Mountain Lines
by Nelson Haas
PENNSYLVANIA BEAVER
Standing in the wide, swampy openings where streams are born, overlooking the workings of beaver, I’m often overcome with a primitive feeling that I am truly in a wild place.
I am fascinated by the beaver’s engineering abilities; not only of the animal’s ability to construct dams and houses from wood but also of its instinctive knowledge of hydrology, projected water depths, canal building, ice, food storage and maintenance.
Try damming up a creek with only your hands and natural material and you’ll know what I mean.