Staying Busy and out of trouble, 2020-21?.

[WV Sawmiller]

OGH,

   Sorry about the power loss. Its a pain but part of life. I put in a backup genset several years back. We had a Derecho 8 years ago and it ran for 11 days. Then again we have natural gas here so that made things easier.

    As to the sawdust if you have plenty of gravel/rock under it I predict you will not have any major issues with it. I dump a wheelbarrow or two full around my game cleaning station where I clean fish and deer and such where it used to get wet and muddy and it works fine for my purposes.

    I can sure sympathize with the manual labor around the mill because I have to do a lot of the same and know the feeling and frustrations but you work with what you have and add labor saving devices as time and money permit. Its amazing what you can do with an ATV winch and such sometimes.

   Stay safe and keep on posting. I'm off to my chiro visit in a few minutes for my hand and hope and expect he will release me today. I'll know in a couple of hours.

[Old Greenhorn]

I'm off to my chiro visit in a few minutes for my hand and hope and expect he will release me today. I'll know in a couple of hours.

Yeah, you work with what you've got. I have always found that easier than trying to work with what I don't have. :D
 Glad to hear that hand is coming along, wonder how it's feeling? I hope things go well and he is 'done with you'. ;D
 Our visit is a regular monthly tune up, but for me it's follow up on the last injury which is nearly all gone. Just need to get one muscle moved over to make it right. I cut wood for a few hours yesterday with no bad results.

[Nebraska]

I think(know) you are getting more done with your mill with less support equipment than I have, and I admire that. Granted you did change careers lately ;). Glad the storm didn't do much to your set up.

[Walnut Beast]

I like your attitude Greenhorn. There is nothing wrong with working with what you got. The guy that has 200k in equipment is no better than you. Keep your head high and be proud of what you have and strive for more if you choose 👍

[Old Greenhorn]

Well I ran out of sweat around 5 today. After the chiro visit it was raining lightly so I drained and stored the generator and it cleared up, so I split some more wood to fill the trailer, moeved and stacked it under the porch, then split another load and stacked that too., I figure about 2/3's of a cord today. The pile is nearly done. I need one, maybe 2 loads to pack it up tight. Then I will measure to see what I have, usually about 5 cord. 
Looks pretty good from this angle, but...


 

When you look inside, you see I still have a hole to fill. I don't know if I can fit 2 loads, but I will give it a good try, just about out of wood now.


 

I have some green RO, but I will put that on the bottom of the shop pile so it gets used at the end of the season. The shop pile is the next task. I have never needed wood for the shop because I still don't have a stove in there (yet), but that will change in the next 2-3 months and I am guessing I will need another 5 cord for that. Fortunately NYBHH has all the firewood he needs but he has a lot of dead ash to clear out, so I am going to help him with that. ;D In another week or so it should be maintaining a little cooler and if it fits his schedule, we will have at it and I can just do shuttle runs with logs. That will be a huge help until I have a season under my belt and can figure what I really need to make it work. Before any of that starts, I need to prep and area for stacking that wood, which means removing a LOT of JUNK from the side of the shop, raking it out, discarding the crap and re-stacking the good junk to take less room. I am figuring 2 days for that project and hopefully I can get my son to make a scrap run as most of the junk in there is his. ;D
Anyway, I am pooped. I am going to start reading through the Kiln drying stuff and begin my dreaming on how I am going to make a small solar kiln so that when the class begins next week I have a better idea of my goals. It's nice that the 90° days seem to be done and I can work in pants again. Still went through 2 shirts and 2 hats today. :D
Tomorrow is another day.

[Old Greenhorn]

Headed to a party down the road shortly so I will do the daily missive now. I had forgotten what day of the week it was  ;D and didn't realize the party was today, so I got up at 5 and out before 7. By 9:30 I was running out of sweat already. I pulled everything away from the outer shop wall for the length of the new woodpile and sort of sorted it into piles (scrap, store outside, move somewhere else, etc.) but it remains scattered and has to be dealt with. I can't remember when I last had a good look at this wall but it is at least 25 years.


 
Then I laid down some pipes I salvaged from work about a year ago. This will keep it off the ground. Later I will add end posts when I figure it out. Gotta get some wood on it first. If I fill this 4' wide and 6' high for the length of the pipes it will be just about 4 cord.


 
Here is my test stack.


 
Then I was pooped out, but I heard my neighbor working up at his garage (new roof) so I took the Mule and arch up to say 'hi' and grabbed 2 hitches of the small tree he had taken down and wanted rid of. Black birch, some Beech and other stuff. Still probably have 2 or 3 more hitches up there but I have to drag them out from behind the building by hand and it was wearing me out. He dug out for his shop, but never graded around the building, so it like working in a pit on the back side. All small stuff, but wood is wood and I'll take this stuff all day long.


 

 After that it was lunch time. I did some household chores to keep the wife sort of happy, ate lunch, took a shower and a nap. Only a half day, but I feel like I got a days works done, now I have a place to stack the shop wood and that was holding me back a little. I can move on. 
 Tomorrow is another day, but first, we party. 8)

[Old Greenhorn]

Overslept a bit this morning and woke up groggy, don't know why. ;D  We did have a good time at the party last night, catching with folks we don't see very often, especially now. I took a walk around the yard to reinforce my feeling of shop and toy envy as I do each time I am there. He is adding another extension on his shop so he has a place to work on the big excavator and other stuff. This is fill in work when he has time so it's been in progress for 2 years now. There will be a second floor/attic above the deck you see in the photo below.


 

For scale, that is his log truck parked inside with the knuckle boom on it. I think this is his 3rd shop extension, so far. I also ran into this again, he got it last year. I love this thing, it would be the perfect machine for my needs. He has forks, a bucket, and a log grapple among other things. All wheel steering too.


 

Hey, have you guys ever seen a chicken coupe de ville?


 
At the end of the evening we had a small friendship fire. ;D


 

So today I finally got at it around 10 and starting cutting and splitting. Lots of small stuff and some of the green RO was giving me fits with all the knots. It was hot and I seemed to have pinched the tip on my 20" bar so the sprocket won't turn freely. Not sure what that deal is, but I put the 18 on so I could resume work. When I got back at it, I put my helmet on, started the saw, then pulled the visor down and this little guy was staring me right in the face from the other side of my shield.


 

Not sure what he is, but he was in a hurry to get away from me. Anyway, I cut all the green wood I had and couldn't get another stick on the trailer. It took too long and a lot of sweat, I split some big RO rounds and had to put the splitter vertical which is always slower.


 
 So I have started the shop wood pile. I have some cars ramps kicking around, and they work well as ends for the stack. The weight of the wood holds them upright. 


 

Measures out to just over 1/3 cord. It's not a big start, but it is a start. I just need 14 more trailer loads to finish what I think I need. Pretty pooped tonight, but I am going to do the second module in the VT Kiln Class. I gotta stay ahead, and tomorrow is another day.

[Ljohnsaw]

Not sure what he is, but he was in a hurry to get away from me.

As kids, we called them Katydids (sp)

I have some cars ramps kicking around, and they work well as ends for the stack.

NICE!  How about using some lag screws through a few holes into some 2x4s or 2x6s to extend higher?  I think you might have a few laying around. ;)

[Old Greenhorn]

Well I could probably get away with that to a point, eventually it will fail. I had in mind to do something more permanent with some 8' long 2" galvanized posts I also salvaged. But at this point I just wanted to get started and keep moving wood through the process. Just with those I think I can get 3 cords on that stack, it is 22' long. Too much to do right now with the chimney collecting wood, bucking splitting stacking. Getting the wood stove refurbished and installed, then of course I need to get a bunch of milling done too. Gotta pick my battles and leave some on the table for next year when I have gone through one cycle of this. I truly do wish I could do it all now, but I just can't. I have never processed this much wood in a season before and it is a lot of work for me alone with the gear I have.

[Nebraska]

Slow and steady, it will happen.

[Old Greenhorn]

I have reached the point in the summer where the temp doesn't matter too much because I keep looking around at what I've got done and what I still need to do. Then I just push on. Unless I get wobbly, I just try to keep pushing and drink water. I am working 3 sweat rags at a time now, letting two dry while I soak the third. Funny thing is it seems like just yesterday (OK maybe 15 years ago) I would lose 5-10 pounds every summer and then grow it back over the winter and repeat the cycle every year. If I gained 20 in the winter, I would lose that the next summer. This year I am working harder than I can remember in the last 20 years and I have not lost a single pound. All I know is I sweat buckets nearly every day. Maybe Doc can 'splain why that is? I know my physical condition is good (except for those back tweaks now and then), I can feel the muscles in my hands firming up quite a bit and the arms and legs seem to be doing the same on a smaller scale, the back even feels pretty strong when it's not messed up. I don't get it.
 OK, enough complaining, back to work. ;D

[doc henderson]

carbohydrate simple or complex (sugar or starch)  is for energy and in the blood as glucose.  it is 4 calories per gram.  protein is also 4 calories per gram, and is stored as muscle and cell parts, and there is turn over, and we only need about 3 ounces or 90 grams a day.  most proteins change opaque when cooked (denatured) steak and eggs.  fat is 9 calories per gram and is less dense than other tissues.  this is why it is the energy storage form.  It is less dense than water and helps you float. so if you are building muscle and loosing fat, you could be more healthy and actually maintain or gain weight if you are getting trimmed.  the day to day weight change is water balance.  you should look at toilet water color when you go in the am, and not let it get too dark.  if there is lots of foam on the water then you are loosing protein in your urine, and have prob injured your kidneys.  drink more water so the kidney can work less at trying to clear the waste while holding onto your water so you are not dehydrated.  it is like cleaning a paintbrush in mineral spirits that have already been used 5 times.  If you drink beer, the alcohol can interfere with your antidiuretic hormone, and cause a dilute (light colored) urine.  do not be fooled.  drink a bottle of water for each beer, and a big glass before bed.  from the pics i have seen it looks like you do not need to loose weight.  what kind of beer do you drink?

[Old Greenhorn]

 from the pics i have seen it looks like you do not need to loose weight.  what kind of beer do you drink?

I was just about to get back on here and edit my previous post to warn you against making comments about me getting old. Glad you didn't but I know there are some changes afoot anyway. You took the high road.
 You lost me in the beginning there, but then it all came together and I understood it. It makes sense too. I drink cheap Busch beer (no comments from the peanut gallery please) because it is cheap and although I don't buy the 'light' version, it is very light as is, mostly water I think. And did I mention it is cheap? Now I love a good local IPA or Belgian wheat, but those I savor and only have on special occasions, so rarely.
 SO you stayed away from the 'age thing' but you got into the 'beer thing'. Now I don't know which is worse. I drink lots of water and follow the Philmont rules on that score, I know all the signs, because I have had 'em all at some point in the past and once was enough. ;D 
 No, I don't need to lose weight and I don't worry about it at all, but I did notice the change and wondered why. Thanks for learning me up some more.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Yeah, Doc, don't make any comments about old people to us old people. We get mad then can't remember why we got mad and that makes it worse. :D

   On several job sides we had urine color charts posted over the urinals explaining the difference in colors from severely dehydrated to mildly dehydrated. All reminded us to drink more water. The worst problem area I worked was in Mongolia down in the Gobi Desert area on a gold and copper mine project because most of us were living in Gers (Yurts) and the bathroom was in a separate building sometimes 100 yards away. When the wind was blowing 30 mph and the temperature was below zero outside it was not fun to get up, get dressed and walk that far to go pee (Sounds like the makings of a Jeff Foxworthy tale here doesn't it?) and our guys were very reluctant to drink anything after about sunset. 

[doc henderson]

your beer is a light beer compared to some.  if I was going to make fun of your beer, I might as well say mean things about your wife...   not going there.  Old age however, is defined as anyone older than me! :D :D :D.  I have family and friends to visit and you would be in the middle.  I will buy you a retirement beer if I get up your way.  my elderly neighbor Helen would call and say she needed help getting something out of her car.  it would be a 30 pack of natural light.  of course she would say "now you have to stay and have a beer with me".  I started taking my own beer when she would call.  

[Old Greenhorn]

Careful Doc, someday you will catch up to me and Howard and you will be the old guy. ;D
Man it was hot today, they had some kind of heat index warning up, runs until 8pm tomorrow.


 

I gave up on the shirt by 9:30 this morning.
Still I got in about 10 or 11 hours. hauled some logs and sticks for firewood, bucked, split and loaded the trailer overfull. Pulled it round and started stacking after dinner. Got most of it done, think I am calling this the last load but I was shot and will finish the little bit I have in the morning.
 I don't feel like I got much done, but I worked hard for it.
Tomorrow is another day.

[thecfarm]

My shirts use to look like that too.
Note the use too word.  ;) I can still remember trying to take them off.  :

[Old Greenhorn]

My shirts use to look like that too.
Note the use too word.  ;) I can still remember trying to take them off.  :

The only way is to peel them off inside out. Well, you could cut it off, but...

[Old Greenhorn]

The worst problem area I worked was in Mongolia down in the Gobi Desert area on a gold and copper mine project because most of us were living in Gers (Yurts) and the bathroom was in a separate building sometimes 100 yards away. When the wind was blowing 30 mph and the temperature was below zero outside it was not fun to get up, get dressed and walk that far to go pee (Sounds like the makings of a Jeff Foxworthy tale here doesn't it?) and our guys were very reluctant to drink anything after about sunset.

The first time I suffered from hypothermia bad it was caused by dehydration. We were tent camping and it was 15 below. I didn't think to drink water, in those temps you really have to make that effort, and keeping water thawed enough to drink is a challenge anyway. Well, I got it bad, lost my balance, needed help walking, couldn't put my own pants on, motor control was shot. Scary stuff. If I didn't have a crew I could count on to take care of me I would have been in bad shape. SO yeah, I get the 'long walk thing' which is why I usually kept a jug in the tent (clearly marked) for such purposes. It doubles as a good foot warmer too, for a while. ;D

[doc henderson]

make sure you do not use a gator-aid container with kids around.   bon_fire

[Old Greenhorn]

make sure you do not use a gator-aid container with kids around.   bon_fire

I think my days of tent camping are now pretty much limited to festivals in the summertime now. I have done enough winter camping to be over it. ;D

[WV Sawmiller]

Doc,

   That was a health problem too and we'd find stacks of refilled water bottles tossed over the walls and around the area.

    Constipation was a definite medical consideration in those conditions too.

[Old Greenhorn]

UGH!
>:(

[Old Greenhorn]

Well I think the heat caught up with me today and I had a bunch of fixing a stupid choice to do anyway (see the : Did something dumb today thread for details) so that took some time after I finished stacking the wood I processed yesterday. While I was drying out gear I had a junk fir going (again) to burn up all the bark and scraps for bucking and splitting, seems like I never catch up, but every time I stepped out into the sun it just took the life out of me, it was too hot to do any worthwhile work. SO I tended the fire and dried my gear and washed out the box on the Mule and did a bunch of other meaningless little things. I think I burned about 5 wheel barrow loads of junk and broke one wheel barrow in the process (it had a rotten handle, it was due).
I repacked everything in the Mule and it is a lot neater now, but that was the only thing of note I got done all day besides mowing the lawn after dinner (that was overdue).


 
The whole drying thing would have been a lot easier if I had just throw a tarp over it, dumb. Tomorrow is another day.

[Old Greenhorn]

Another hot one yesterday with a heat index warning. I am getting tired of those. It was very hard to stick with it even drinking lots of water. 3 bandannas, 1 shirt and 3 hats all soaked through. I just take the shirt off when it soaks through and don't care if the neighbors or passers by have to see me half nekked anymore. ;D I didn't get a lot done but got in probably a total of 7 hours work. I cut up the last of the slabs and stacked those, cut some more of those little green trees from the neighbor, visited with another new neighbor who just sold the house they've been in for just over a year. I will miss them, nice young folks that work hard. I don't think the new buyer will be as much fun, single woman, but who knows? City gal, probably a lawyer or banker, or minor celebrity, or artist type. Time will tell.
 I wasted almost an hour trying to get into a live webinar on the Asian Longhorn Beetle (coming soon to a tree near you) and it seems the site was down. No word from the organizer on what happened or if a recorded version is available. I also finished the last 2 modules in the VT drying workshop class thing. The final one is tomorrow. I did a little more research on building my own solar kiln and trying to figure out if it is worth it for me. The build cost right now is no small thing for me.
 By 8:30 last night my head kept falling over, I could not stay awake and went to bed. This morning I finally bit the bullet and ordered a full box of 4° blades from WM. I wince every time I have to lay out cash until I have some money coming in, but without blades I can't make any product and I need to start filling those drying racks. Once I can sell some stuff, it will be easier to spend money if I have it.
 Time to get back at it. I think I will mill some logs today until I run out of sweat, then go back to firewood.
Today is another day.