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"A farm is a manipulative creature. There is no such thing as finished. Work comes in a stream and has no end. There are only the things that must be done now and things that can be done later. The threat the farm has got on you, the one that keeps you running from can until can’t is this: do it now, or some living thing will wilt or suffer or die. Its blackmail, really."
– Kristin Kimball
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Kristin Kimball, author of the books The Dirty Life and Good Husbandry, has got it right.
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Primal Woods
So this is what happens when you ask your husband to pick up organic apples at the store. Got a list, just check 'em off as quickly as possible, you husbands know the drill. "USDA Organic" apples, sounds like it fits the bill, yes? Okay, I'll admit, the hard plastic case they come in was a bit offputting even in the store. I mean, really?! Got them home and saw that the apples themselves were from New Zealand. So, I've got apples that were packaged 3-1/2 weeks ago according to the label on the back, presumably in New Zealand, and shipped 6,000 miles more or less, to somehow sell from a Costco "Wholesale" store in Michigan, with Michigan being the 3rd largest apple-producing state in the U.S. You can't make this stuff up. I'm sorry but there is nothing "organic" about shipping apples encased in hard single-use plastic 8,559 fossil-fueled miles to a destination which produces its own apples in abundance. The company that makes the packaging, Sonoco, has as its motto, "Better Packaging. Better Life." How about this, "No Packaging. Better Life?" I'll admit that it doesn't quite roll of the tongue as well. I made a bad choice, I acted the fool, and I won't make this particular bad choice again.
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Joe grillin' the burgers...
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Portable Sawmill Services Be honest, how many of you have had a customer haul a grill to the job-site and grill up burgers for the whole crew? Joe and Lauri took care of all of us, and there were several; Mark, Monroe, and Linden were there pretty much start to finish, in addition to Joe, Lauri and me. I've said it before, I'll say it again, the best thing about my work is the great people I'm blessed to meet, and these folks are a blessing.
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I think we should have a "caption this" contest...I'll start with "Now what?!"
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That's the biggest diameter log I've ever had on the mill, 41 inches on the big end, 5" inches bigger than Wood-Mizer's published max of 36". There is no way we could have milled this had Joe and company not worked very hard to get that pie-shaped segment out of the log using steel wedges and a sledge hammer. As it turns out we milled this log, and the pie-shaped segment, and got all this log had to offer, which was 395 board feet (a board foot is a square foot one inch thick).
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A 30 second look at what we were up against
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Together we milled 4,999 board feet from 46 logs. It was an epic outing in every respect, and Joe and Lauri were gracious hosts. Thank you, Joe and Lauri.
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It can safely be said, I hate cheap gear
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Sooooo...first let me say that the EPA certified plastic gas cans are certifiable junk; more gas is probably leaked than are vapors contained. Last year I think it was I upgraded to these faux military Jerry cans, emphasis on "faux." Part of the problem is that by design I'm sure, the cans are air-tight, as the plastic ones also purport to be. Sounds great, except when significant temperature fluctuations are encountered, which is pretty much every day three seasons out of four. Those fluctuations cause the vapors above the gas to expand or contract in volume, which causes pressure or vacuum in the can, which results in flexing of the skin of the can, which in the case of these cheap knock-offs results in leaks, again, defeating the intentions of the EPA. I've ordered up the replacements and I'll show you what I hope to be a true upgrade next week.
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Hopefully this is the beginning of a long-term relationship with North Eleven
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Pure Maple Syrup So far so good at North Eleven. They are working to incorporate our Primal Woods Pure Maple Syrup into more of their recipes, with the intention of having it as a featured product offering. Of course we couldn't be happier, and we will certainly work hard to give them what they need to make a success of it.
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