Reflector - Timothy Christian Schools

While a typical 175-pound adult male human may need
2500 calories per day, a 50 pound sled dog may consume
12,500. In terms of temperament, these dogs have unique
personalities that fit into dog society hierarchy and their
dog sled community. They are extremely friendly toward
humans and are eager to please.
We continued to traverse the land with our tireless dog
teams. Leaving the forest, we were back on a meandering
river, winding through a valley. Burton checked a trap
outside of a beaver lodge and found a 45 pound beaver in
it. I cannot think of anything in the biological world that is
similar to the beaver’s tail. Besides its unique structure and
how the beaver utilizes it, it is interesting to know that you
can sharpen a knife on it. The hind feet of a beaver are
ingeniously webbed and remind me of the hind feet of the
large snapping turtles that I have caught in Salt Creek less
than a mile from Timothy. Closer examination, however,
indicates a very significant difference. The beaver has five
claws like the turtle, but one of its claws is actually a
double claw and is used for grooming its fur with water
proof oil. The largest rodent in North America, the
beaver’s front teeth grow throughout their lifetime. Since
the front of the tooth is harder than the back of the tooth,
they constantly wear down to form a chisel-like edge. The
roots of their teeth originate far up in the skull, giving
them a strong foundation. This is a requirement if you are
felling trees with your incisors for over a decade! My
students will be interested to learn that beavers
often transform forests and entire bodies of
water as well as the communities of
organisms that inhabit them because of
their gnawing activity.
the lake. Burton pointed out images on the cliff walls. He
told us that Native Americans supposedly painted these
images approximately 300 years ago. He is grateful for the
richness of the archeology of the region and the
archeologists that have studied it. I took my 46th picture. I
have lost track of the mental pictures recorded!
We headed back to the cabin. The sun was setting. The cold
intensified. The sense of solitude was profound. The dogs
continued to run. Whenever we stopped, we experienced
complete silence until the dogs communicated their desire to
run again. As we made our way through the woods, we
came to the cabin. Mounted on the front porch was a set of
moose antlers. Hanging from a cross post were pelts from a
timber wolf, a black bear, and a mink. Caribou antlers
rested next to a stack of firewood. We entered the cabin.
Burton lit three lanterns and then got the wood-burning
stove going. Some of us chopped wood. Some of us
chopped through the two-foot thick ice on the lake down
the embankment to get our water. Others of us chopped up
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We climbed up the river bank and
headed into the forest. The dogs
were relentless. Fallen limbs,
stumps, and boulders did not
stop their progress as we made
our way onto yet another
frozen lake. We headed to the
granite cliffs on the far end of
John Vander Kamp and Dave and
Don Voss, outside their cabin.
SPRING 2006 Reflector 9