A new species sighting!

Otters, originally uploaded by jahansell.

At first I thought these were beavers, which I've often seen in ponds around Sharon, though never this one. But they were too small and swift and when they dove there was no flip of a giant tail. So I conclude that they are otters MUSKRATS! Thanks, Anonymous!, which I"ve heard are around but have never seen. This pair was chasing each other around Mudge Pond (aka Silver Lake, aka Crystal Lake, right, Rick?) on Sunday morning.

Having been corrected, I did some quick research on Muskrats (with that old song - is it by Captain and Tenille? going through my head...muskrat, muskrat, candlelight, doing the town and doing it right...) ... and found, among other things, muskrat recipes. Let me know if you are interested.