Beaver Country

A slightly frosty morning and then a fine sunny day with very little cloud or wind.  This felt like a day to take the e-bike out again. I looked at the map for a destination and found a small hut at the end of a forestry road, near the top of a hill, about 9 km away from home.  There looked to be a lot of uphill in the final km or so, but that's why I have the electric help, providing me effectively with an extra gear or two.  As a bonus I would pass through Brunnäsbodarna, the summer farm area of Brunnäs, a nearby village where our friend Ann lives. I'd never been to this particular bit of forest before. 
So that’s where I went. The day had grown warmer by the time I got going and it was really lovely cycling along. I’d decided this was a trip where I’d let the motor take the strain so when I came to any sort of uphill I clicked on the motor, and as the hill grew steeper I took it up from “eco” to “normal” to “high”. I was still working fairly hard on the steepest bits but fortunately the gravel/sand was fairly solid. Up at the top was a tiny cabin, placed there by the local hunting club but open to all, with a friendly notice asking anyone who lit the stove to take care, and to make sure there was kindling left in place for the next person who needed it. (extra - note the interesting stool by my front wheel.) Rather than using the stove I was eating my frugal picnic outside at the table in the sun.
On the way home I took a slightly different route, bringing me to the disused railway, where we sometimes ski in winter. There’s a trestle bridge across the stream, just like in the old Western films, and as you walk across it you can see between the sleepers to the water 6 meters below. Since I was last here there is also a large beaver dam creating the lovely pool presently reflecting the blue sky - a definite blip I thought. I reckon these beavers are far enough into the forest that no-one is going to worry about them, so hopefully they can live their busy, ecologically beneficial lives in peace.
Hmmm…. If I was to sit quietly on the bridge above them they probably wouldn’t notice me. Idea for a future blip…