A Ruffed Grouse and Beaver Tree Cutting

sterday, Tuesday, while driving along the Branch Road, my husband was driving, I saw a ruffed Grouse feeding on the roadside shoulder, and I said to my husband, "Let's turn and go back to see if we can find it."  ( I wanted to take its picture.  He found a rain filled entrance to an old logging road , and as the truck got turned after a stalled motor, we were on our way returning back the way we had come.  I was scanning the opposite roadside for grouse, despairing that we wouldn't find it again.  My husband spied some fallen trees and roadside waterfilled ditches.  Then
he sighted a tall tree, with a notched ( gnawed base line.  Aha! Beavers had been at work!  what an amazing skill and accuracy these beavers have. their work is rather beautiful in their destruction.  I wonder how many nights work these beavers have ahead of them befpore this tree falls? I shall follow up on this location to see what success these industrious creatures have with their tree cutting and logging.
so We admired the beaver's work and took a couple of pictures, before we moved on , up the highway when I suddenly called, "Stop" , to my husband, for there ahead of us  on the highway was the Ruffed Grouse,  whose sighting had been the purpose of our redirection.
The Grouse

was wary of our moving vehicle and did not stop and pose for my camera.  It acted in a shy manner and in a few seconds flew across the highway to escape from our attentions.


Wednesday update of Beaver notched tree:

Still standing: