We share our home on this earth with a vast number of creatures large and small,* who occupy all sorts of ecological niches around us.
Beavers – that’s their handiwork above – favor streams and marshes, and are second only to man for their ability to manipulate the environment.** They’re mostly nocturnal animals, though you might see one swimming around a pond in the late afternoon. More info on these mammals here.
This fallen white birch was probably 20 feet from a marsh, and 30 feet of so from a stream.
After a tree is felled (in the back), it’s cut up into sections and dragged over and on to the skidder. Note the uneven cut on the log; Earl had to go full old school – cutting with an ax – after his chainsaw hung up before the tree fell.
The back pair of oxen are young ones basically along for the ride/walk; it’s a training technique to acclimate them to actual pulling. The brunt of the work is being done by the lead oxen. The empty sled weighs about 500 lbs; fully loaded, probably 4000. Back home is mostly downhill.
We share our home on this earth with a vast number of creatures large and small,* who occupy all sorts of ecological niches around us. 
