Wrapping things up!!

February 9, 2022
Well folks, it’s time to wrap thing up here in Arkansas with my friend “the old man”. What an experience it’s been. It took some time to fine tune the mill for production and once we got it done, we were ready to rock-n-roll!! We started, with looking for Cedar trees and looking at what we wanted and what trees would best suit our needs. The planning for lumber from each tree and getting the maximum wood count from each log. We began cutting trees for lumber. WOW! The first log on deck, is something I will never forget. The first cut and scrap pull off, I saw just how incredible these trees really are. Each one different from the last.
Fell a tree on the bottom of his (the old man’s) property, rig it to drag up to the mill, clean branches off and get it on the mill deck. Every cut smells like you’re in a giant cedar chest. Every cut, I look at in amazement. Every cut showed something different in the cedar. As I am working with the “old man”, he helped me realize that he is a wellspring of knowledge and information. He helped me find a milling process that brought better production numbers moving forward to accomplish our goals at hand.
Tomorrow, December 12th, I will be leaving to return home to Colorado. I feel like I got the very best part of our agreement. Let me explain. Not only am I getting Arkansas Red Cedar for my closets in my log cabin, but red cedar for other projects that are on the horizon for “Indian Mountain Live Edge”‘ I am also leaving with a deeper understanding of planning, processes and a better understanding of cut planning for max output. Most of all, a deeper respect, appreciation and understanding for my friend “the old man”.
I know in my heart, I got so much more than just lumber. I am leaving with a better me.