Farm Journal
Thoughts and images from life at Foster Road
- Journal Entries
- 36: OCT. 23, 2009
- 35: OCT. 10, 2009
- 34: OCT. 9, 2009
- 33: SEPT. 30, 2009
- 32: SEPT. 23, 2009
- 31: SEPT. 12, 2009
- 30: SEPT. 9, 2009
- 29: SEPT. 7, 2009
- 28: SEPT. 2, 2009
- 27: AUG. 29, 2009
- 26: AUG. 21, 2009
- 25: AUG. 20, 2009
- 24: AUG. 18, 2009
- 23: AUG. 16, 2009
- 22: AUG. 14, 2009
- 21: AUG. 13, 2009
- 20: AUG. 12, 2009
- 19: JULY 23, 2009
- 18: JULY 3, 2009
- 16: JULY 1, 2009
- 15: JUNE 7, 2009
- 14: MAY 31, 2009
- 13: MAY 25, 2009
- 12: APRIL 24, 2009
- 11: APRIL 21, 2009
- 10: APRIL 16, 2009
- 9: APRIL 15, 2009
- 8: APRIL 13, 2009
- 7: APRIL 12, 2009
- 6: APRIL 1, 2009
- 5: MARCH 2009
- 4: FEBRUARY 2009
- 3: JANUARY 2009
- 2: DECEMBER 2008
- 1: OCTOBER 2008
Saw Day
I got there early, not knowing how the heck I was going to make this work. The logs looked even more immovable after a summer’s worth of settling in. In less than an hour, the no-nonsense sawyer would arrive and want to get going. But the borrowed dozer to to move the logs cancelled at the last minute. I had nothing but determination (desperation?) to go on.
Tim Roberson was recommended far and wide as an expert sawyer. He arrived right on time with his enormous rig in tow. He set up near the logs and got everything running. But how were we going to move these monsters to the machine? Sam and Eric joined me when I asked for help, reluctantly I’m sure. If only we had a tractor. Would my little Kubota be up to the task? It did not seem possible, but that’s all we had.
Eric took over the tractor. Sam sized up the pile and did the organizing. Tim ran the saw. And I was the catcher, dragging boards off the saw and stacking them onto pallets. The saw was amazingly powerful and it was a thrill to watch the wood grain appear with each cut.
We started small, and things ran smoothly. Then we moved on to the really big logs and the true work began. The mighty-mite tractor struggled to move the massive logs, but did so like a champ. Sounds silly, but I was proud of my machine! The saw cut through the planks like butter, and I found the limits of my strength and speed pretty fast. Tim’s not a guy who slows down the pace just because he’s got a sub-standard helper. After two hours my arms were noodles and I had to call on Clark to give me a hand.
The wood is so magnificent I’ll go on about it later. But what was really special was the day itself because I was able, in my limited way, to work beside the men who are making my house. My deepest thanks to Tim for his masterful sawing, and even more to Sam, Eric, and Clark. You guys saved my bacon today. We left the wood sleeping under tarps, it’s bounty a promise of beauty to come.
