Think I'll get to posting some more - let me know if you are following.

It has been that long wow!

So I havent posted for over a year.

Since then I started a facebook group for portable saw mill operators it has grown to 6500 members.  I have not been making much lumber because in August 2014 I started back to school, this time for a Masters in Social Work.  

Why you may ask would a homesteader want that much education? And social work of all things? And how does that tie in to producing lumber?

Well, what it boils down to is being able to recognise and develop value where others overlook it.

A homesteader can find a ragged brushfilled hillside and see value as a possible pasture, vineyard or orchard.  A homesteader can see dead and diseased trees in the woodland and recognise a source for valuable lumber to build barns and shed for the farm.  A homesteader can see a wino on the corner and possibly recognize a potential employee or customer.

Social workers are professional people helpers - that is their job - to help people cope with their problems through empowerment, advocacy, and helping them linkup with available resources.  A homesteader does the same for his livestock, neighbors, and,
to-an-extent his farm. 

A social worker's ultimate goal is to fight social injustice. For some societies, social injustice includes consideration of advantages and disadvantages in society that make it unequal. For others, social injustice may repress a society to where living a self-sufficient lifestyle is difficult.

Homesteaders are all about self sufficient lifestyles.

Cooking on the heating stove

On a cold snowy day I decided to cook breakfast on the heating stove. So I fried some Onions and green peppers, in some butter.

While they were cooking I washed peeled and grated some potatoes.

In the butter from frying the onions I added my potatoes and some more butter.

I opened the draft on the coal stove for a little extra heat.

Needed a little more butter they were trying to stick

I added a lid to hold in the heat.

Once they were mostly done I added the onions and papers back in.

And three store bought eggs- wrong time of year for country eggs.

Then I waited a while.

Then I fliped everythign over one last time and added pepper and a little salt.

Some store bought tomatoes and  Cheddar cheese and I was ready to eat.

Now I am ready for a nap - what a good breakfast!

Too much

Sometimes you get too much to handle

Workshop

http://www.youtube.com/v/XqepQW0_EwY?version=3&autohide=1&showinfo=1&autohide=1&autoplay=1&feature=share&attribution_tag=X1PQuCYclje3jAPHIcvbbg

Cedar Benches and chest

First cedar log I have had made 2 benches and a chest.

Catalpa Slab Project

Neighbor cut a catalpa tree out of beside his driveway. The lower 6ft had nails in it so was unusable. This left a little metal staining in the butt log.

Catalpa 

I left a 3 inch slab from near the center of the tre. I hauled it to work to show it to some prospective customers. Catalpa has a distinctive aroma, very spicy. It is quite light and even more-so once dried.

 Bar using live edge boards to match live edge of slab.

Pictures don't do it justice but it is a very nice piece.

Milling prices