Beaver Moon

Up until now I'd never actually known about the Algonquin "beaver moon," but via Alaska Dispatch it appears to be a grounds for a new seasonal celebration:

Full Beaver Moon – November This was the time to set beaver traps before the swamps froze, to ensure a supply of warm winter furs. Another interpretation suggests that the name Full Beaver Moon comes from the fact that the beavers are now actively preparing for winter.

 A touch of antiquity and hat-tip to Anita & the medieval goodness over at Discarding Images:

Castor dicitur a castrando (the beaver’s self-castration):

'There is an animal called the beaver, which is extremely gentle; its testicles are are highly suitable for medicine. Physiologus says of it that, when it knows that a hunter is pursuing it, it bites off its testicles and throws them in the hunter’s face and, taking flight, escapes. But if, once again, another hunter is in pursuit, the beaver rears up and displays its sexual organs. When the hunter sees that it lacks testicles, he leaves it alone.'

- Bestiary, Salisbury 13th century (British Library, Harley 4751, fol. 9v)

And here's a handsome, handcrafted spirit mask by the ever-talented Ms. Hunt made for a classroom demo, and currently enshrined upon our cabin's refrigerator.

Via Buzzfeed (hat-tip to Ian & Cats, Beavers & Ducks) comes one particularly nice image - it's one of hundred doodles drawn by Gabrol... here's his albums on Imgur. 
Next up is a whimsical tag "Shaved Beaver" drawn by Adam Rose and inked at Fallen Owl Tattoo:

How's this headline for a chilling scenario: "Beaver steals hunter's rifle" - from John Holyoke's column recounting tales from Maine:

“There was nothing I could do,” he said. “The gun was in the water and the beaver went under. That was it.”

A close second comes via Boing Boing with their quote of the year:

"Sniffing a beaver's butt: a surprisingly pleasant experience"

I would personally buy any cd and/or attend any show that sported this artwork on the flier: pen + ink self-portrait courtesy of Brad Gammel. And lastly, speaking of bands, here's the smash hit "Reset" by Japanese rock stars Superbeaver (with a name like that it was only a matter of time before I just had to investigate):