Yesterday, after shedding my coat outdoors for the first time this year, I set out for home during the Cold Lake/Bonnyville Highway 28 rush hour. I was enjoying the warmth and sunshine, and was smiling as I glanced at the snow-free fields and maneuvered in the traffic. I had just passed the large sailboat signs when I spotted two large black objects moving across the road. Thinking, “What in the heck are those?” I braked as I watched the truck in the oncoming lane struggling to stop in time.
As I got closer, I saw what appeared to be two huge, fat, water-soaked, angry and confused rats crossing from a pond on the east side of the highway to a watery ditch on the west side. Then it dawned: those are beavers! In all my years of rural living in the Lakeland and elsewhere, I had never seen beavers outside of a zoo.
Now I was struggling to avoid hitting them, as much (I confess) not to damage my car as not to kill the local wildlife. They made it safely across, and we drivers carried on down the road. Then I laughed out loud as I spotted a prominent highway sign: “Beaver Crossing,” pointing eastward to the old Beaver River Hudson's Bay post.
With an apology to my farmer neighbours, who have to contend with beavers flooding their fields and cutting their trees, I am still glad that the national symbol of Canada is still flourishing, though they didn't look nearly as regal as they do on the Canadian nickel.
After seeing an amazing visual pun and feeling renewed confidence that spring is actually going to happen this year in the Great White North, I went to bed happy last night.
Marilynne Lambert
Bonnyville MD Resident
