HOT Today

[Southside]

Yup - this is the time of year that I begin to think that -40F (without the wind chill) - those were some good ice fishing nights.  0 deg F is just right for riding my Skidoo Mach 1 snowmobile 100 miles to have supper, (the track really grabs the snow at that temp) and starting a fire in the stove after coming home from the fair in August was really quite enjoyable.   Yes, starting mid June through September down this way I long for the "good old days".....

[Banjo picker]

I am getting pickier as to what I saw who I saw for and when I will do it.  I made me up a list of 12 items the other day and when a potential customer comes up, they will get one.  At the end it says if you can't live with any of this , that's ok, but if you want your logs sawed.... sign on the line.  First time I have ever done that.  I am tired of washing dirty logs, trimming knots and limbs, and 10 other things.  My time is worth just as much as theirs...maybe more. I started to put a couple other sawyers numbers on there, but since I can't recommend them I didn't.  Banjo

[Jim_Rogers]

Would you share your list?

Jim Rogers

[Banjo picker]

Don't mind a bit.

There is a reason for every item on this page. Ex. In #8 if wood stays here in the humid south for over a week, it's going to start to mold.  It will have to be moved and stickered or it will ruin and then no one wants it.  I might need to run that by my attorney, but if they sign it, I figure I got a good case.  There is a stack of popular out there right now that was ready the end of June.  I had one guy leave a stack of walnut here 6 weeks before he came an got it.  Be glad to explain any of the others.  Tim

[Jim_Rogers]

thank you.

Jim Rogers

[Bruno of NH]

Thanks Tim
I need to start making some rules. 

[Banjo picker]

Got to admit.... Lynn caught me in a bo bo.  #12 should be diameter instead of around.  Tim

[GAB]

Tim:
I think your hourly rate and blade charges are low.
When sawing for someone I like having them there to off bear the mill and so they can hear the metal strike sound, it stops all arguements.
Other than that I like your list.
Gerald

[Banjo picker]

I just about always saw by myself, and to tell the truth, having somebody there at the mill makes me nervous,  never know what they will do.  Just breaks up my routine.  When I hear the zing from a strike of big wave, I lay that back to show the customer.

Most people around here think $60.00 an hour is too much, which is fine with me as I don't want to cut small, short or crooked logs anyway.  Tim

[Magicman]

My customer and I made an "Executive" decision and decided to postpone this week's road trip sawing job until next week, so hopefully this heat will break before then. 

I do still have a small ~12-15 log job scheduled for Friday & even Saturday if needed.

Marty and I will try to go back to the Cabin/farm to do some needed work, but it should all be in the shade.

[WDH]

 hopefully this heat will break before then.  

Ha!  Hopefully you will win the lottery too. 

[Magicman]

Ha!  I checked the forecast and there is absolutely zero chance of snow next week. :  :P   8)

[donbj]

Is it just me? I know it gets hot and humid in the south but unless it hits about 102° and 80% humidity I seem to work fine (as long as its not in the direct sun).  Yeah, I end up hot, sweaty, tired, and smelly but it doesn't really slow me down.  I just set my pace and work.  I take breaks and hydrate usually with some home made ice tea (no sugar) or ice water.  I generally take magnesium supplements during the day to prevent cramps at night.  My first exposure to southern heat was basic training and AIT in Fort Polk, LA when it was known as little Vietnam.  Being from Montana, I had rarely experienced heat above 80° or high humidity.

My point is, yup, its hot and its been this way every summer for eons so why complain about the weather when you know what its going to be?  Suck it up and get the work done.  The reward at the end of the day is a nice refreshing shower and the thought of what you accomplished in spite of the heat.

For you northerners, I grew up in Montana and and the winters were long and cold but you dealt with it.  You walked to school every day barefoot, in the snow, uphill both ways  :D just like your dad and at the end of the day you did the same to get home.  A snow day was when it snowed, you got up and went to school, just like all the other days.  When the work was there, you brushed off the snow, chipped off the ice, and did what it took to fire up then engine and get it running smooth.  You drove on packed ice and snow for 6 months because that's what you did, otherwise you got cabin fever so bad that your mind started going bad.  Most winters it never got above 0° F for six to eight wee  ks at a time but everyone knew it and dealt with it.  You still did the work that needed to be done.

So, yup, the weather is going to be what it is and God gives us the grace to deal with it every single day whether it meets our expectations or not.  If you're not experiencing the wonderful weather then you're probably on the brown side of the sod.  That's  not something to smile about.

Today's weather at EOTE:

Agreed 100%. When someone complains about the weather to me I just say to complain about things you can and are willing to do something about. Though some can tolerate it better than others, complaining does nothing.

[EOTE]

Is it just me? I know it gets hot and humid in the south but unless it hits about 102° and 80% humidity I seem to work fine (as long as its not in the direct sun).  Yeah, I end up hot, sweaty, tired, and smelly but it doesn't really slow me down.  I just set my pace and work.  I take breaks and hydrate usually with some home made ice tea (no sugar) or ice water.  I generally take magnesium supplements during the day to prevent cramps at night.  My first exposure to southern heat was basic training and AIT in Fort Polk, LA when it was known as little Vietnam.  Being from Montana, I had rarely experienced heat above 80° or high humidity.

My point is, yup, its hot and its been this way every summer for eons so why complain about the weather when you know what its going to be?  Suck it up and get the work done.  The reward at the end of the day is a nice refreshing shower and the thought of what you accomplished in spite of the heat.

For you northerners, I grew up in Montana and and the winters were long and cold but you dealt with it.  You walked to school every day barefoot, in the snow, uphill both ways  :D just like your dad and at the end of the day you did the same to get home.  A snow day was when it snowed, you got up and went to school, just like all the other days.  When the work was there, you brushed off the snow, chipped off the ice, and did what it took to fire up then engine and get it running smooth.  You drove on packed ice and snow for 6 months because that's what you did, otherwise you got cabin fever so bad that your mind started going bad.  Most winters it never got above 0° F for six to eight wee  ks at a time but everyone knew it and dealt with it.  You still did the work that needed to be done.

So, yup, the weather is going to be what it is and God gives us the grace to deal with it every single day whether it meets our expectations or not.  If you're not experiencing the wonderful weather then you're probably on the brown side of the sod.  That's  not something to smile about.

Today's weather at EOTE:

Agreed 100%. When someone complains about the weather to me I just say to complain about things you can and are willing to do something about. Though some can tolerate it better than others, complaining does nothing.

I love it donbj! 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)  You are so right in that complaining does nothing...except to create angst and anxiety.  When I was working in the corporate world, I always found that you accomplished more not by whining and complaining about something but by bringing proposed solutions to the problem.  That way, you weren't adding to the problem, you were helping to solve it.

[stanwelch]

Right on, EOTE. 
I'm a proponent of looking at a "problem " as an opportunity. 
Most satisfying memories from working are the opportunities that were discovered to remove temporary roadblocks

[Old Greenhorn]

I gave up complaining about the weather when I realized nobody was going to do anything to fix it. ;D I did try holding back paying my taxes until the government figured it out, but that didn't work either, so I gave up. As long as I don't have to chip it, I am pretty good with whatever comes. It's the ice storms I hate, they get folks killed and don't do anybody any good.
 Anyway, I have always just worked around the weather because for me it's an insurmountable obstacle. When we got our first house I was somewhere around 28 years old and self employed. The house needed a lot of work, but we bought it because it had two garages I could move my shop into and save that rent money. I needed to do new roofs on both buildings and it was HOT, so I would get to it at 6am and do quiet work (moving material, etc) until I could legally make noise at 7:30, then work until around 10 or 11, then move onto other stuff and get back on the roofs at around 5pm and work until 9 or so. I do recall it was so hot that I had to cover any tools on the roof with rags or they would get so hot you couldn't hold them.
 I'd like to be doing the same routine these days, but I can't seem to drag my butt out there in the cool morning hours. No problem getting up on time (today was 4:30) just can't get a move on. And right now it is not even really hot here! It's only hitting 90 and the humidity gets down to 65% during the day. I am still waiting for the 95/95 days when it really knocks me down hard.
 I just keep plugging along at whatever pace I can manage, any progress is better than no progress. Anything I do today does not have to be done tomorrow, and that is the thought I hang my hat on.

[WDH]

  smiley_fused_bomb

[Magicman]

I haven't seen any complaining but I have seen work schedules adjusted in order to take advantage of the cooler morning hours and then knocking off in the early afternoon.  (Read the OP on this topic)  My decision to postpone this job was based on the fact that there is no shade where the logs are staged and not working a full day when the customer is paying lodging seems unprofessional to me.  Working in 95°+ temperature is a health risk and avoiding it is a good dose of reality.  I will take care of some farm maintenance the first few days and then saw Friday (and Saturday if necessary). I didn't get to be this old by being lazy nor stupid.  

[Texas Ranger]

102 actual, 110 felt.  This old dog stayed in the shade/AC.

[Sixacresand]

97% humidity, 93°.  I agree with Magicman.  Nothing out in the sun today.  

[EOTE]

I haven't seen any complaining but I have seen work schedules adjusted in order to take advantage of the cooler morning hours and then knocking off in the early afternoon.  (Read the OP on this topic)  My decision to postpone this job was based on the fact that there is no shade where the logs are staged and not working a full day when the customer is paying lodging seems unprofessional to me.  Working in 95°+ temperature is a health risk and avoiding it is a good dose of reality.  I will take care of some farm maintenance the first few days and then saw Friday (and Saturday if necessary). I didn't get to be this old by being lazy nor stupid.  

MM, this is what I mean by bringing a solution to the problem.  You work around the heat issue and I am learning to get up early and get things done while I can.  Sometimes I work into the evening and am finding solutions for the lack of light since in the evening and at night heat is generally not a problem.
So I equipped the 12 Mexicans with the ability to work at night.  ;D  (Usually the umbrella is closed at night but it made for a fun picture.)

[Magicman]

Since I only saw portable at the customer's location I have not and will not equip my sawmill with lights.  The shower of sparks when the blade hits the log clamp is blinding!!  :  


 
A little known fact about Mississippi.  :-\

[Resonator]

EOTE, did your Kubota come from Roswell originally?  ???

[farmfromkansas]

This old coot is having trouble with the heat too, still have some oats to thrash, and a bunch of prairie hay to cut, rake and bale. Broke the spring on my mower that makes the trip hook, ordered a bunch of parts to fix it, got most of them installed, but have a couple left, now the rain is over, hope to get the oats cut and the straw baled, then need to plant some feed on that ground. This rain has got us all behind on the prairie hay.

[EOTE]

EOTE, did your Kubota come from Roswell originally?  ???

That's a good one!  I created the umbrella mount so I wouldn't have to be in the sun.  I used an old beach umbrella I had.  When I was dragging logs out of the bottomland, I only had the lame lights that Kubota puts on the tractors and a "headlight" that I wore on my forehead.  I said there has to be better lighting than that...I found a 30,000 lumen LED lightbar for the front and 2 - 10,000 lumen LED lights to point to the back.  $30 for the front light and $20 for the back light.  I mounted them using big magnets to the roll bar.  Man, you can see a long ways in the dark with them.

Now when I go into the trees it definitely looks like something from outer space landed there and is moving about. :D