The Telltale Tail

Is it a beaver or a nutria? Beavers have very large flat tails; nutria tails are more rodent-like. Ergo: nutria. Which are far less likely to evoke excitement than beavers for several reasons: they ARE more rat-like; they aren't native to Oregon; they can cause extensive damage by disturbing farm land and crops and by eroding stream banks. They are a good example of the damage that can occur when non-native species are introduced into an environment. Read more about nutria here.

But I was still excited to see one today on our walk/scoot, because it's something so out of the ordinary for me. Laurie and I decided to visit Commonwealth Lake Park, just west of Portland, a place that musings has blipped about and encouraged me to check out, especially since the accessibility is so good. Just before we left we decided to see if Kendall was available to join us and she was! Ah, spontaneity. We had a lovely time together, walking, scooting, talking, shooting. The sky was blue, the day was warm, we had good company and a place to hang out that was full of wildlife and friendly folk. Sundays don't get much better than that!