Dear Farm Journal,

I am a Sawyer!  For the last couple of years I have been dreaming of a sawmill.  Something which would convert our acres of woodlot into planks and boards, building material of all kinds for the multitude of projects which dance around my oversized head.  Well, ask the universe enough and you will be rewarded. It may not happen as you imagine but it has happened enough in my life that I can’t help but believe. So this summer I went along with Joy on a CSA delivery to her Aunt and Uncle’s and what to my wandering eyes might appear but an aging rust covered sawmill, a Woodmizer LT40 to be precise.  Wow, I exclaimed…..maybe in my head…..maybe not. What is the story? Usually I’m kind of Midwestern shy when it comes to asking other people about their stuff but I couldn’t help ask what the plan was. Turns out it was available for just someone like me who wanted to get the old beast running again. Fast forward to now, I’m about 20 logs deep into my sawing career and I am in love.  The aroma of freshly cut timber, the beauty of making lumber out of a log just laying out behind the barn. A whole world of possibilities present themselves and on top if it all, now our woods becomes another aspect of the farm we need and should consider when thinking about our little micro environment. How do we best utilize this resource, preserve it, improve it, promote its health, not only for us but for the creatures which call it home?  

~Joy