ExcaliBEAVER!

The beaver that pulls the largest tree from the forest, cuts it neatly into equal sections, and skids it down to the pond shall be the King Beaver, and he shall be called ExcaliBEAVER!

Over the weekend Brian and Dave checked out one of our ski/hiking trails that runs out to Oxtongue River. Along the way, it skirts the edge of a large beaver pond.

Which, as it turns out, contains a large beaver. A very large beaver. A very large beaver who has his slide rule out and is designing a bigger, better beaver pond. And a beaver who likes to demonstrate some artistic flair.

Now you cannot build a beaver pond without cutting trees. And we are not just talking little saplings.

The size of the chips gives a good indication of the size of the beaver. But cutting the trees is just the beginning. While Beaver can enjoy a nice snack of bark from the felled trees, the big work comes when the trees need to be moved and shaped into dams and dens.

Our beaver has been hard at work, creating an industrial site at the edge of his pond, with water on almost all four sides. It's a good place to fine-tune the woodworking prior to transporting it to the dam.

To get the logs from the forest to the pond, he has carefully built log slides. And from the first photo here you can see how much attention to detail he has gone into sectioning the trees into manageable logs.

It is fascinating to sit on the bank above the pond in the evening and watch for the beavers at work. Although it's not always necessary to go to the beaver pond. Sometimes the beavers come to you... as Ann and Katherine found out this week while they were here, visiting from Australia. They saw a beaver swimming across the bay right in front of Bondi, leaving a lovely V-shape wake behind him. Or her. Beaver even tossed in a good hard tail slap for the guests.

Brian, an engineer himself, was quite impressed by the work the beavers are doing. Like all engineers, he just had to get up close to the workmanship... and to try it out himself, just in case the job could be improved. He has the attitude and the work ethic, but while he certainly had an appetite for the job, he just couldn't get his teeth into it...