A snowpack that is 150% more than “normal” and a wet spring have filled Montana’s rivers, streams and lakes to the brim and in some places to overflowing.

And instead of their normal blue-green color and clarity that allows seeing down into the water four to six feet…the water in rivers and streams and even the lake shore is a muddy brown from the fast flow that is eroding shorelines as it careens down from the mountain tops.

Fortunately, this Spring has also been cool so the snowpack has been melting at a slow enough pace that flooding has been minimal most places. And I’ll take the cool! I LOVE the cool. It can continue until Fall for me :)!

And hopefully, with all of the moisture falling from the sky and the remaining snowpack to melt, there will be enough moisture in the wilderness areas to make our fire season another mild one.

As I was looking at the muddy water, I noticed something swimming…not an otter…

…a beaver…a LARGE beaver! I’ve seen evidence of their presence but this is the first time I’ve actually seen one. He looked to be about 5 feet from nose to tail. And not skinny. And not disturbed by Bear or me.