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Not a problem, Manny. Knowing someone that you enjoy spending time with that also has a tool you can utilize is a wonderful thing, I think. I have heard that someone in my general area has a portable saw mill, but it is a friend of a friend of a friend sort of deal and I still haven't gotten a name and phone number to chat with the mill owner.

I have been looking at portable mills (and the plans to build your own) for several years and have serious tool envy. At the same time, given my age and gender, obtaining a mill would be just the first step. Next I'd have to find a couple of younger, taller folks with high testosterone levels to do the actual work while I sit around drinking homebrew and supervising.

A neighbor of mine has a Band Saw Mill. It is a wonderful thing to have, he borders my property in the back. If he who dies with the most toys wins, This guy is going to WIN, He no only has the mill, he has a Folk Lift to haul the logs into place, and a Tilt Bed Tuck to haul the logs. He can also deliver the staked wood when he is done sawing it. Like I said, he is going to win. Talk about some serious Tool Envy, I have it, but as it turns out, he is a pretty nice fellow and is more than happy to help out a neighbor. He saws all of the wood for my other neighbor that makes the furniture, he has offered to cut for me if I needed any thing. I don't go to the work of Home Brew, but I have shared a PBR or maybe 2 over the years. Its better to have friends Lolly, especially at our age. You don't need to Own a Mill, Lolly, you need to know somebody who has one. It will be better, cheaper , and will suit your needs . You just need to plan ahead and have all of your logs ready to go when the mill gets there.

Guy, you are probably right. Son Joe used to tell me I needed to date an Amish lumberjack.

I liked that,

I would love to see a Bee Keeping Forum. There is a lot of information and a lot to learn about keeping bees. I keep watching for a swarm that I might keep.

I just read an email from a friend in Latvia. He said they've had a particularly long winter - snow from October until now - which has been hard on the bee population. It's meant less food available for the bees, plus increased infections in the hives... I was thinking about possible solutions like greenhouses for bees to forage in, or even incorporation inside an Earthship... not sure if I would want to live in that one though.

Yah, we've had a hard winter here, too. Hopefully beekeepers take care of their bees and there won't be any issues. As I've said before, I picked a strain of bees (Russians) that are adapted to the long-cold winters. I check mine regularly to see how their personal honey supply is holding up and I'll supplement feed them on sugar syrup if they're running low. My girls must have known a hard winter was coming because they put away a lot of honey last fall and they still have a good supply left. Once the nectar starts to flow I'll throw a honey super back on the hive and they'll be right back in production.

I'm not speaking for your friend in Latvia, but I know that many beekeepers in my area keep 4 or more hives and don't do much to take care of them. They just let them take care of themselves and if they lose a couple hives then they'll still have another one to that'll make it. Can you imagine raising kids under that kind of mentality. Seems like another logical product of our synthetic society.