Tug chains a-jingle, three teams stepped into a quiet wooded stand ghostly with early spring buds. It was field day at Banks Mountain Farm and silviculture was the subject. An audience of nearly 100 observers gathered along the narrow skid path. They watched closely as highly-focused teamsters eased their equine partners into position near freshly cut logs resting at expertly chain-sawed angles on the forest floor. The felled trees had first been painstakingly selected by owners Bob and Stuart Richens, who relied on the precision of mules and horses to profitably commercialize this harvest. Circling for repeat pulls the teams eventually hauled out hundreds of board feet – including a one whopper nudging 30″ in diameter. The teams off-loaded in neat stacks next to an on-site mobile saw mill, which zipped the timber into custom-cut lumber. As the teams at last relaxed, a growing stash of sturdy boards put the Richens’ construction agenda on the fast track.