Don’t Be a Stick in the Mud! Build on Your Dreams

The Beaver is a large semi-aquatic mammal that is native to North America and northern Eurasia. It is Canada’s largest rodent and the second-largest rodent in the world. A beaver is primarily nocturnal and has a very broad tail.  It is a herbivorous mammal and is known for its habit of gnawing through tree trunks to fell the trees in order to feed on the bark, build dams, canals and homes called lodges. 

A beaver colony is created by building one or more beaver dams, which provide still and deep water for protection against its predators. There are no special names for the male or female beaver, but their babies are called kits.

The beaver had a huge impact on Canadian history and exploration.  As a result it is an emblem of Canada. After the early European explorers realized that Canada was not the spice-rich Orient, the beaver became the main profit-making attraction.  The fashion of the day in the late 1600s and early 1700s was fur hats which needed beaver pelts.

King Henry IV of France saw the fur trade as an opportunity to acquire revenue and to establish a North American empire.  Soon both English and French fur traders were selling beaver pelts in Europe.  Beaver pelts proved so profitable that many people and companies included the beaver in their coat of arms. Sir William Alexander was granted title to Nova Scotia in 1621 and he was the first to include the beaver in a coat of arms. The Hudson’s Bay Company put four beavers on the shield of its coat of arms in 1678. The Canadian Pacific Railway company still includes the beaver on its crest today. 

By the mid-19th century the beaver was close to extinction.  Before the start of the fur trade there were an estimated six million beavers in Canada.  During the peak of the fur trade, 100,000 pelts were being shipped to Europe each year. Luckily for the beaver, Europeans took a liking to silk hats and the demand for beaver pelts all but disappeared. Thanks to conservation and silk hats, the beaver is alive and well all over Canada today.

Beavers weigh 16-35 kg and measure up to 1.3 m from snout to paddled tail. Their body is covered with dark, reddish brown fur. Oil is secreted by two glands that the beaver applies to waterproof its fur. After swimming under water for six or seven minutes the beaver is not wet to the skin.

The beaver’s tail has important uses both in the water and on land.  In water it acts as a propeller and on land the tail acts as a prop.  The tail is flexible and muscular.  The beaver uses its tail as a rudder for swimming and on land the tail props up a sitting or standing beaver. 

The beaver’s large webbed hind feet are powerful paddles for swimming. Their eyes are small and they have transparent membranes which can be drawn across the eyeball.  This enables the beaver to see while under water.  Their nostrils and ear openings have valves that can be closed when under water.

There are structural adaptations in the back of their mouth that prevent water getting into the lungs.  These adaptations enable the beaver to gnaw on or carry branches while submerged. The beaver has strong teeth. Its incisors never stop growing and the upper and lower incisors are ground against each other keeping the edges sharp.

Beavers mate for life.  Breeding takes place in January or February and after three and a half months, two to four young are born.  Each beaver colony is made up of two parental adults, the yearlings born the previous year, and the newborn kits.  Just prior to the birth of the young, the two-year-olds are forced to leave the parental colony and create their own proper lodge and dam. Beavers may live up to 12 years in the wild. 

These are the sayings on the bookmark called Advice from a Beaver.

• Keep busy

• Be constructive

• Chew your food well

• Work together

• Be eager

• Build on your dreams

• Don’t be a stick in the mud!

Here are my comments about each of these sayings.

• Keep busy - reminds me of the phrase ‘as busy as a beaver’

• Be constructive - Be encouraging.  Do and say positive things.  A beaver is always building things.

• Chew your food well - It is important to chew your food well. Chewing is the first step in digestion. By breaking down large food particles into smaller fragments, it helps the stomach to process food.   

• Work together - Teamwork - Together Everyone Achieves More.

• Be eager - Be enthusiastic.

• Build on your dreams - God made you just as you are.  Ask God for wisdom and ask Him to help you fulfill the dreams He has planted in your heart.

• Don’t be a stick in the mud! - Don’t be a person who is unwilling to participate.  A stick in the mud resists change. 

Have a great day everyone.  Don’t be a stick in the Mud! Build on your dreams.

# living life abundantly  # published author  # travelling tuesdays