As we moved around the lake, we slowed to quietly watch beavers and muskrats forage at the water’s edge. Herons stood like dignified statues, waiting for fish to venture near their shadows. Turtles basked on fallen logs, stretching their heads to warm their long necks. Minnows dimpled the surface as they dashed to deeper water. Occasionally a cautious doe would bring her fawns to drink. My relationship with the land deepened, and I contemplated the generations of humans and other animals that thrived in and around the wat