I have other things I still do. I still have my 4.5 acres of blueberries (and I’m adding another 1/4 acre next spring, another variety). For that I’ve rototilled the whole plot 2x since August 10, and I’ll do it again next week. After the second time I spread 400 lbs of sulfur to acidify the soil. I still need to add some underground drainage tile and run that to a roadside ditch. Then I need to re-dig that ditch to drain the water to a pond about 600′ down the road, and 50′ off the road. That pond over flows as needed and runs to a year round creek another 1500′ away.
Another thing I do is saw logs into lumber (only for my own use). To that end, I recently sold a sawmill I’d had since 2004 which could cut logs up to 48″ diameter and up to 21′ long. I replaced it with a sawmill that can cut 30″ logs and up to 16′ 10″ long. The new sawmill arrived July 29, and I’ve been so busy I only got about 7-8 hrs into assembling it. The old mill sat on the ground, the new one is mounted (or will be mounted) on a trailer so I can move it as needed, besides my brother might also use it on occasion, or I might saw his logs for him. I think I’ll resume assembling it in 2 days. I expect it to be finished in about 4-5 more hours. I was getting help from my 12 yr old grandson, but he’s now back in school and has football after school. He says he will help on Saturdays (most but not all Saturdays I suspect).
The new mill is a manual bandsaw mill, but I have an old excavator with hydraulic thumb to load the logs and a tractor with pallet forks to move the lumber to where I’ll stack it to dry.
My plans include building a roof over the sawmill with a small tool shed adjacent to house all of the tools and supplies needed to work the sawmill, and to house my saw blade sharpener and tooth setter. Also a 14 or 16×32′ addition on the side of my shop, which will house my tractor and a blacksmith shop. I also plan to build a storage shed about 12×16′ for my 4×4 ATV and some smaller equipment.