Visible from space,
the world’s largest dam
measures more than seven football fields.
Constructed over generations,
the dam holds back run off
from Canada’s Birch Mountains.
Shaped in an arc,
the dam is composed
of connected arches.
Through brutal cold,
blizzards of snow,
the force of gravity,
the dam remains.
In 1978,
beavers returned
to a patch of woods
in Fairfax, Virginia.
Setting to work,
the builders began
to shape a wetland.
Today’s massive ecosystem
owes it origins
to those first beavers —
red-shouldered hawks, barred owls,
coyote, fox,
tree frogs, ribbon snakes,
marbled salamanders,
belted kingfisher,
yellow crowned night herons.
This morning
I watched a lone beaver
leave his lodge,
floating on the surface
of a warming pond.
Sixty degrees
appears tempting,
even for a nocturnal creature.
Evidence of spring
dots the margins of the wetland —
robins, frogs,
and freshly felled trees.
Soon,
the beaver will be joined
by family members
who swam the pond
last spring,
ready to repair and renew.
A Reading Life 
Two purposeful dams – so much detailed description here. Such vivid word pictures of the animal life that abounds.
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This is a lovely ode to the persistence and patience needed in our world today. Beautiful.
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I love the details in this slice, Beth!
My favorite part was:
Evidence of spring
dots the margins of the wetland
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Beavers, huh? I never see beavers! That’s cool. For me, spring is sprung when I hear the peepers.
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There’s a beaver dam visible from space?!? Amazing.
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I can’t help but think of Mr. and Mrs. Beaver in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Yes, fantastical stewards, but nonetheless they too were caretakers. If I met a beaver along the bank of a pond, I’m certain they would strike up a conversation and invite me back to their damn for a cuppa. Loved learning about the size, scope and significance of the generational beaver dams.
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I love learning new trivia from your slices- outer space?!? Love the alliteration in your last line.
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