Muskrat Ramblings and Turtle Tales

Yes, we have muskrats in the river at the bottom of our land. The total count of river inhabitants includes otters, beavers, muskrats, raccoons (part-time), turtles (sliders & snapping), fishes (including an endangered species and gars). Lots of birds use the river, for hunting, fishing, eating, or as a flyway; crayfish, clams, snakes, myriad insects, and probably lots of other things live in the river. We are amazingly fortunate to have a barely-disturbed and very beautiful section of the river to ourselves. The numbers of times I have seen another human being down by the river can be counted on the fingers of one hand, probably because the river is barely navigable most of the time, which pretty well eliminates motor boats and most human-propelled boats.

“Having” muskrats and seeing them is something else again. Today was the first time I saw one, though I knew we had muskrats. If they weren’t so much smaller, you could mistake our muskrats for beavers when you see them just swimming along, head slightly up out of the water. Then they dive and the narrow, muscular tail of the muskrat comes up out of the water & there is no question what you are seeing. That is no baby beaver. It is an adult muskrat, sleek and totally at home in the water.

Even though I pride myself on being a good natural historian, I am always seeing something different. Our river, aptly named the Rocky River, is very rocky. Rocks that stick up out of the water make a great habitat for many creatures. The uneven river bottom makes for a patchy, complex habitat. Until we moved here, I didn’t know that turtles lie on top of each other on top of rocks, to sunbathe. I have seen as many as four stacked one on top of the other, and two is quite common. Today I saw two turtles swimming, with the littler one still on the back of the bigger one. A swimming turtle usually looks like a little black periscope (turtle head and neck) sticking out of the water, unless they are swimming high enough that their domed back also breaks the water’s surface. This time there were TWO heads, pretty much side by side. What is that about? I don’t know. I have never felt turtles were very social animals – I don’t get a lot of recognition or feedback from turtles, not like I do from mammals – but these sliders obviously like being together.

There is an old joke that Natural History magazine used to use in one of its ads. An atheistic professor asks a somewhat daffy old lady asked about her view of the Earth and its place in the universe.

“Why that’s simple, Professor,” she says gently. “The earth is dirt that rests on the back of a giant turtle.”

“But what support the giant turtle?” he asks, thinking himself clever to see the flaw in her lunatic idea.

“Another turtle,” she replies serenely.

“And under that turtle?” he persists.

“It’s no use, Professor,” she replies, shaking her head a little a bit sadly. “It’s turtles all the way down.”

Which is not only amusing, but true to turtle nature – and a good reminder that arguing religion is often a fruitless task.

How much better simply to see, wonder, and enjoy. It IS turtles all the way down. Muskrats are like mini-beavers with defective tails. Beavers really do slap their tails in alarm. An alarm may be raised when they see a human sitting on the riverbank. (I am too embarrassed to say how many times this happened before I figured out what that loud PLOP was!). Otters love to play and seem full of joy.

Humans are better off with some peace and solitude and time to look around. It doesn’t pay the mortgage, feed the children, or reform medical care. But that little bit of time might actually have something to do with promoting world peace, or even just a little peace and thoughtful kindness in my tiny corner of the world. Richard Louv, in his book THE LAST CHILD IN THE WOODS, says that modern, Western humans suffer from “nature-deficit disorder” and I think he is right in many cases.

I counted the wildflowers currently in bloom on the way to the river today. There are two yellow ones – one is a buttercup, the other a no-name – some pinks, mint vine with wonderful purple flowers, some little blue stars, and one white unknown flower. Six! Isn’t that wonderful? And in a few days, there will be others, too. How could I overlook this?

Make some time, even fifteen minutes even few days, to look around and think about the lives of the other inhabitants of our earth. What is turtle nature – otter nature – her
on nature? What do we owe to wild plants or muskrats? How can we pay our debt for the beauty, joy, and diversity they bring us? Noticing is the least we can do.