After taking a long walk in the west end, I dropped by the garden in late afternoon to check on the pond and the beaver. The water immediately under the downed maple is open again, and there is a piece of debarked branch floating there, so I can only hope that the little guy is OK and was able to store enough food under the water for the winter. I certainly saw him dragging branches under the water so.... when spring arrives I very much hope we'll discover he survived the winter.