Belt of Venus

I don't care if the Chinese Zodiac says it's the Year of the Snake. It's been the year of the rabbit here.  I've seen groups of them everywhere.  So when Whip suddenly went crashing through the brambles near the dam on Gorgeous Gorge, I assumed she was after a rabbit.  Then she splashed into the pond itself before turning back onto the bank.  (For a retriever, she's not fond of water.)   Had she scared something into the water?  There, safely in the deep portion of the pond, was a streamlined creature on it's back, thick muscular tail sticking up out of the water..  It was checking the bank to see where Whip went.  A mink?  No. An otter!   It dived. I got my camera ready and tried to follow where it went by ripples or bubbles on the surface.   It didn't resurface - though I did see something slip soundlessly from the water on the far side of the pond and into the tall grass.   I had stocked the pond in the spring w/ a few fish hoping they would attract different kinds of visitors.  My guess the otter has cleaned out the fish along w/ a few resident frogs.   I'm calling this a successful beta test.  Will restock the pond again next year.