The last of three beaverslides, an old-fashioned structure used in haying before baling became the preferred method, met its demise April 20 following several days of strong wind. The Doubletree Ranch in Lemhi County, Idaho, used three beaverslide hay stacker into the 1960s. This last survivor was retired in the 1970s, finding a new home next to an apple tree that grew at the site of the original homestead. The beaverslide and apple tree seemed to love each other as they became entwined.

Beaverslides were invented in nearby Beaverhead County, Montana. Rancher Dan French said that area becoming known as the “Land of 10,000 Haystacks.” I am from the ‘Land of 10,000 Lakes,” a number greatly underestimated. I can imagine that the haystacks were, too. I will miss this stalwart neighbor.

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