 Do you ever wonder why people say busy is a beaver? Well if you've ever been in an area with a beaver pond, the saying makes perfect sense. They're very active animals and their activity is especially apparent in the fall as they prepare for winter. So how do beavers survive the long cold winter? As you know, beavers build dams and streams that create ponds. The lodge and winter food cache are in this newly created area of deeper water. The lodge is about 15 feet in diameter and 4 to 5 feet high. It is constructed of sticks and mud which make it very durable and warm. The lodge has two openings both under water where the beavers enter and exit. This is a survival mechanism to defend themselves against predators. The lodge can house up to four adults and six or eight young beavers. The beavers also need something to eat during the winter so they get busy in the fall and cache food. Willows and sticks are collected from the banks and stacked in the pond. When the water freezes the beavers can still access the pile from below and eat the bark and twigs. Beavers will still go ashore and cut fresh trees as long as they can break through the ice at the edge of the pond. I guess if I had to survive outside in Wyoming I'd become as busy as the beaver making my winter arrangements. From the University of Wyoming Extension, I'm Mae Smith, Exploring the Nature of Wyoming.