Fixing the Driveway

After days of dam busting and driveway restoration, this is as far as we got. The driveway was still hopelessly impassible and, once we left, the beavers would restore the dam-age in only a few nights.

Our neighbor to the north is a genial, self sufficient, Adirondacker. Suzy suggested that we contact him for advice and offer to employ him to clear the driveway. He had several ideas and he shared our reverence for wildlife. We'd coexist peacefully with the animals, after all, this is their home and there's plenty of room for everyone.

The beaver lodges were large structures and built to resist dismantling with anything besides dynamite. You really felt as if you were in the wilderness when observing one, especially with the mountains in the background. The ponds attract lots of wildlife, especially frogs (it sounds like there are thousands of them at night) and all kinds of birds. Our beaver ponds were so large that they supported fish and attracted fishermen, too.

Our neighbor added a culvert, graded and stabilized the driveway with a few truckloads of rock. Eventually we learned to keep the culverts clear and the driveway is usable again.