Deeper into the forest - beaver pool

Today's activity was a longer walk in the wild forest. I left the path and headed up to a low ridge that I'd had my eye on for a while. The wide top of the ridge is too rocky for thick forest, largely moss on rocks (extra) which makes it easy to walk on. However, today there were some heavy showers blowing past so I had to keep skipping of the top and down into the forest for shelter when these short-lived heavy showers struck. 
It was at this border between the thick forest and the rocky ridge I found some nice examples of Cladonia lichen, either Cladonia cristatella or Cladonia pleurota (extra). These are tiny objects, made visible by their red tops. The bilberry leaves in the picture provide scale.
Just off the ridge the ground was very marshy, not easy going.
As I reached the end of the ridge I found a small path leading in the direction I wanted to go. I wasn't sure where it would join the forestry track we often walk on, but it arrived at the marsh / lake above the big beaver dam (extra). In fact the path disappeared into the water (extra), which shows how successfully the beavers have dammed the stream.
The main picture shows the pool behind a new dam built downstream of the old one, which you can see in the distance. A short way downstream yet another dam is appearing and the place I usually jump across the stream was flooded, but below the third dam I could just step across using a single stepping stone.
Some days you have to work to get one photo, other days are so photogenic you end up with a cluster. Such was today!
(Tomorrow's blip features more beaver sign, and a blipper.)