Mike Digout is still working away filming beavers in the morning. Sometimes I’m painfully envious. but sometimes I’m sorry for him that he doesn’t get to sleep in like us. It’s wonderful to see a free beaver doing what he does best, not in a zoo and not trapped in a cage. Enjoy.

In this video from June, I had a ground-level view to film ChewBarka as he snacked on leaves. The area that I filmed this video is now under water, as the river has risen by almost a metre since then. Now Chewbarka swims through this area to find food. It’s a bonus for him, but it throws a wrench at my beaver hobby.

I have a few beaver accomplishments of which I am very proud. The first of course is actually doing enough arguing, hand-shaking and persuading to prevent the beavers in Martinez from being killed or shipped off to Plumas in a cage. But one of the most recent is this one: The concept, creation and slogging effort towards execution that became the California Beaver Summit in 2021. I truly believe that it became the seed that grew into a new beaver world in California.

HAPPY FOURTH! I hope you have a safe and happy fourth with loved ones. Whether you spend the day with parades and fireworks or by the lake with a barbecue. Don’t forget to take the pledge.

Emily Fairfax’s recent drone video of Colorado makes it abundantly clear what is meant by REFUGIA. Look closely at both sides of the canyon.

Sorry for yesterday’s omission, there was a family emergency and it required lots of attention and lots of waiting to pay attention, so beavers paid the price. The good news is that everything is fine and I was able to focus like a distracted zombie on this for my pollinator grant.