Wednesday 8 January 2014

Back to the Wet Wood at Bamff


After such a long absence it is hard to know where to start. So far this winter has been very wet and mild. Water levels in the beaver lands are as high as they have been and the animals have been working at their dams. I walked out to the Wet Wood this afternoon and took some photographs.


Here you see a straining post and in the foreground the dam that has been built up and lengthened as far as the recently felled ash tree that you see below.






 Further on I found the canals stretching further into what was an area of birch, planted back in 1992.














This shows as clearly as anywhere one of the reasons for which the beaver was valued by our Stone Age forebears  - all that timber lying ready felled and ready for use as palisades, posts for round houses and crannogs. I hope that Bryony Coles sees this photograph!



The watery world.



A feeding stance.












The pool created by the long dam - all 100 metres of it - or so.



This lodge, the one originally built by Messrs. Dennis and Bantick and Mme. Bantick, has been greatly improved over the 12 years of its occupation. There is a new entrance and the whole edifice has been heavily weather proofed with fresh mud.