Marigolds!

Greetings from the heart of summer in the heart of Georgia, 94 degrees humid!

Kevin and Arthur have been hard at work cutting lumber. The board count rises daily and I have yet to get a solid number from either of them. I expect an update this afternoon.

In the mean time, I am a dedicated ‘Un-sweet’ tea drinker, both iced and hot.

Over the years I’ve grown and tried many a dry herb for tea. Outside of Rosemary which grows abundantly at CherylWood Forest, I am very fond of Marigold for my tea.

The deer do not find Marigold plants a delicacy like our pepper and blueberries. 

Early mornings I pick the blossoms and let them naturally air dry in the house, either on a plate or in the turned off dehydrator.

The tea is somewhat pungent and I like it steeped alone or added to Lipton’s when brewing large amounts. Come lately I make a gallon at a time using the coffee maker. Recently I tried adding some Mint (also from the garden) and a hint of Hibiscus.  A most agreeable combination.

Cheers!

~Cheryl

Slabs From The Past

Hi All,

Kevin has been busy back at cutting lumber for the house, not sure of the board count but he is up to the 17 plus foot longs.

In the mean time I am sharing a picture of a few slab tables he's built in the past.  These have both sold.  The  current tables he has on the drawing board are more refined, but still have a wonderful rustic appeal.

~Cheryl

Tables and Benches - The First Cut

Kevin is back to building tables and benches.

Like the Native Americans who saw the spirit inside the tree before carving their totems, and the artist who sees the sculpture hidden inside the slab of granite, each new log that makes its way to the Mill is a piece of art in the making.

Whether it is to become a foundation wall, a planter box, a cupboard or a treasured piece of furniture, each piece of lumber with their natural unique knots and grains inspire and a vision is born.

The first step has been taken.

Immediate future posts will preserve the next steps.

~Cheryl

Repositioning Mill

The backhoe pushed its limit moving the heaviest log to date; this 17-foot log also came with a natural curve The saw blade did not clear this monster’s height so the blade could be pulled into place for sawing.

The log challenged Kevin’s maneuvering abilities with the Cant Hook, not to mention safety issues.

Arthur and I came up with the brilliant idea to remove the blade so the Mill could pass back to the cutting position. Eureka. Sometimes 3 heads are better than one on a 100 degree day in July in Georgia.

~ Cheryl

Burn Time!

Fortunate for us we do not live within the city limits and have the opportunity for natural burns. With a simple burn permit we make further use of the fall off wood, this time generated by us.

Living out in the country, 25 miles from town, we do not have ‘garbage’ pick up. You would be amazed at the amount of brush and weekender fall out that makes it way to our 5 dumpster dump, located on the only road into our sub-division. (Don’t get me started on what it looked like after the July 4th holiday!)

Arthur is in charge of cutting the fall off into manageable pieces with the skill saw. They are then were placed into the backhoe front loader and transported to our campfire site. A slow fire dries out the wood and the ash goes into the gardens.

~Cheryl

P.s. Arthur is in charge of the marshmallows, dark chocolate and graham crackers in stock! More S'mores!

P.s.s.  The Pesto I made is already eaten!  Its amazing what it can do for meatloaf!  :)  While waiting for the basil to grow back, I guess it time to start thinking about harvesting a horseradish plant or two....