Sunday, October 25, 2015

Beaver Art

    I am not the least bit artistic. Art class for me was continuous failure and I got into more trouble in Art class that all others put together. However, I like art and appreciate it. Many blogs I follow have an artistic side to them.

   We have a high population of beavers here. They take down many aspens for their winter supply of food. I've looked at the stumps that are left. I look at them as sculpture. There are many types of bite patterns on the stump. Some beavers gnaw off very large chunks. Others bite deep into the wood. Some seem to have a variety of different bites. Maybe it's more than one beaver gnawing at the tree.

    Now I've always had the idea to take one of the beaver stumps and make it into an art project. I would cut the stump off and then carefully color in each bite mark. Some would be random colors. I could make patterns. I could use the bite marks to make figures in the wood. I've thought of this for a long time but haven't done anything.

    Maybe my old friend Bobby will read this and help me with the project? More than likely he'll just do it for me.

    So the other day when I was out I found some fresh beaver activity and I had to take some photos.





33 comments:

  1. Good ideas Red...very artistic thought! :)

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    1. I might have the thought but not the hands that can achieve the idea!

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  2. It is nice to hear from you that you have a good taste in art, though you have many difficulties in art classes you have never given up your mind. That is a good attitude. I like that...

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    1. Yes , I like art. I tour art galleries whenever I can.

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  3. They can sure whittle away fast. I will look forward to your sculpture.

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    1. They are surprisingly fast. Now don't wait too long. I am long on ideas but short on output.

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  4. They are real distroyers of a tree, amazing they can cut this into two halves.

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    1. Yes they are a nuisance at times. The dams are a nuisance when they flood roads.

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  5. Brilliant idea! I love the pretty chips that fall as well as the bit marks. The last one is the finest one, to me. :-)

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    1. I've seen hundreds of these over the years and always thought what if we colored the bite marks.

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  6. This sounds like a fun project! I have some wood carving tools. I took it up, until I cut myself about a week into my project. Haven't picked them up again!

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    1. Well, I have ideas but rarely get anything done. Yes, wood cutting tools are very sharp so I imagine a cut would deter you from continuing.

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  7. Beavers are really such formidable critters, and so vital to an ecosystem.

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    1. Beavers can be a nuisance. They are well liked in town as people like to watch them in the evenings.

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  8. Now, you should collect those wood chips for the duck boxes...! ;-)

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  9. Busy little biters, aren't they? I think I see a lying-down bear cub in the last one. :-)

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  10. Beavers must have incredibly strong jaws and teeth to be able to do such things. Instead of sawing a stump off, how about painting it 'in situ'?

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    1. Their teeth grow continuously so the gnawing is one way of keeping the teeth shorter.

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  11. really neat. i think you should try it - like one big crayola crayon. :)

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    1. Now that's something I never thought of!

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  12. What a fun idea. And just think of the great blog post it will make. ;)

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  13. Beavers are fascinating and industrious creatures.

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    1. there are always beavers in town and they always have an audience.

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  14. That sounds like such a fun and interesting project. It's amazing how powerful these little animals are!

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  15. That's a great idea Red, I would love to see what you could do with one of those beaver stumps. The ones you have are very industrious. When we get out and about we often see a tree that has been felled by the little darlings.

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  16. Beavers do some very impressive work!

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  17. Interesting what beavers can do to a tree trunk! Thanks for stopping by my blog! :)

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  18. It never ceases to amaze me, the way beavers bring down trees!

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  19. I definitely think you should do this art project and show us how it comes out.

    Those are really big trees the beavers brought down. I wonder if it was too heavy for them to carry away and that's why they're still there.

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