Spirit Guide of the Day is Beaver! Stop thinking and get some work done! Don't just be busy just to seem like you are working, but make sure you are acting with purposeful and focused actions towards a specific, real goal. Make sure to balance this workload with social fun. You may need to reduce wasted energy in other areas of your life or change your environment so that you feel safer. The Beaver guide is known for it's connections to the building of goals and dreams. The beaver has a strong connection with water physically and spiritually. Water connects the realms and links us to our dreams. Beavers are amazing home builders and show us the important of family and maintaining a home. Beaver reminds us to work on our goals to make our dreams come true. People who connect with Beaver are resourceful, focused, and organized types who will work hard at any task until it is further complete. These individuals enjoy working more as a team than alone and work to contribute to their community. Very loyal, these souls will attempt to get along with everyone and enjoy making lifelong friendships. It is important for those with this totem to keep up proper dental hygiene.

Beavers, Castor Canadensis, are herbivorous mammals that can live up to 24 years in the wild. These animals are North America's largest rodent and is known for it's aquatic lifestyle. Beavers can be found throughout most of North America excluding Florida as well as into portions of Mexico, Alaska, and Canada. They live near water sources such as lakes, marshes, ponds, and rivers where they build homes called lodges out of stocks and mud. These lodges are dome-shaped and can rise as tall as 10 feet high. These amazing homes are built just above the water with one large central chamber often covered in wood chips to absorb water. A vent in the top lets in fresh air and there is often more than one entrance. Some beavers will prefer to build burrows into the banks of rivers rather than lodges. Adult beavers can reach four feet in length with tails up to 12 inches long and weigh as much as 60 lbs. They are covered in thick, dark brown fur which is lighter on its chest and belly. Beavers will coat their fur with an oily secretion from their scent glands called Castoreum which waterproofs their fur. They have specialized, webbed feet and a large, flat, almost hairless tail perfect for their swimming life. Their longer rear legs are used to help propel them through the water and they also use their tails to warn for danger by slapping them against the water as a loud signal to others. Beavers even have the ability to close their nose and ears under water and possess a special membrane that covers their eyes while submerged. A thick layer of fat keeps them warm in the cold waters. A beaver's diet consists of tree bark and a soft tissue called Cambium that grows under the bark of a tree. They have been known to even prefer certain barks such as those from willow, aspen, birch, poplar, and alder trees. Beavers will also eat a range of vegetation such as roots, water plants, and buds. In order to digest tree bark, beavers possess a specialized digestive system. Beavers are social creatures that live in family groups called Colonies with a male, female, and their offspring. Family territories are often marked with piles of mud marked with scents and beavers are known to be highly territorial in order to protect their family. Beavers will mate for life, only finding another mate if the first one dies. Mating season occurs from January to March in cold regions and in late November or December in the south. Females will give birth after around 3 months to offspring called kits. The mother will make a soft nest in the lodge to give birth in. The kits are born with open eyes and are able to swim within 24 hours of birth. They are taken care of by both the mother and father with the ability to explore outside the lodge with their parents after only a few days after birth. Kits are weaned in approximately two weeks and stay with their parents for around two years before seeking independence. The building of dams by beavers can either be a positive or a negative influence on their environment. By building a dam, beavers create new wetland environments that help to slow erosion, purify water, and provide homes for other species. After a beaver leaves it's lodge, they are often taken over by aquatic plants, shrubs, and other growth that eventually turn it into a meadow. Over time, a forest will regrow in the lodge's place. On the other hand, dams can also slow the flow of water in streams and result in built up silt or flooding in low-lying areas. Sometimes, this destroys the habitats of other species.