Ice Storms and Brandy

    I finished the design this past winter and ordered the timbers from a sawyer named Larry out in Rutland. I showed up one cold blustery Saturday morning with a list of what I wanted and only a vague idea of how to go about ordering it. Larry happily walked me through the process and agreed to cut the 1132 board feet of white pine that I needed for an incredibly low price. I ordered all of the timbers 1/8" oversize so that I could plane them square after they dried, but I didn't even think to consider this when I calculated the total footage from which he based his price. Larry pointed out this mistake, but didn't charge me for the extra volume of wood(not that it was a substantial amount, but it was a nice gesture). 

     I returned on an even colder and more blustery Saturday morning one month and two hard New England ice storms later to pick up the wood. Larry seemed extra jolly and immediately thrust out his hands in greeting. In one he held a slightly slushy Miller High Life(the best high life I have ever had, by the way), and in the other a bottle of cherry brandy. "To take the edge off the cold." he said. If I didn't know it from our first meeting, there was no doubt now that Larry was my guy. The timbers were beautiful- square, clean and exactly to dimension. 

     

It took two overloaded runs in the pickup to get the timbers back to my house. With two 15' 8"x8"s hanging off the back 

of the 6'6" bed, I wasn't concerned about the rear wheels getting traction in the snow, but I was wondering if the front wheels would stay on the ground on the way up to my house. Just in case the extreme pitch of the truck wasn't enough to warn drivers to keep their distance, Larry Gave me a red flag to tack on the end of the longest timber.

     Surprisingly, both loads made the journey home and into my living room/workshop without incident. I stacked and stickered the timbers, which were still green, so that they would get proper air circulation and dry evenly over the coming months.