Meade said...: For all you old tail-chasing beaver eaters.; 7/4/08, 6:46 AM
ricpic said...: Swimming in my little lake,
How dare you say that I "infest,"
With endless work a dam I make --
Riverush to critter meet/dine/rest.; 7/4/08, 7:00 AM
ricpic said...: Swimming in my little lake,
How dare you say that I "infest,"
With endless work a dam I make --
Rivrush to critter meet/dine/rest.; 7/4/08, 7:09 AM
bearbee said...: Seems to have a pointy nose. Beavers have a lovable button nose...

Beaver love-hate relationship

True beaver love; 7/4/08, 7:33 AM
Ann Althouse said...: As you check the snout shape, click to enlarge, and look closely. He's got something in his mouth and the water limits what you see of the head. This may distort the head into a point.; 7/4/08, 8:54 AM
Ann Althouse said...: There's a city in Wisconsin called Beaver Dam:

http://www.cityofbeaverdam.com/; 7/4/08, 8:54 AM
Meade said...: If you look at the other two shots - one titled "critter" - I think you can see that the tail is not flat but rat-like.; 7/4/08, 8:58 AM
Ruth Anne Adams said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/4/08, 9:57 AM
Dr. StrangeGun said...: Jesus! Keep Jimmy away from the water till it's gone! If he sees it he'll have a flashback, and we don't want a dead ex-president on the lawn...; 7/4/08, 1:27 PM
Charlie Martin said...: Not big enough to be a nutria. You can make an entire Thanksgiving out of a nutria. That's more like a couple of sandwiches.; 7/4/08, 2:18 PM
Clioman said...: Muscrat Susie, or Muskrat Sam? Perhaps the difference is in the wriggle?; 7/4/08, 2:26 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Not big enough to be a nutria."

How can you tell how big it is?; 7/4/08, 9:52 PM
Minicapt said...: 1. http://beavertails.ca/index.php

2. http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/canada/beaver-tails.htm

Cheers; 7/4/08, 11:07 PM