Category: Nature

Mark of the Beaver part Deux

While on a kayak trip recently I saw the following evidence of strategic chewing…

Mark of the Beaver 2

Hard to believe beavers have this level of intention in designing and building structures from wood. I recall an economics professor of mine at New York University who was a graduate of MIT. His school ring had an image of a beaver, the animal considered to be the “Engineer of the natural word”.l word” .

MIT Beaver ring

He also relayed a funny anecdote, which is that students wear the ring with the beaver facing them and then turn it around after graduation — the explanation?  That during the hard work of earning a degree there, the beaver “shits on you”, and once you have graduated, the beaver “shits on the world”, or something like that.

Mark of the Beaver 2_

Wood Pile in spring

We burned just about every piece of wood last winter (in our stove) and decided not to wait until the last minute to buy some more. Sitting at a desk all day screams out for outdoor activity and when the purveyor of the wood offers to stack it, we always say “no thanks, we’ll do it”.

Once it is done, it feels like a grand achievement, which is ridiculous, but also makes sense.

WoodPile in spring

StackedWood2019

There is also a satisfaction in knowing we have wood for next winter this far ahead of time (occasionally one surprises oneself).