Fiddle Heads and Beaver Dams

This area was not as 'marshy' as it usually is this time of year. 

Mia, Eliza and I were off in search of fiddle heads. We headed to a spot that we had some success in last year. We walked out into the woods and were greeted by some extremely dry ground. The ‘crunch crunch crunch’ noise under foot was something Mia wasn’t prepared for. Sometimes, she has issues with certain noises. During the late fall season, when the leaves are extra crisp on cool mornings, Mia tries to find parts of the ground that are soft and relatively quiet to walk on. Today though, the only relief from the loud walk was only found in a few puddles here and there, and along the brook bank.

Minor relief from the crunching under foot.

Eliza had never been out looking for fiddle heads before. However, once she was shown what they look like, she was off on a mad hunt to find as many as she could. We came upon several small patches of fiddle heads here and there, but nothing like what was here last year. The lack of snow, and the quick thaw of it in combination with a relatively dry start to the spring season left this normally soggy area the driest I’ve ever seen it.

Mia taking her time walking away from one of the few soft spots.

Despite that fact, it was still fun to get out with the girls, and Mia got to experience more time in the woods off of the trail. Sometimes she gets irritated when we’re meandering  through the woods because she has some issues with proprioception. This is a basic ability that most people have that tells your body where your foot is, where your arm is, what they are doing, and how much effort and strength is being used to make them do what you want them to do. All without really having to think about it. 

Walking off the trail helps her with this. It makes her more aware of her surroundings, and helps her to pay attention to where her feet are being placed, what her head might be near, and that a tree branch could be in the way of her path.

What it that mess?

We headed towards the brook to see if we could find some more fiddle heads. There were a ton of Trilliums around the area waiting to bloom. 

As we walked up the brook, Eliza pointed out a ‘mess of wood in the water’. We walked closer to take a peak at what this mess was all about. As it would turn out, it was a small dam. She looked at me, confused. Why is this dam in the middle of the water?

Well, I told her, it was likely that a beaver built it. “But I thought beavers eat the wood?” I chuckled. I told her that they might eat some parts of the trees, like the bark, but they mostly use the wood for building a home on the water.

“Oh, like a lake house!” Yes, like a lake house. Lol. Mia found a spot on the bank of the brook to watch the water roll through the small dam while Eliza and I discussed other things about beavers, and then Mia made her usual attempt at getting into the water. I let her get as close as she could without getting too deep, as she had her rubber boots on. This made her a happy little girl!

All in all, we did manage to get a couple of small handfuls of fiddle heads, and lots of girl time and learning experiences in the woods!

It's a beaver dam!