Jeff and Tom's Florida adventure 2006

[Tom]

Jeff had an opportunity to get away from Michigan's winter this year and made his first-ever airplane flight.  All the way to Florida, he came, and we have had a grand old time for the better part of two weeks. 

I had a sawing job that was going to take up most of my time, but arranged to be away some so that we could visit and goof off.  Jeff was good help around the saw job and took pictures that I am unable to take and run the mill at the same time.   You can see some of them in the "visiting Florida" thread on the General Board.

My wife was moving my computer around in the office and Jeff got volunteered for that as well.  I ran for the hills. :D  Now I have a lot of room, a window and a "fixed" scanner too.

Jeff has been practicing his Floridian talk, things like "faa-lieher"(fat lighter) and "ar-rite" (a slurred 'all right').

His most momentous occasion was answering the clerk in a convenience store with "ar-rite" when asked "howyadoin" and not getting a look or response like he was "not from here".

We visited the ocean, took pictures of the John F. Kennedy air-craft carrier in Mayport, across the St. Johns, container ships in the river and fishing boats at the dock, rode by several sawmills and a chip plant, visited with some of the Southern members in the area, walked the swamp again, visited my dock, ate a slab of bar-b-cued pork ribs (Jeff bought them), had some pretty good chuck, cooked on an oak and hickory fire out back, consumed great quantities of chocolate cake, coffee, home-made cinnamon rolls, shrimp, coffee, shrimp again, Salomi sandwiches, fresh oranges.

We sawed big pine into vertical grain flooring as wide as 10 inches, sawed 16 and 18 inch boards,visited with Sprucebunny and played in pine tar, and watched the US Navy perform touch and go approaches with A-10's and other planes,  over our heads.

We walked all over a hand-dug breastworks called Yellow Bluff Fort, visited a fishing community at "Dames Point" and even drove under the Dame's Point Bridge approach where I found a park that I never knew existed.  Jeff tasted his first persimmon (not overripe but approaching it). I don't know how I missed the thing.  It was hanging on my tree back in the woods and the wildlife had even left it alone.  I thought it tasted real good, even though it had gotten quite soft.

Woodbowl made us presents of some bowls that came off of a machine he is designing and even stamped and signed them.

We had a bonfire, of sorts, and a jam session that went into the wee ours of the morning.  Getoverit, Jeff and Woodbowl picked, strummed and fiddled some long-forgotten tunes. 

We suffered through some rainy weather by sitting in the house (that was fun) and playing with the computer.  It gave us a lot of time to discuss the direction that the Forum is taking and consider ways to get it back on track as a Forestry and Wood oriented site.  Not that the general kabitzing is a bad thing, it's just that it seems to be taking the forum over and I have had some concerns.  It felt good to be able to air them out with Jeff face to face.

Y'all probably noticed the effort to "tamper" with the quotes option.  That has been a sore point with me for several months lately.  It has seemed that the lazy way out of writing original posts has developed a proliferation of quotes of entire posts, pictures and all, as well as full quotes of posts immediately preceeding the written post.  It has made the forum difficult to follow, redundant and frustrates me to know end.  It felt good to get it off of my chest and be able to explain some of my concerns.  I am hoping we can guide these posting habits and off-site picture postings back to the friendly conversational atmosphere we once enjoyed.  The Forestry Forum has such a great amount of information in it's posts, past-posts, knowledge base and picture galleries that it seems such a waste to not take advantage of them.  I've never understood the need to be so quick to send members and visitors off to another site when we are so rich in information.

Well, Jeff is back on the plane.  He's headed back to Michigan's close-to-zero weather in a plane that was late and still has to fly over the edges of the storms that are hitting the Northeast.   I feel confident that he will make it alright, even though his luggage is a good deal heavier than when he arrived.  Ha!  I think he might be too.  :D

[sawguy21]

I was gonna suggest his luggage might not be the only issue, the way you guys have been feeding him ;D

[Dakota]

Tom,
A good time was had by all, including all of us that followed the thread.
Dakota

[SwampDonkey]

Tom, Jeff and all involved in the 2006 Florida visit, I also have been following and enjoying all your adventers. Tom, I've had persimmon also when I was down in Virginia visiting friends. Tastes right good to me. Not alot different than our wild Canada Plum, if you are lucky enough to find them. They (plum) are quite rare now. Now talking about wet weather and that mushy stuff we find moulded onto our shoes certain times of the year....We've been quite lucky with the winter we've had so fair. Not real cold, but enough to hide that wet sticky stuff and enough ice/crust to walk anywhere in the woods without the aid of them web type shoes inspired by observing the ruffed grouse walk on snow. ;D

cheerio

[Texas Ranger]

So, who was the horse's patoot? ;D

[Brad_S.]

Usually when there's a winter beach shot of a southerner and northener, it's the Yankee in shirt sleeves and the home boy with the sweater or sweatshirt. :D

[SwampDonkey]

I remember in college some folks were out in their shorts and short sleeves in March. But, it wasn't that hot out. It was probably in the 40's F on an exceptional day and they'de be sitten in lawn chairs on the south side of a brick building where it felt like 70 F in the sun. I guess they thought they were trying to set a trend.  :

[crtreedude]

I can't help but notice that there is no one on that beach - what did you do, scare them all off?

[Tom]

We decided that it was our Civic duty to protect
the United States from aggressors so......


Here's a picture of Jeff in ....arock.





;D

[Paul_H]

Groannnn  :D

[SwampDonkey]

All he needs now is a 5 lb mallet to work his aggression out on the rocks. :D :D

[TexasTimbers]

Yep it would be like that scene in that Eastood flick (pale Rider) where Eastwood and Hull are bangin away on that boulder and the giant comes along and splits it with one whack :D

Glad yoos gise   y'all had a great time.

[Jeff]

I'm busy recouping ta night but I gotta promise to tell my story about "being singled out" by Mr. Bubba security this morning at the Jacksonville Airport.  I'll just say fer now its a real desperate feeling when this great big dude that looks like Hoss Cartright that is two heads taller then me snaps on his rubber gloves and starts walking briskly my way...

[SwampDonkey]

Maybe you need to send him down to the rock pile for a spell. :D :D

[Tom]

For those of you who may need some help with the pun, it's pronounced "Iraq" .  :D

Dang and I found some real comfortable chairs
in the front yard and were visiting up a storm.


Somebody must've woke DanG up.

[SwampDonkey]

Ok, I'll be the first to admit it. I missed it the first time.  The rest of you guys are off the hook. :P :D

[DanG]

Brad S, that's another urban legend. :  It was pretty comfortable the day we went on the swamp stomp at Tom's place, but when the sun went down the temp dropped like a pregnant rock.  The Michiganders were the first ones to go looking for a jacket, and they spent the rest of the evening talking about how cold it was.

Sprucebunny spent the day here yesterday(new thread coming) and she did her share of bellyachin' about it, too. :D :D  We missed a prime photo-op by not taking a pic of the foot-long icicles on the old cabin. :-\

[Bro. Noble]

I'm sure glad I checked out this part of the forum 8)  That's pretty sneaky of Tom to post here so's some folks got to try some new buttons :D :D :D

Well with that frigid weather,  it looks like you had a miserable time :(------cept for the exploring around,  the good food,  the pickin and grinnin,  the good company,  more good food,  all that fun jaw hammering :D :D :D  Thanks for letting the rest of us enjoy some of the fun



DanG stoopid cows >:(

[Texas Ranger]

I STILL want to know who the horse's patoot with the foal is. >:(

[Dana]

Wow Tom, I am envious of Jeff for having you there as a guide/ host.  It sure is good to have local knowledge weed out the tourist traps and to take a person to the good stuff. ;) 8)

[Don P]

Look's like they were doing homework somewhere in there too  .
https://forestryforum.com/gallery2/florida_2006/DSC02808

Is this a king size jellyfish or something else?
https://forestryforum.com/gallery2/florida_2006/DSC02825

[Tom]

You guessed it, Don.  That's a big old jelly fish with his tentacles beaten off in the surf.  Sometimes they litter the beach.  That day, there were only a few here and there.


Hey Texas Ranger!    That baby horsey and momma's behind belong to the wife of the man whose logs I'm sawing now.  Jeff got some good pictures of the horses when Wade took him for a tour of the farm.

[Texas Ranger]

That little foal is what Texans call beautiful.  Cowboys and horses, that's what makes old f...ellas remember their cowboy days.

[Tom]

We managed to find enough stuff to build a little warming fire and hoped for some smoke to keep the mosquitoes at bay.


That looks like it might take


Now we're talkin'!   Take that, mosquitoes.


That looks comfortable.  A little heat, a little smoke....... ;D


Then we had to do it all over again. 
This time we moved to the back yard
and started our cooking fire.

[SwampDonkey]

Looks like alot of brick kicking, fire stoking and brain storming. What world problems did we solve now? ;D

That's a great looking cook'n fire. Where's my foil wrapped home smoked salmon steak? ;D

[getoverit]

I got to Tom's place about 4pm, and as soon as I turned the corner to get into his yard (making sure to avoid driving on Gael's grass) , I found this HUGE fire right in the middle of the driveway.  I wsnt sure if this was meant to keep me out, or what, but I stopped the truck right there and walked the rest of the way in  ;D

The funny part is that someone in the crowd that had drank a few cold ones during the afternoon was kicking some of the unburnt wood into the fire later that night after dark. It took them several tries to kick one piece in there until they figured out they were trying to kick a tire track into the fire  :D It wasnt until they yelled "DanG thats a long piece of wood !"

I'm not gonna mention no names  :

[Corley5]

Jeff's new saw compliments of Dang trucking provided by Corley5 Express ;) ;D


What got cooked over the second fire ;D  

[DanG]

Looks like ya got a couple of shots of me preachin' and everybody else sleeping through it. :D :D :D

[Corley5]

Little editing required ;)

[SwampDonkey]

Looks like Tom was the only warm body in the group. Sure an aweful bunch of cold whimps. ;D

[Corley5]

I'd take 15 Michigan degrees over 28 Florida ones anyday

[Texas Ranger]

Is DanG preachin, or howlin at the moon?  Does the boy get out much to roam with a pack like that?  In quiring minds want to know.  :P

(And DanG sorry I wasn't there to take personal note :'( of who said what, to whom)

[Corley5]

Multi-Talented bunch

[beenthere]

Maybe that's a first!  A pic of FF'rs inside and not sittin round a fire or out at an expo somewhere. Nice 'jammin' room. 
I'm wondering, as DanG appears to have quit preachin, If he is gettin any 'music' outta dose whiskers der?  Or is he just strokin some left-over steak drippins er sumptin just as tasty ???

[Corley5]

I think he was pickin his teeth ;) ;D ;D

[DanG]

Actually, as it was getting on toward 1am, I was probably tryin' to hold my head up. :

[Jeff]

That was fun that night it almost hurts to think about how far away you guys really are.  Old Olin is on da fiddle in that there photo. We plum run out of instruments for him ta play. Banjo Geetar Fiddle and Grand Piano and all of em sounded great!

[Jeff]

I might add I look rather brooks and Dunnish in my shirt that Gael gave me. She gave me a couple as they didnt look right hanging in Toms sea of red.

[woodbowl]

I sure had a lot of fun that night. Slept like a log too. Speaking of logs, DanG sawed a few logs hisself! You could hear him clean across two rooms. It sounded sorta' like a 1958 GMC pickup truck.
    The next morning, DanG makes a Bee line for the coffee pot.  I think everybody aught to see DanG before coffee ............. at least once. A good long stare into the bottem of the coffee pot, and some words uttered from an unknown language reveals that ......... coffee is now at the top of the list and should be addressed immediately!.

[Radar67]

Looks like he's thinking, "It's in there somewhere, I know it is, gotta be .........." :D :D :D

Stew

[sawguy21]

Is DanG preachin, or howlin at the moon?  Does the boy get out much to roam with a pack like that?  In quiring minds want to know.  :P

   

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D This is fun.

[Tom]

While on one of our rides, we stopped by Yellow Bluff Fort.  It is an earthworks put up in the War for Southern Independence and guarded access to the St. Johns River.  It is in close proximity to the northern end of the Dame's Point bridge and seldom visited by tourist.  Not many people know of its existence.  I used to metal detect there years ago and found a shovel buried beneath the tree roots  in the bottom of the trench.  I once found the remnants of, what I believe was, the armory.  It was a small building that contained the powder and shot for the big guns.  What remained were many cut nails in an area the size of the old building (according to records) on top of the earthworks.

It's difficult to find much research on stuff like this.  Most sites found by search engine just take your search material and turn it into an advertisement.  Florida still has the Fort as a park and this site has some info.

Florida Park Service Site

We walked around the site and Jeff got the opportunity to place his feet in the same soil as Confederate and Union troops alike.   Both sides occupied this place during the war.  The earthworks were just one of several that General Robert E. Lee asked to be put up on the St. Johns.  As far as I know, this is the only one whose spot has been saved.

Here is a picture of Jeff squatting beneath a Live Oak whose roots have been bared by erosion.  Children, including mine, have spent many happy hours here swinging from ropes in the trees and running up and down the earthworks.  It used to be a fun stop on the way to the beach until the State decided to take it off of the park roles for awhile.   It almost went away before some of the older Historical Society members got it reinstated. Thank goodness for those folks.  History is too important a thing to lose.  I'm hoping that the society will slow down and the newer generations develop an interest in its resurrection and conservation.

It really gives me a bad feeling to see the damage that vandals reek on historic monuments.  The brass and granite sign at Yellow Bluff has been shot several times and cannons removed from their display.  To some, nothing is sacred.

These are the types of places to take your children when you come to Florida.  It will mean much more to them in later years than a ride at Disney.

[SwampDonkey]

Same with the Old Train Station in Fredericton. It's ownd by that big green and yellow company  and they are letting it fall to the ground while Historical societies want it restored as a National Monument. There are several other stations that have been left to fall down over the years. People soon forget what it meant to have a railroad in this country.  They turned all the river valley railroad into walking trails where you never see a sole walk, just the odd 4 wheeler or ski doo. After spending millions on a trail, it will all soon be forgotten just as happened to all the little parks they created in the 80's. >:(

[Tom]

Jeff worked real hard to get a picture of a Pelican in flight.  On this one, his telescopic lens was run all the way out and he was tracking the bird like a gunner with a shotgun.  He got a good movie or two of Pelicans too.  They were diving at fish in the inlet, but he kept missing that.

[Radar67]

SD, they made a trail out of railroad beds here too. All the money was donated by businesses and individuals, no federal or state tax money was used. They call it the Long Leaf Trace and it does see a good bit of use. It is only open to walking and biking, no motorized vehicles.

The trail does help keep history alive for some, but the majority of the users could care less. It is a nice place to visit and walk.

Stew

[Jeff]

Here is the clip that I did get of that pelican. I really wanted to get one of them diving, but they did not cooperate. :-\

[Tom]

where's Waldo?

We took a day to go shopping.  Jeff wanted to find an antique mall.  I went South on US-301 to the little town of Waldo.  It is just south of Lawtey, Starke and Hampton, known nationally as speed traps, and in the same vicinity as the Big Prison.  Raiford is where the state electric chair is located and the institution is reserved for the worst of the worst.  The little surrounding towns have economics built around the prison.  They house guards, administrators, cooks, etc.  We were quite safe here, seeing as how all the bad people were locked up. ;D

This is the store where Jeff found all of the Forestry Books.

[Fla._Deadheader]

WHAT, no pics of Tom's Cypress ?????????????

[Tom]

We also stopped in at Tom's Cypress.  You have probably read a few posts about Tom's Cypress.  He makes big slab cuts of tree butts and burls using an LT40 and an array of chainsaws with bars long enough to reach from one end of a Thanksgiving table to the other.  Tom is a member Wood Mizer's milion board foot club but does no custom sawing.  He has tried to send business my way but the distances are just too great.  Most of his sales are in Europe.  He buys burls in the Pacific Northwest and ships them by railcar to Waldo where he slices them up and loads them into ship-board, overseas containers.   They end up in Europe where they are made into fine tables and furniture.

He also has quite a display of cypress.  His establishment is an old fruit stand surrounded by wire fence.  Inside is his Woodmizer and tons of huge Cypress slabs.

Here is one of the first things that caught Jeff's eye.  It is an old Wheel Saw.   Once used in the pulpwood industry, they were out-lawed because of their danger.  the blade will operate in the vertical position, for bucking, and in the horizontal position for felling small pulpwood sized trees with diameters of 12" or less.

[Fla._Deadheader]

Rigs similar to that sit all through the woods in Arkansas.    Can't imagine running one of them at all, let alone all day, every day  : :

[Ianab]

they were out-lawed because of their danger.

No Kidding    :D

[Minnesota_boy]

Should provide a real thrill if the tree were to rock backward and pinch the saw blade. 

[SwampDonkey]

The old timers had some kind of circular mill to buck firewood and 4 foot pulp before chainsaws. My grandfather cut so much firewood he could do it in his sleep. He used to cut it for the church on the Indian reservation, the school, and many people in town.

[sprucebunny]

Tom, that must be this place that I stopped to take some pictures of on my way to Bryceville ;D





That's some cool wood !! Do you know what is made out of the knees in the first picture ???

[Bibbyman]

I saw a Amish man use a saw that looked like this one.   

I got to know him when we stopped to see the old Wood-Mizer he was sawing with.  He had the axles out from under it and it setting on the ground.  He had another engine hooked to the power drive so no motors. This was the first Wood-Mizer mill I'd ever seen.

[Tom]

Cypress knees cannot be harvested because it harms the tree to remove them.  Most knees now come from land clearing jobs.  The  have had a place in furniture making for a long time, being used in the framework of chairs and tables for display.  They are more frequently made into lamp bases and you will  find them in old homes used for door stops.

I think we must've taken some of the same pictures you took.

Did you see the little circle sawmill set up on the East side of the road up toward Starke?  Believe it or not, there are several in the area like that and there are times of the year when all they cut are tomato stakes.