I Got Company (Pictures)

Mark M · December 27, 2003, 08:11:32 PM

Yesterday I had a visitor - Gus (SDSaw) from down south (South Dakota) stopped by at work to pay me a visit. Whenever I have visitors, especially distinguished Forestry Forum members, I spare no expense and give them the special red carpet treatment. Since Gus had traveled so far I even took him to the dump.

First thing we did was stop by the coffee pot and got some coffee (it's free to employees and visitors). Next we hopped in my truck and went back to the log pile where I store my saw logs and firewood at work. I don't know if he was impressed but I had the feeling Gus had never seen such a large pile of logs in ND (this one is 2 logs high!) Next we went to the dump to see if there were any new logs. Holy Cow - they had a new pile that they kept separated from the branches! I hadn't seen it before so I'll have to go back and rummage around a little. I think I'll wait till Gus isn't along though because I don't want him getting any funny ideas. I've got that DanG Grandpa Joe down at Lincoln to worry about ya know.

Today Gus, his wife Tammy, and their two boys came up to Wilton to see us at da Thurdy-Room house. Since it was so nice outside we decided to go saw so Gus could try out the Norwood. It was really snowing hard and we had a good time. Gus ran the mill and I think he liked it. I told Tammy that I couldn't be held accountable for any sudden urges to buy a sawmill.

Here's a small picture and there are more here.

One last thing, If any other members get near Bismarck stop by at work and I'll buy you a cup of coffee.

Mark

DanG · December 27, 2003, 09:39:11 PM

Sounds like a great time, Mark. I'm always a bit jealous when someone gets to meet another Forum member and I'm not there. :-/ Who's the old fart with the grey beard?

Mark M · December 27, 2003, 09:44:20 PM

Dat's me! - I got my beard trimmed so I would look like Tom. That way I can really go out and raise hell and people with think it's Tom and not me. 8)

DanG · December 27, 2003, 09:53:24 PM

Ya ain't gonna fool nobody. Everbody knows Tom's got better sense than to be dinkin' around wit no sawmill in a DanG blizzard. Ackshully, he's got better sense than ta be where there could even be a blizzard. I don't see how you guys can stand that! I guess we all got our cross to bear, though. I had ta spray myself with Deet this afternoon. It was 31 this mornin', but it got up near 70 and the bloomin' skeeters hatched out. >:(

Norm · December 28, 2003, 03:47:36 AM

You can tell the true northerners by what they wear. Notice no heavy coats just a flannel shirt and a hooded sweatshirt. Heck I'm surprised with it being in the 20's they didn't have shorts on. :D

dan-l-b · December 28, 2003, 04:59:37 AM

I thought that white stuff was sawdust suppressant :D :D :D 8)

dan-l-b · December 28, 2003, 05:02:56 AM

Neat pics Mark, I like your log loading setup. Pretty snifty

Your cameraman did a fine job too 8)

Den Socling · December 28, 2003, 06:01:25 AM

Nice pictures and it's smart to document where your tools were laying. :D I recently had some stuff reappear that I haven't seen for a couple weeks. like the backhoe! ;D

Sawyerfortyish · December 28, 2003, 06:20:33 AM

Mark you must have good neighbors. Why if I started my mill up so close to all them people they would lock me up. Course my detroit barks a little louder.

;) I guess you really save on your blade lube when you saw in snow ;D

AtLast · December 28, 2003, 07:35:08 AM

Us " Northerners" are a VERY hardy breed. Aint much gunna stop us from sawing up some stuff. HECK we saw in 3 feet of snow UP HILL on the off load and downhill on the up load PLUS we aint got dem nasty old multi legged furry lookin things that crawl outta yer drain pipe en stuff . Nice pics......we know wher da hardy true sawmillers er at.
Corse I dun fergot ta mention that ya pick yer job in da mornin cuzzin yer feet'll be stuck to da ground . We end up lookin like one a dem store displays , only able ta move side ta side but hey....we still tuff it out and keep dem women a busy in da kitchen getting dem vittles piped up fer us. ;D

Frank_Pender · December 28, 2003, 07:56:39 AM

Nice pictures, Mark. Yep, it isrealy fun to make sawdust in the snow. We have had a couple three inches here the last few days. Day before yesterday I sawed about 500' of fir. Yesterday, I finshed up three 16' by 24" Fir and washed another 5 pieces for sawing today. I am just about finished with a 7,000 sq fti house for some folks in Salem.

Dave_Fullmer · December 28, 2003, 08:05:26 AM

Nice pics, Mark.

That sure looks cold. Makes me thankful for the nice weather we had yesterday and today. I was digging holes to put my saw pole barn up. It was 60 degrees and sunny.

Don't get me wrong, I know what it's like to cut firewood all day long in a blizzard. Did that many years in Mich. I just decided that I was fooling myself thinking I liked it and since I am NOT the hardy folks that AtLast is, I moved to TN.

Thanks for the pics to remind me how much I appreciate not being there. If you see me visit, it will be in the summer time so I can escape the heat.

BTW, I tell folks down here that Mich only has three seasons: Spring, July, and Winter
:

:

Jeff · December 28, 2003, 08:10:13 AM

Quotewe still tuff it out and keep dem women a busy in da kitchen getting dem vittles piped up fer us. ;D

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/oldbaldy/audio/mansong.mp3

You must be either brave, foolish, a glutten for punishment, or single. ;)

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Man Song.

He's the man, he's the man...

I don't take no crap from anybody else but you,
I wear the pants around here, when I'm finished with your laundry,
'Cause I'm the guy you don't wanna fight,
when I say jump, you say "Yeah, right!"

I'm the man of this house, until you get home!

He's the man, he's the man...

What I say goes around here, right out the window,
And I don't want to hear a lot of whining, so I'll shut up,
The sooner you learn who's boss around here,
the sooner you can give me my orders dear,
I'm head honcho around here, but its all in my head.

He's the man, he's the man...

And I can have sex anytime that you want,
'Cause I'm a man who has needs, but they're not that important,
And don't expect any flowers from me, because if I'm not mistaken you prefer jewelery,
I'm the king of my castle when you're not around.

He's the man, he's the man...

And I'll drink and watch sports whenever I want, and get in trouble,
And I'll come home when I'm good and ready, to sleep on the couch,
'Cause a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, and I'm gonna do what you tell me to,
'Cause I'm top dog around here, but I've been Neutered.

He's the man, he's the man...

You the man...

Mark M · December 28, 2003, 08:53:40 AM

Yep it was great day. Temp was right around freezing and no wind to speak of. When Gus and I started sawing it really started showing hard, just the kind of snow I like.

DanG you are right about Tom not having the sense to saw in a blizzard. I didn't take that into consideration so I guess I'll have to head south if I want to raise a little hell.

Den I did go out last night to make sure I could find my pickaroon and cant hook, figgure I might need them before May. Heck I might even need them today to do a little sawing this afternoon. The snow covers up the sawdust so I don't have to clean it up right away. It does make a pretty good suppressant cause I don't usually saw when it's snowing. Its supposed to start getting cold this week and I'm kinda of a sissy when it comes to sawing much below zero. I'd probably have to get out my winter coat for that.

Oh, I almost forgot. When I lived in Minnesota we had them skeeters too. When they'd hatch out on a warm spring day we would catch a few and wait for it to get cold again. Since they were pretty big you could get a good grip on them so we would use them for darts and toss 'em at the logs. As long as you used pine or balsam logs their pecker (what do you call thing anyway?) wouldn't break off very easily and the wings made them fly straight because of their aerodynamic-icicity.

When I retire hope to move down south where it is warmer. Maybe somwhere around Strassburg or Linton.

Happy New Year
Mark

Den Socling · December 28, 2003, 09:13:50 AM

Good tune, Jeff. I had to stop everything and send it to a couple friends that came to mind. ;)

Mark M · December 28, 2003, 09:23:01 AM

Ya that song is funny, I'll have to send it to ladies at work.

Tom · December 28, 2003, 03:05:28 PM

Don't know if we'll be confused with one another or not? I couldn't last out in that weather long enough for anybody to know I was there. :D

I was sawing at the chicken farmer's before I left for Orlando and their 17 month old great grandson kept sneaking peeks at me around the dining room door. Finally he tentively said "Ho Ho Ho (?)" :D

I guess you and I could be mistaken for someone in a sleigh this time of year, eh?

Gus · December 28, 2003, 04:27:22 PM

Just got back from up north. Twas a little slick most of the way too.

Mark and Cindy were good hosts we had a good time. I was glad Tammy went along cause I'd already met Cindy at work and suspected they'd hit it off.
Mark is fibbing you guys about the house, it ain't a turdy room house, it's a turdy-one room house :D. Mark showed me around a little and he DOES have a lot of work to do on the various floors but the main living quarters is pretty homey.
That furnace he's hooking up is impressive. Would love to have a smaller version for the old farmhouse we live in.
  I was impressed with the Norwood sawmill Mark has. Very simple and much stouter than they look in the pictures I've seen. The Honda engine made short work out of the ash log we sawed. I noticed, with the hand feed, you can feel what's going on with the log with ease (knots and such).
   Youse guys can tease Mark all you want about his cruising the dump but I was impressed. Heck, it's free storage and already limbed and piled. Kinda like going to the mall and shopping for logs. ;)There are some pretty big logs there that make me wonder how he's going to get them home. 8)
  Hey Mark, that wasn't snow was it? I never even noticed ;D
By the way, I found sumptin in my trunk when I got home :

Ahh heck I can use it anyway, you'll never miss it. :D :D ;D
Thanks,
Gus

BW_Williams · December 28, 2003, 08:43:29 PM

Great pics Mark, I enjoy milling in the snow, I use less lube. But the other day it was snowing so hard and we were cutting 16's the logs was white between passes! Ended up snowin about 6-8" in 6 hours, it really slowed us down, we only cut 1600 bdft. BWW

Mark M · December 29, 2003, 07:37:01 AM

Hey Gus - you didn't find the gray cat from next door in your trunk did you? If so you can keep it. Those people leave that poor cat out all the time and I feel sorry for it.

Glad to hear you made it back safe and thanks for taking the time to stop for a visit.

Mark

whitepe · December 29, 2003, 08:42:12 AM

Hey Mark and Gus,
It looks like you had a good time. Mark is
your beard that white all of the time or is that
snow that was collecting on it? ;D
Mark, with all of the lumber you are sawing
I see a sawmill shed in your future.
PU-PEW

Gus · December 29, 2003, 11:03:19 AM

The pleasure was all mine Mark. You folks made us feel right at home. It was good to get together with someone on the forum finally.
Mark, thank goodness it wasn't a cat >:( We started out here with no cats, which I thought was fine, but the wife began to feed the wanderers and they quit wandering at our place. I swear they are like a bunch of hobo's. One spreads the word and pretty soon they are all there. We got more DanG cats than you can shake a stick at hangin' here 'bouts. Tammy can't pass up the chance to feed an animal of any shape.

Gus