Last Rough of The Season

This is the time of the year that I started my turning of green wood. I would stock up on newly fallen trees and start turning. The trees are easier to split and saw up when they are frozen. I didn't have to worry about the logs drying out and splitting as much as in the summer. Turning frozen blanks could make a little mess of the shop and tools but that coulg easily be takin care of with some dry rags and oil.

I live on 40 acres at 9,000' in southern Colorado, so I have spent the last month or so stocking up on dead aspen and ponderosa pine logs, which I cut to 18" length and then sealed the ends. I will use them throughout the winter. We usually have at least a foot of snow on the ground here, so I store everything piled up my garage/shop. I heat the space with an industrial electric heater, although the lights and machinery seem to warm things up.

Just came in from making a drive to - nowhere. The road commission is not about to pay holiday overtime. We're 10" on the level. Had to do double passes with the tractor, because it ran over the blade real quickly. It's just a dirt blade, so it doesn't roll and toss, just tosses.

Made it out to a fire last night at about 6" depth, so we should be able to make the trip to the ambulance if we have to.

I don't even want to think how much pine and aspen I'd have to have to make a winter. Takes ~6 full cord of beech/birch/maple for the average one. With the temperature of the big lake so high this year, it could be a heap of snow to come. Average year is 200 plus.

I'm getting ready to harvest a large wild cherry in December. It will finally be cool enough to work without heatstroke and the leaves have already fallen, so cleanup will be easier. It was 70 degrees today and I worked up a sweat picking up limbs in the yard.

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Here in central Texas, I revert to day time turning again, since the tin roof on my shop sends the Jun-Sept temps above 110 degrees, so most turning during that period is done between dusk and midnight. Most of the rest of the year, except for whichever day winter falls on, day time work shop temps are OK. When it gets a little chilly (45 degrees and below) a 500 Watt work light directly above keeps the air temp up enough to keep fingers from getting stiff. BTW, temp yesterday according to the thermometer in the van's info center was 89 degrees, but a front is due in tomorrow after noon.

Ken Moon Webberville, TX

I was just thinking about that this afternoon ... whether to slab out the last few logs or to lean on what I already have on the shelves.

Haven't made up my mind just yet, but I've probably got until next Saturday to do all I'm going to. There are enough blanks for 50-60 bowls and 30-40 additional pieces for some spindle work.

On the other hand, I looked at the mercury half a dozen times today and never saw it read more than 10 degrees F.

Got paper birch, ash, maple, cherry, slippery elm, box elder, oak, poplar and willow laid by. Trimmings off most of those will add up to a bunch of pens. And then last week a buddy showed up with a piece of goncalo alves and asked if it was safe to burn in his fireplace. Told him "Well, technically, yes ... but if you do, I'll have to kill you

-- don't worry, you'll thank me later."

Tonight he showed up with 4 pieces 41" x 8/4 x 17/4. All of them have a stretch where there is at least 14" between nailholes.

What are friends for, eh? :-)

Bill

George,

Where are you???

Also hope you had a good Thanksgiving. It's my biggest holiday for family and warmth. None of the commercialism of others and the best of reasons for being a holiday.

TomNie

Here.

Downwind of Lake Superior. We got paged out for ambulance support this morning, which is the source of the tracks. My pickup dragged bottom. Should have seen the drift-busting up the road!

Would that be Eastern or Western UP? I live in Esky and it looks like Munising got clobbered...

> Downwind of Lake Superior. >

Just got back from grocery shopping at Elmer's, and the line starts at about Osier as you come north on 41 to Trenary. Marquette wasn't as bad, of course. Munising gets clobbered by wind from about 320 to 050 degrees true.