I have family in Canada and visit often, and as I write this I am only five days away from departing again. One of the things I love about Canada is its wildlife. 

I’ve watched chipmunks and squirrels, met a busy groundhog making a den by rearranging the contents of a shed, and a raccoon family raiding a compost bin.

I’ve marvelled at a tiny hummingbird at the feeder and listened to the woodpecker pecking on a nearby tree.

On a walk, we paused trying desperately not to alarm a passing skunk. I was sure I was being lied to about the porcupine that went into a crevice and the otters that were in the pond, which were nowhere in sight when I got there.

But, I have watched a mink nesting in the wall of a marina and have seen so much else. I was delighted to see garter snakes emerging from hibernation in a writhing mass with snow still on the ground – a sight I never imagined I’d personally see.

I’ve also seen water snakes and frogs from the many nature lovers’ boardwalks across marshes. Canada truly is a nature lover’s dream.

While staying at cabins by a lake at Barry’s Bay in Ontario, I saw many of the yet unseen wildlife on my list in the nearby Algonquin Provincial Park.

The highlight for me was not the moose, bear, elk or deer, but the smaller creatures. It was while using one of these kayaks that I had my favourite experience. 

My son and I paddled off across the lake to explore an inlet off the main lake. As we rounded the corner and entered the inlet, there ahead of us swimming across the lake with their tails wrapped around their gathered sticks were two beavers.

The sound of the wildlife and burbling water over rapids in a stream leading into the lake added such an ambience to the whole place.

We watched for what seemed ages, but it could only have been minutes. Eventually the beavers became aware of our presence and with a loud tail slap, disappeared from sight.

I wonder what I will see on this trip.