A Walk To the Big Pond and back by the Burnieshed Path

Yesterday evening was cold with a sharp northerly wind. Still, we went out to walk by the Big Pond, where we saw three beavers - a dark one, perhaps one of the original sisters, or a descendant. A lighter one was grazing on the sedge by her. After a while this one slid into the water and we could see her nostrils flared as she scented our presence. However, she didn't splash her tail and we walked on.

I wanted to walk to the further corner of what was the Curling Pond, where there is a lot of bog bean (Menyanthes trifoliata) to see if it was coming into flower yet. As we approached I saw a turbulence in the water and watched as another beaver swam out of sight.

The bog bean looked a bit held back by the cold and so we turned to cross the fence of the enclosure and make our way over to the Burnieshed Burn.

A heron landed and watched for prey for a while, but took off when I moved too quickly. Some trouts jumped for insects and we walked back to the house.

Looking back at my post of 2nd May, I must retract the 'never' from the lack of grazing on the reed canary grass. There are signs that it is being grazed, though very little by beavers. Sheep in the neighbouring rough pasture, on the other hand, do seem to be grazing it - perhaps they enjoy the high. I have to retract also my identification of the sweet grass. I am not sure that it is Glyceria maxima. I guess it is Glyceria sp.