11/19-21/02 I went up to the property for 3 days: Tuesday through Thursday.

It rained pretty heavy all the way over. The rivers on the West side looked dangerously high. I stopped in and visited Marilyn on the way up. There was less rain on the East side and by the time I got to the property at 12:20 it was 52 degrees and no rain.

After moving in, I checked on the lines I had scribed the week before. They were just as fresh and vivid as when I drew them. I used a Marks-a-Lot permanent marker so now I know that is the pen to use. The log had had a lot of rain on it but it didn't wash away the marks.

Doris gave me an old aluminum screen door that is in pretty good shape so I took it up and stored it in the crawl space. I may use it when I finally get around to screening in the porch.

Mother Sow started on the first pull and ran perfectly. I ripped a slab from the log on the scribed marks and dragged it down to the gwizzing station. I was really surprised at how sharp the chain stayed. I check it each tank of gas and it stayed razor sharp so I didn't file it at all. The teeth are getting pretty small so I'm glad I don't have to file it much. I am sure the reason it is staying so sharp is that I have been scraping the log with a floor scraper before I scribe it. The log has always been soaking wet since I have been working on it, and the outer layer of spongy wood is almost black and if I make the mark directly on it, you can hardly see it. So, I scrape about a 2 inch wide path where I need to scribe and that leaves pure, dry white wood to draw my line on. It also removes any dirt and grit from the wood and that, I am sure, is why my chain stays so sharp. I think that using that scraper is probably a good idea whether it is hard to draw on the log or not. It will make my chains last longer.

I didn't see any jays all afternoon. At about 6:30 after I had had dinner, someone slowly drove into my driveway. I got on my shoes and hat and started out the door to greet whoever it was, but as soon as they saw the lights from my trailer, or me, they backed out and took off. The only thing I can figure is that they were up to no good. It's a good thing I have a sturdy log gate there when I'm gone. I think I'd better put up a motion sensitive light to shine in their eyes for added protection when I'm gone.

On Wednesday, it was sunny and 53 degrees. This is an extra warm fall and winter so far. No snow at all yet except high on the ridges. I went to work and ripped the last cut to make two planks. I wasn't happy at all with the cut. I had real trouble staying on the lines and I don't really know why. It was probably just carelessness, although the chain seems to draw one way rather than go straight. Mother Sow was also pretty temperamental and my shoulder was really hurting me from pulling on the starter cord so much. I finally ended up pulling the starter with my left hand all the time. My three regular jays visited me a couple times. Scruffy is still a little different looking from the other two, but his looks have improved a lot. He is also a little tamer because I always give him favored treatment. A pair of stellar jays also showed up and I gave them a few peanuts too -- but at a distance. They don't come very close to me.

At lunch time, there were a couple of huge blasts from the quarry. The sound reverberated up and down the valley and it sounded like thunder.

After lunch, I bucked a 10' 2" log from the big log. It was 17" in diameter on one end and 18" in diameter on the other end. I rolled it down onto the rack I used for ripping, but I had to use a come-along and a couple chains to get it up on the rack. I scribed the log for the first slab after scraping a path with the floor scraper. Then I ripped a little over half of the first cut.

I was a lot happier with the cut. I started using a technique that may not be approved by safety conscious people, but I am very careful with my saws so I don't think there is any extra danger to me. I started cutting with the top of the bar instead of the bottom. That way, the saw is always trying to come out of the kerf rather than being drawn into it. This method has a few advantages for me. One is that I am able to follow the lines easier and make a much straighter cut. Another is that the sawdust is all being blown out the other side of the log away from me rather than going right into me and my pockets and my boots. Still another is that I use different muscles and it gives me relief from the tennis elbow problem that I always get from ripping the conventional way. Mother Sow started and ran perfectly all afternoon. It's hard to figure.

Before I quit for the night, I measured the big log and found that I have 35 feet left. That means that with the 21 feet I have already cut, it was originally 56 feet long. This means that I will get three more ten foot logs and at three planks per log, the total harvest will be 15 planks. I am sure that will be enough to finish decking the porch. I also spotted two more of the old planks up in the loft that I had forgotten were there, so I'll have to lower those down and gwiz them one of these days when it rains.

On Thursday morning, it was 45 degrees and dry, but it had evidently rained during the night. I finished ripping the slab and then I dragged it down to the gwizzing station. Then I scribed the log for the next cut, again scraping it with the scraper, and ripped about 8 feet of the cut before I ran out of gas and ran out of time. I left for home at about 1:30.