Just before noon I saw this muskrat swimming quite purposefully, west to east across the pond. He went straight to a patch of cattails near the southeast shore and in short order returned, swimming across the pond with a mouthful of cattails. Just before he reached the vicinity of the old beaver den on the north bank, he dove and though I waited for some time, I never did see him emerge. So, he undoubtedly took his bounty into his bank home which may be a refurbished beaver den or another nearby. The muskrats have been in our pond quite steadily for about 3 years, and before that on and off, though more on than off. Initially they built a muskrat lodge of cattails, but since then have used the bank for denning.