The 10 arces where I grew up

The beavers were back and now are gone again, so there will be no crocodile mile this summer.


I think it was the summer between my seventh and eight grade year. S and I weren't old enough to have to start working yet, but old enough to not tell our parents what trouble we were out causing. We spent a lot of time in my backyard. We have a creek that runs through the back acres.


That summer the beavers had dammed it up. The creek wasn't very deep most of the time, but with the beavers it was definitly over our heads in places. S and I talked our parents into buying us some overly expensive inflatable rafts. We would paddle up and down that creek all day for that whole summer.


We thought we were great explorers portaging our raft over the series of beaver dams. It truely was exploring. It seemed everyday the beavers had created some new canal for us to explore. One day we were feeling brave enough to actually explore the beaver lodge.


When you're 13 years old and standing on top of a beaver lodge, with your paddle, it gives you a sense of the beauty and the simplicity of nature. We were able to look out and see nothing but arces of a pond that ends at a hill the turns immediatly in forest. You're half proud because you've conquered something, half scared the beavers would get you, and all to young to realize how long you'll remember that summer.


To this day S and I will still mention the beaver pond we nicknamed the crocodile mile.