Dog on Thin Ice

We were back to the beaver hunt today. I'd seen a few signs of beavers but had they really returned, or were they just passing through?
Today Rusty and I explored the stream more carefully. The first thing we found was a new dam. We never actually saw that first dam but here there would just be a small stream if it wasn't for the hidden dam. Instead there is a large, if shallow pool.  We couldn't get to the dam because it had blocked the stream which then flowed out on both sides creating a soggy marsh. If I want to see that dam I'll have to wait till everything freezes really hard, or until next summer when the water is warm and it doesn't matter if I get wet feet.
Talking of wet feet, I did wonder about Rusty just wandering out onto the ice but it's very shallow here so I'm fairly sure he could get out if the ice broke. If he couldn't I was absolutely sure I could just wade out and grab him, because nowhere here is deeper than a meter. However, the ice held and neither of us got wet feet.
In the extra you can see a second dam, further downstream. It's often hard to get a sense of the size of these things but fortunately Rusty was around and made a fine model.  It was really dark when I took the extra and it needed a long exposure so it's not a photo I'm so proud of, but as a record shot it'll do.