I’m going to change the scene up a bit….. It was the day before we had the big snowstorm, that’s still continuing today, and the adventure went a little something like this:
My wife and I were in my favorite spot, right next to the city of Kelly, and we happened to drive by a majestic steaming creek. Or, perhaps it was a spring, as its naturally warm water had steam gently rising from it; against the contrasting cold atmosphere.
As we were taking in the beauty of it all, my wife noticed a muskrat swimming through the crystal clear waters.
At first we thought it was a small otter, but we were corrected and told it was a muskrat.
So that means I still get to photograph an otter!
Due to the steam that was being emitted from the river, I had to get up close and personal to get a crisp photo. This made things even harder because this guy would scramble off at any movement. It was very perceptive to any subtle sound, even a car driving by.
So I built a snow barrier between me and muskrat so that he could not see me, even though he was looking right at me in this photo.
Every time I hit the shutter on my camera he could hear it and scurry right back into his home.
Finally I got a shot in!
The muskrat is a large rodent that is about a foot to two feet long. It has a stocky body, a rounded head and a long, scaly black tail that is 7 to 12 inches long. Its tail is laterally flattened, that means it is flattened vertically! Its tail works like a rudder and helps the muskrat maneuver in the water!
