Muskrat: "First Winter Approaches"
You say the lake will be frozen how long?!
(Muskrat - photo by Neil Barker - November 2023)
A cold overcast morning on the only lake you have known.
Your first Autumn is fading as a deeper cold approaches.
You sense this cold is different, and feel the need to prepare.
I took this photo in late November 2023. This was one of the 3 Muskrats I saw eating and talked about in my earlier post Muskrats: "Preparing for Winter."
I’d never really stopped and watched Muskrats before. I’d seen them mostly swimming in lakes and rivers and mentally checked a box after identifying them. On this day though, I spent some time just sitting, watching, and learning how they went about their day.
I was fortunate on that day to see 3 of them. Judging by their size and behaviour, they appear to be siblings. Several weeks before I saw a larger Muskrat that could be a parent to these 3 juveniles. Here is my post on that adult: Muskrat: "Onshore Breakfast"
So cool! This muskrat portrait is so lovely, with all the silvery background and his peaceful expression. I image muskrats are fairly underrated - I don't often hear them top-of-list for wildlife viewing, but they are really so precious!