Covid-19 Photo Diary Part 2 : The Beaver Lodge

The Covid-19 pandemic has posed innumerable challenges to this wildlife and landscape photographer. Wanderlust is my affliction, yet fear of infection has restricted my movement internationally, nationally, and locally. As such, I have focused much of my energy in capturing the essence of species and places near my home. As April transitioned into May, I spent many mornings at a quiet pond near my home. These beavers and this lodge have been photographic targets in the past, and will continue to be my muse into the future.

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The Beaver Pond

Spring was late to Minnesota this year. The beaver pond and its inhabitants have been a favorite photographic muse since 2015, and with the average temperatures rising annually throughout the decade, my accessibility to the beavers has been as early as March 14. Since the 2018 winter followed past climatic patterns, I assumed that I'd be photographing these little engineers in March once again. Because unpredictability is the only predictable assumption one can now make about weather this century, it should be no surprise that my spring intentions ran contradictory to expectation. The unseasonably warm winter was followed by a heavy April snowfall and chilly cold conditions. As a result, I was not able to photograph the beavers until mid-May. During my second visit to the pond, I witnessed with a cornucopia of wildlife and accelerated spring behaviors that included migratory birds, a newborn fawn, mating beavers, and a rather hasty raccoon. Although spring was late, all seemed fine with the world on this May morning.

Tree Swallow in Sumac

Nikon D500 + Nikon 200-400mm f4 VR

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©2000-2018 BTLeventhal.com / Bruce & Tamy Leventhal. All rights reserved. No image on this site may be used without permission.