Muskrat Caught In The Act

I approach the Four Seasons to get a picture of a muskrat happilly chewing seaweed in my neighbor Gary's exhaust pipe. Our Phoenix is in the background.

The muskrat is a fairly common resident of most marinas.  Our Bridgeview Marina is no exception and for years, the exhaust pipes of my 3208 Caterpillar engines seem to make an enticing habitat for the persistent rodents.  Yesterday when I was returning to my boat in the dinghy I noticed some activity in the port exhaust pipe of “Four Seasons” a beautiful Tiara owned by my condo friends and neighbours Gary and Ann.

This furry inhabitant in the port side exhaust of my neighbor's Tiara will get quite a shock when Gary fires up those big 454 cu. in. engines and blasts the muskrat and his debris back into the water.

I was able to get within a couple of feet of the hungry rodent and he seemed to pay me little attention. I didn't have anything with me that I could use to poke at him and I wasn't going to get my hands anywhere near his powerful teeth.

“The long, dark passage in a boat’s exhaust must be business as usual for a muskrat, at least until someone starts the engine. Just what goes through their heads when they hear a loud rumbling and smell smoke is anybody’s guess…"  Here’s the whole article  from "Muskrat Love Gone Bad" by Bob Adriance.

 A blurred picture as the rather large rat makes a speedy escape. 

Gary and Ann check both sides and sure enough, more junk comes out of the starboard side as well. Do you suppose there's more than one living here?
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