Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All!

Hello all,I am headed to Appalacicola FL this weekend for seafood and the ambiance of being near the ocean or the Gulf that is. My buddy Chuck has a condo there, actually it is on St George Island. It is beautiful there, very limited commercialization other than high end condos (which is way beyond my means - building lots are advertised in the $900,000's). The good thing is that it limits the boom box crowd. There are some really good seafood restaurants there - surprisingly - reasonably priced.

I was there last month for their annual seafood festival. I brought back a pickup load of oyster shells to add to the gravel on my driveway. The flies followed me for the first 75 miles or so. Once I put it on my drive it took about 2 weeks for the fish/salt bouquet to dissipate. Maybe TMI, pardon me if so!

The weekend after Christmas I will be cutting some walnut trees down for a client. I'll take some before and after photos. One tree leans heavily over a creek. It will be challenging - hope I don't get wet! The wood is so beautiful. I will take some close up shots.

I wish you all a safe and merry time over the holidays. Are we getting way too caught up in the Christmas tree sensabilities thing or what? Don't want to get me started on that.

Guten Tag,
Fred

Men at work or play, rather!

These are 12/07 photographs of some poplar logs being cleared for a garden spot in the Whitesville GA area. The tractor is a 1952 Ford (a testament to old is not always bad) and worked well in moving the logs to the mill. You have to look hard but Clinton is in the forefront while Tommy is in the background. Enjoy!

Then and Now!

The first picture was taken in Panama City - I think in 1985 or so. That is Angie in the front and Amy hugging me. The second picture of us (Amy,Angie,Fred) was taken in WV in July 2007. Its amazing how the girls only get better looking and we men just get old. Enjoy!

36" Water Oak Log

These are a couple of 2006 pictures of a job at a Pine Mountain, GA sod farm. I was hired to saw pallet (5/8"x4" and 2"x3") lumber. The logs were of various species to include poplar, sweet gum, soft maple, river birch, and local oaks cut from the property. The large log was a water oak and was almost too big for the sawmill. That's me to the left with a helper whom I cannot remember his name but he sure was a very strong fellow for his size.

Small Boat and Canoe Built in the 80's.

This small boat was built in 1984 or so from plans (Martha's Tender) published in WoodenBoat. It was built using 1/2" exterior BC plywood. The seats, knees, rub rails, stem, and other miscellaneous parts were from red oak. The hull was covered with fiberglass cloth and resin. I was able to slide it in the bed of a full size pickup and used it in local lakes.

The canoe was built in 1986. I used western red cedar 1/4"x3/4" strips for the hull and then covered it with fiberglass cloth inside and out. The seats were made using red oak and plastic webbing weaved into the chair cane pattern. I do not recommend the plastic webbing, it stretches after a while of sitting. The gunnels were made from clear red fir. I still have this canoe and use it occasionally.

August 07 - Barn Siding Job - Harris County GA

The following photographs are of a barn I was hired to saw the siding for. It came to about 7,000 board feet of 1"x8"x12' and 1"x"6"x12' boards. As you can see I was able to set up out of the sun and the logs were literally brought to my doorstep. This rarely happens as you'll note from other pictures posted here.