Read The Chardon Chronicles: Season Two --- The Winter Page 18
Chapter Seven
The chainsaw was loud even through the earmuffs and a spray of sawdust and chips bounced off Amy’s face shield as she trimmed the branches from a downed maple tree while Robbie cut it into lengths and rolled them onto the trailer. She found the work very satisfying and really enjoyed the sweet smell of the wood and the power of the chainsaw.
Robbie was a good, if terse instructor on each of the chores she helped out with around the Farm, and he was also constantly nudging her to take initiative to do things herself and try new things out.
They returned with the load of firewood. Robbie drove the tractor while she sat on top of the pile like she’d been a lumberjack her whole life. He stopped before they got to door of the woodbarn. There was a small bandsaw sawmill in a shack that was attached to the back of the building. He said, “Hey, let’s get this going this year.”
She hopped down on the ground and followed him into the building. A bandsaw sawmill sat on a sawdust covered concrete slab.
“What is that thing?” she said. She had no idea what the saw and the jumble of metal supports could possibly be used for.
He pulled a couple of length of rough cut red oak timbers and knocked on them. “We haven’t done this on the farm for a few years. Maybe we should build something.”
Her eyes got big with recognition. “You make the wood here with this thing? You could easily build like a whole building from all that wood out there! It seems a shame to just burn all of it.”
He got a big kick out of her enthusiasm. She’d lived a sheltered, isolated life and almost everything they did on the farm was a complete novelty to her. She ate it up like she was starving for more experience. He said, “You’re right about the firewood, but we usually only mill up the really prime trees that go over in a storm, the long straight ones. We can go find one after we unload this thing.”
She asked, “Let’s make something to trade.”
Robbie nodded, “What do you need?”
“Clothes. I like Tracy’s clothes, but I feel a little like I’m trapped in high school. Plus I’m actually starting to gain some weight and they’re getting snug.”
He said, “It takes a while to prepare the wood so it’s ready to make anything, but we’ve got some old boards stockpiled. Maybe we should mill some new stuff now, so you can see the whole process.”
They piled up the logs in the shed. Robbie was freakishly strong, even though he looked like a normal, even slightly out of shape middle aged guy. He’d carry a stack of logs in while she struggled to move one at a time. When they were finished, she jumped in the seat and said, “I’ll drive!”
“I’ll ride the fender.” He sat up behind her and they putted through the woods looking for a prime candidate. He tapped her on the shoulder and she stopped and idled the tractor down. They walked off the path to check it out.
She asked, “What kind of tree is this? I know one type now, Maple, so this will be two.”
The black walnut snapped at the base during a windstorm, but it was hung up in nearby trees. Robbie said, “This is a walnut--it probably fell a few weeks ago.”
“How do we get it down?” She asked.
“It looks like we can pick up the base with the front loader, then it will fall. Let me handle this, if you don’t mind. Take notes, though!”
He drove the tractor near the base of the tree and worked the bucket underneath. He delicately lifted it and jogged the tree back in little steps. Finally the small branches holding it up snapped and the trunk thudded to the ground. Amy cheered, “Whooo!” She brought the chainsaws and safety gear down. He measured out 10 foot sections and notched them with the saw blade.
“Do you want to take a crack at running the big saw? It’s really not that different from the other one.”
“Holy shit, it’s heavy, but I think I can do it.” She felt some fear as she started the motor. The saw had a lot more power than the one she’d been using, but once she had it in the log, it was well balanced and she let the engine do all the work. Robbie knocked a wedge into the tree after she was about halfway through, and eventually the log was free. He rolled it out of the way with a log roller.
They got two ten foot sections loaded onto the trailer and she drove back to the mill. A few hours later they had several boards. The wood was a beautiful dark brown color swirled with almost black grain. Amy couldn’t stop touching its surface. It was like the tree had a secret it was now sharing with she and Robbie for the first time.
Tears started rolling down her face. She put her head on her arm and sobbed on the walnut boards. Robbie rubbed her back and she turned around and cried in his arms. Robbie asked her, “Hey, what’s going on?”
She wiped her eyes. “Man, I really don’t know. It’s just so beautiful. Something about it really hit me hard.”
“I think I understand, a little anyway.” He said.
They painted the ends of the boards with some white latex paint to prevent them from drying too quickly, then they stacked the boards in a kiln and strapped them into tight bundles. He closed the doors and flipped a switch. A fan started blowing air around the boards and a heater started warming up the enclosure. He smiled and said, “I built this thing when I was fifteen.”
She nodded and bit her lower lip. He could tell she was forming a thought. “Robbie, your life is really cool. You help people and build things. I’m not sure what could be better.”
“What would make life better right now is some food. I’m starving. That reminds me, Thanksgiving is coming up, let’s figure out what Tracy is doing, maybe we’ll do the whole spread.”