Now We Have Something Else To Worry About
        Let me explain. I live in Oregon. That's Oregon, not a body part or a musical instrument. It's a nice state. It's called the Beaver State. I guess that at some time there were lots of beavers hanging about, at least before the beaver-hat craze that swept the world and finally died out (no pun intended) around the mid 1800s.
     The beaver has made somewhat of a come back, to the consternation of some folks. The beaver is not universally appreciated. One mid-west Indian tribe that has extensive timber holdings would really rather the beavers went west and settled in Oregon. With all their oneness and appreciation of nature, they have a bounty on the local beavers, mainly because the beavers drown acres and acres of timber. But that's another story.
     Here in Oregon the beavers seem to have an attitude. Right here in Deschutes County two Oregon hikers climbed onto a beaver dam. The beaver came out and assaulted them, according to the hikers, knocking one of them into the river, and scaring the other hiker into somehow getting trapped in a tangle of submerged logs. 
     The first hiker climbed out of the river and then couldn't find his hiking partner. The sheriff's department came out with some rescue volunteers to search for the missing hiker. About the time they got into action, the hiker was able to extricate himself.
     So except for a little trauma everyone is safe and happy, and just maybe a little wiser.
     If you're thinking about visiting Oregon and climbing out on a beaver dam (I can't imagine this being high on anyone's bucket list), I would suggest you knock first and see if it's okay with the beaver. I mean, if your grandfather had been made into a hat you might be a little paranoid also.