February, 2010 

I happened to follow a big truck on my mid-day dash out to the farm, and when it blinkered at the corner of Foster Road, I knew it held my cargo of fresh-milled siding. The hill is quite a climb so I was patiently anxious, trailing behind, hovering like a father-to-be.

The truck from Tracey’s backed its way to the garage and the driver unveiled a small mountain of siding. I worked with Clark and Eric to get stacks set up in the garage. Ranging from six to sixteen feet in length, we tried to segregate them in same-size piles but gave up after a few minutes of slapstick activity.

Bruce was right, this mill makes a beautiful product. The boards are light, dry, and beautifully smooth, nearly clear and dead-on straight. But I had no idea how enormous fourteen squares of siding would be. My next task is to prime both sides of hundreds of boards. How I’ll spend my winter weekends…