Sawing at Gowen Kennels in Folkston, Ga.

Tom · December 01, 2004, 03:58:28 PM

I've been sawing at Gowen Fox Pens this week and having a "different time. I've never been one to design my life around dogs and it is an awakening to find how many do that very thing. I'm next to a bunch of dog houses and pens that abuts the largest of three fox pens. The dogs are mouthing off quietly all day, but, every once in a while something will get their attention. The noise is deafening.

In this largest pen are Foxes and Coyotes. Yesterday a Coyote came to visit the dogs and stood in the edge of the woods about 20 feet from some of the pens and watched them for about 15 minutes. I thought the dogs might hemorrhage. They couldn't get out of the pen and I think the coyote new that. When he had been entertained enough, he walked back into the woods.

Gary, the owner, told me that he feeds and takes care of the foxes and coyotes as good as he does his dogs. They are fed regularly with some of the best food he can get.

I asked him if the sport meant that they were caught? He told me that one is caught once in a while but not very often. There are pipes, culvert pipes and plastic 55 gal drums with holes cut in the side just big enough for a dog to get his head in, scattered all over the fox pens.

"They don't do that often", he said. "When a dog puts his head in one of those holes when there is a fox inside, it's like being in a little room with a Tasmanian Devil."

I've watched his clientele visit at all hours during the day. Most are caring for their dogs but many are looking for their dogs. The dogs will run in the fox pen all night and then not want to come out. I don't' think they are lost, they just don't want to be put back in a dog box. One pen is over 100 acres, one is almost 50 and one is around 75. Gary trains puppies for people too. Today he wasn't around the mill much because he had a customer that wanted to take his puppy into the big pen.

Gary said that the coyotes are funny. They know that they aren't in any danger when the dogs are in their pens and will taunt them. He told me of one instance where a coyote curled up within a few feet of a pen of dogs and went to sleep. The dogs were trying everything they could think of to to get to him but couldn't . The worked themselves so hard that they could hardly move, .......just stood there baying.

Gary has a website. It's not very active right now but you might enjoy going there. WWW.Gowenkennels.net

This is really turning into a new experience for me. It makes life fun.

Bibbyman · December 01, 2004, 04:07:26 PM

What have you been sawing for them and what do they plan to do with the lumber?

Tom · December 01, 2004, 04:23:07 PM

Sawing pine for a barn and a house addition. The sawing has nothing to do with the dogs accept that I can't set up anywhere on the property without being in the middle of Dogs, dog pens, puppies, guys feeding their dogs, guys training their dogs.

Bibbyman · December 01, 2004, 04:27:53 PM

So ... Your business is just going to the dowgs?

Tom · December 01, 2004, 05:02:08 PM

:D Tha's rich! :D

UNCLEBUCK · December 01, 2004, 06:44:20 PM

Interesting place and a good place to send some of my barnyard cats I think . ;D

Tom · December 02, 2004, 07:35:21 PM

Anthony and Gary, bucking SYP.

Engineer · December 03, 2004, 08:01:30 AM

That picture's the first time I've seen anyone actually USING a bow bar on a chainsaw. I always thought they were extremely dangerous, and your guy there sure ain't wearing no safety equipment. :(

WV_hillbilly · December 03, 2004, 08:08:06 AM

Well atleast he's wearing gloves.

DanG · December 03, 2004, 08:27:52 AM

I'm purty sure the gloves are to keep the sap off of his hands. :D :D :D I'm afraid safety gear just ain't a real big item in most of the South. I don't even know anybody that actually owns a pair of chaps around here. They're not available in any of the stores, that I'm aware of. I also don't hear about many injuries from chainsaws.

The bow is much safer than a bar for bucking logs, imho. It locks in behind the log to make kickback impossible. It's really great for firewood. You don't have to hold a small piece in place to cut it. Just set the saw down on it and fire away, and you're standing upright, out of the way of flying chips and debris. The natural way of holding the saw like this keeps you out of line with the chain, too.

breederman · December 03, 2004, 01:37:24 PM

I've never heard of one. How do they work? ??? are they designed for bucking logs?

SwampDonkey · December 03, 2004, 03:48:04 PM

Tom:

Its the funniest thing about dogs and coyotes. When we used to hunt with cocker spaniels in the bush, hunting grouse, the dogs would yip and yelp all dang night when we had them in their kennel. The kennel was a warm place on the rear of the pickup with a topper over them and a nice warm dog bed to lay on. The coyotes where kinda packed up in the area we were hunting in because the DNR had a road kill dump nearby, which was a haven for the coyotes and bear. Them coyotes would come in close to camp at night, but not in the open and they would yelp and howl like dogs, just to get our dogs all worked up and yelping back.

Man it was hard to get some decent sleep when ya had to get up at all hours of the night and tell everyone to dry up. Used to yell at our own dogs and ask them if they've talk and visited enough already for one night. Sometimes we'de have to drive the coyotes away with some shots in the air. :D :D :D

SwampDonkey · December 03, 2004, 04:02:59 PM

My uncle used to raise silver foxes down in Sussex. That area and over towards Salisbury used to raise alot of silver foxes. They were in high demand because of their silver fur markings.

A little bit of history

Fred Colpitts:fox breeding to lumbering

Tom · December 03, 2004, 04:24:18 PM

While I can't argue that safety paraphanalia isn't a good thing, you will not find it in most operations down here with the exception of some utility line clearing companies. Labor in the south will be driving the tractor, clearing the brush, stacking the trash, off-bearing the boards, moving the slabs, skidding logs, stickering the lumber and think nothing of picking up a chainsaw or axe to cut a log. Most are working in 90 degree plus sunshine in the humidity of a cypress swamp where just breathing is a chore. Chaps, hard-hats and face shields, kevlar boots, neck armor and the like are only found in catalogues from other worlds.

This is a society that would just as soon not wear shoes and seldom will wear shirts. Long sleeves and trousers are more to keep the insects off than protect against the environment.

I know that it would be good to have all the safety gear available, but, nobody here goes out to do a single job and "union" type schedules are foreign. Yep, folks get hurt and some get killed,but, the frequency is far less than you would imagine. Perhaps there is less complacency when unencumbered with all of that armor. Knowing that you are exposed might make you think before you make a move.

Anyway, I would never preach 'not wearing' safety gear, but this is real life and these are hard working piece workers and laborers. It's amazing how much knowledge they pocess when you are lucky to find out. They hide it well. :D

Here is a better picture of the saw being used.

A closer view of a saw made specifically for bucking.

The straight parts of the bow are supposed to have a guard. Most working saws have them removed because they limit the size of log that can be cut. In the woods, these fellows haven't the luxery of carrying many saws.

On the bottom left of the bow, as pictured, is a spur that is set against the log. The moving chain keeps the spur in place and the bow just falls through the log. You can see that it would be difficult to pinch a bar because there is nothing there for the closing kerf to touch.

Tom · December 03, 2004, 04:38:05 PM

Swamp,
I've about decided that I couldn't live around all those dogs. There must be two hundred if there's one.

It will be deathly quiet and one of them will start barking or baying. Then another and then another and then ........every cotton pickin' one of them will start hollering. It'll go on for 5 or 10 minutes and then, like someone threw a switch, they stop.

On the other hand, I find it entertaining and quite humorous to see the coyotes taunt the dogs. :D