Beaver lumber

We have recently discovered beavers on the property.   Consequently, instead of researching Black Friday and Cyber Monday online sales, I’ve been browsing the Internet for information on beavers.   I could be trotting over the stream  and through the woods to visit the beavers myself, but I choose to feign a nap and let John lead the woodland tour. (It’s been a busy weekend and I’m peopled out, ok?)

Here’s a factoid that resonates with me:  beavers build their lodges with underwater entrances.  That means that they can come and go at will, but nobody else can get in!  That is so clever.  I wish my house had that feature.  I have to pretend to be asleep.  I have to deliberately not answer the phone. I have to turn off the lights and hide in the man-cave.  All to no avail because John is out in the driveway luring people inside to taste his venison sausage and liverwurst.

John’s jalapeno venison sausage and his venison liverwurst are worth coming over for.  A visit to our lodge–for those willing to risk a grumpy me–has the bonus of a personal tour of John’s own redneck smoker.  You may have seen, in fancy outdoor and barbecue catalogs, amazingly expensive devices for smoking meats and fish in your very own backyard.  And if you live in a neighborhood with an actual backyard, you probably are required to spend many hundreds of dollars to purchase one of these really cool looking smokers.   But, hey, we live out here in the Hereford Zone and our neighbors are beavers.  The beavers aren’t complaining.  I’m the one who complains.

John's redneck beaver-approved smoker

John knows that he can get away with almost anything if I don’t have to look at it.  He  heads to Home Depot for a galvanized trashcan and some pipe.  A few bucks later, he’s building his smoker and locating it so I can not see it from any window of the house.  His optimism is such that he actually made the sausage first, and then built the smoker.  Well, the daggone thing actually works and his sausage tastes great.

“It’s the best jalapeno venison sausage I’ve ever made,” he quips.

“It’s the only jalapeno venison sausage you’ve ever made,” I retort.

But it really is good.  And what’s more comforting than heading into winter with a supply of sausage and liverwurst? (This is where dear readers are invited to comment…)

post-deluge beaver dam

Back to our little beaver family, so busily gnawing trees and preparing for winter–they have experienced a set-back.  The recent heavy rains washed away a good portion of their dam, not to mention their winter supplies.  Groan…all that work washed away and in need of re-doing.  I feel their pain as I observe the post-Thanksgiving clutter.  Beavers have been known to rebuild a dam overnight.  Alas, it’s going to take me a little longer, especially as I segue from beaver research to Cyber Monday sales.