I was walking along the wetland recently, looking for beaver, or better yet, mink, that a friend of mine had spotted. My efforts were pretty half-hearted — it was ten in the morning — long after any self-respecting beaver would be denned up. But I was having a difficult day, and needed a distraction.

And soon, I was rewarded …

This guy silently swam across the creek, barely leaving a wake.

It was a treat to watch the beaver nibbling on vegetation.

Well … no.

As the water critter dove, I got a great shot of it’s tail — naked, like a beaver’s. But definitely not flat.

So this was a muskrat.

I was disappointed. But only a little, as a second muskrat came out to socialize. Evidently they live in large social groups, so there might have been more.

I’d never seen muskrat before, and the more I watched, the more I enjoyed their placid paddling around from one batch of cattails to the next. They were going about their business, not bothering anybody. They were soothing.

So I guess this encounter was kinda a metaphor for much of life — still helpful, but not exactly in the way you wanted.

I’m more upbeat than I was when I started walking along the wetlands.

But I still want to see the beaver.