Replies

1. 
   BG | Oct 31, 2003 12:24am | #1

   bob,

   wow !...that is beautiful stuff your erecting.. and such a beautiful setting too.

   One rather minor suggestion, if you don't park that big red truck in there...it would make a real nice shop...(rather silly tonight) good luck and thanks for sharing. 
2. 
   forestgirl | Oct 31, 2003 05:24am | #2

   Fantastic! 

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

1. 
   BobSmalser | Oct 31, 2003 03:05pm | #3

   Learn sumpthin new every day in these places.

   I didn't think any Bambi-killers or we "environmental terrorist" tree butchers lived on Braindead Island...thought y'all were all enlightened Seattle types who merely burn or vandalize my neighbor's logging equipment on the landing when he was stubborn enuf to leave it over there overnight without a watchman.

   Edited 10/31/2003 8:07:55 AM ET by Bob

1. 
   forestgirl | Oct 31, 2003 07:26pm | #4

   The 11th Commandment:  "Thou shalt not stereotype."  My Sweetie is an environmental engineer (loose term -- he deals with toxic waste) who grew up in the Tri-Cities area, hunting from a very young age.  Would waste away and die if he couldn't go out for elk, deer and geese every year.  Much of my early undergrad education was in the Wildlife and Fisheries area, though that's not where I finished my  Bachelor's.  A slide show complete with piles of dead deer who had succumbed to starvation was enough to "enlighten" me.  Although my technical knowledge has 'bout faded away, I have strong feelings about Nature being allowed to be Nature, and mankind having a responsibility to either get out of the way, or guide things in the right direction when s/he has screwed things up.  Sound like a reasonable, though crudely put, guiding principle?

   Someone who vandalizes equipment is a terrorist, and I have no sympathy for them.  I do greatly value the forested environment of Bainbridge, and appreciate the builders who preserve trees when they clear for a development, am maddened by those who just level the entire acreage.  There are two developments near me that illustrate the two approaches. 

   I'm sure most loggers are frustrated by such set-asides as The Grand Forest (an extensive tract of land purchased from the State before logging took place), but those are the types of areas that greatly improve our quality of life, IMO.  I'm sure the permit process on BI is enough to drive anyone crazy also.  Our political leadership leaves much to be desired!

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

1. 
   BobSmalser | Oct 31, 2003 08:05pm | #5

   "Thou shalt not stereotype." 

   So true.....but just pullin yer chain a bit....am sure there's a few real people over there....and I shouldn't talk, as I've been avoiding the place for decades.

   My best to y'all.

   PS...and here's a link to a piece I wrote last nite to some folks complaining about logging that you may be interested in:

   http://media5.hypernet.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=011942

   Edited 10/31/2003 1:09:43 PM ET by Bob

1. 
   forestgirl | Oct 31, 2003 09:02pm | #6

   Yep, I knew you were (pullin' my chain, that is).  I just love being different :0)

   I'll check out the bbb thread when I get to work.  You ever get over in the vicinity, LMK -- Nick and I will take you do dinner, or lunch -- great restaurants.  We eat breakfast in Kingston though.

   I have truly sinful thoughts about some of the Doug firs growing on our property.  They are BIG!  The best thing would be for one to fall on the house -- we'd get a new abode (it's a little tiny boring structure) and free lumber to boot!  Long as I'm not in the bedroom when it happens!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

3. 
   YesMaam27577 | Oct 31, 2003 10:38pm | #7

   About twenty years ago, I got the opportunity to spend a day watching a crew that was building a log cabin. Not one of the kits -- this crew included loggers, strippers (who stripped the bark off the trees), haulers, hewers (is that the right term?), cutters, and everyone else needed to convert a small section of forest into a home.

   For me, the most fascinating job was the guy that was shaping the ends of each log. He looked like he was about 85 years old, and was unquestionably one of the most fit men on the crew. He'd spend about one minute with a framers square and a pencil. He then used a chain saw for about two minutes. That was followed by five or six minutes with various hand tools (drawknife, chisels).

   When he was done, each log had a dovetailed end -- reverse angles in two directions. I asked huim why go to all that trouble, when many cabins had lasted centuries, with only normal notches.

   "Simple", he said, "those notched cabins fall apart when the wood dries out. If a few have lasted centuries, that's just luck. This one will tighten up."

   Without fail, each log that he had shaped was a perfect fit for the ones below it.

   So, I know how you feel. Work like that is somply amazing.

   Vast projects should not be founded on half vast ideas.