sawmill

Tim, from Mike's Custom Sawmill, brought the portable mill to the land yesterday and started working on the stack of logs. We made a pretty good dent, but there is at least a day and a half of more sawing to come. The mill was amazing! It had a hydraulic lift to get the logs up, an arm that could grab the log and turn it, and another gadget for holding the log in place, which Tim could also use for turning the log in addition to the aforementioned arm. The last gadget reminded me of R2D2's radar that pops out of his head every now and then. It also had rollers that popped up for repositioning the log. I loved watching everything it could do. All of the tools made perfect sense, but it but I had no idea there was so much technology there.

Since it was a Friday, I couldn't find anyone to come help, so Tim brought Johnny along. Johnny was a mess and didn't mind talking about it. He is an alcoholic who cannot quit drinking even though he already has cirrhosis; he has a hernia, but has to keep working in a job requiring him to carry and stack heavy lumber; he has a DWI so he can't drive; he's struggling to stop smoking cigars; and he lives in a "pack house" that, according to Johnny, has so many holes in the roof that "when it rains outside, it pours inside." It was a reminder of how crippling the disease of alcoholism can be. I was imagining the struggles that my paternal grandmother must have gone through.

On a more positive note, pictures of the sawmill will be coming soon. (have to keep my reading public wanting more!)