Walking the Plank

Last weekend, winter gave us one last reminder that it's not summer yet.  We had radichicco cabbage going very nicely in the garden-it was all wiped out, with only a couple weeks to go.  Very sad.  Our root crops are alright, but also lost the sweet peas that were starting to bloom.

Monday morning was still cold, and windy, so we didn't work.  Tuesday however, I took Mtshbeshbe with me down to  Ficksburg.  Through one person leading me on to another, I finally got to Will, the operator of a mill on top of the mountain above Ficksburg.  We spoke a couple times on the phone, and I asked him this last time  if I couldn't go up to get the rejects.  He was fine, so that was the plan.

View from on top, looking at the township by Ficksburg

I had driven up the mountain once before, and it wasn't too fun.  It is a cement single road going up the mountain, with multiple steep switchbacks and only a railing here or there!  This was the drive my mother-in-law had to get out of the Landy!  The second time wasn't so bad, did seem easier, but knew coming down with a trailer of wood pushing us would be another challenge.  When we arrived there, a younger guy (the foreman wasn't there that day) showed us a nice pile of rejects where we could start.  The pieces are 3m long, about 20cm wide, and 10cm thick!  Very nice pieces for window lintels.  We got the best of those, found more longer, thinner pieces, and were loaded in an hour.  Took half an hour to get down the mountain.  Put it in low 2nd gear, and let the transmission let us down at a walking pace.  No problem.  Drove to de la Harpe, dropped them off, then went back.  The young guy said he talked to the boss, and we couldn't take anymore from the 2 piles we had been working!!  Bit bummed, but we climbed up on the piles(over 2m high) and started searching out pieces.  Took us much longer, but got another load.  Only got back to Rosendal at 5:30!  A long day with lots of driving, but well worth it!

First load, only R50!

Lumber yard.  We pulled rejects from the back piles.

We went back the next day for one last load.  Took most of the day since we had to scratch for every board.  Was climbing over the piles, feeling like a lumberjack!  Love the smell too of freshly cut wood. Got a nice coffee table piece, 1m long, almost 50cm wide, and 12 cm thick!  Also got many more thick, shorter lintel pieces, so think we have enough both to make the window frames, door frames, and lintels.  These aren't perfect pieces, but to buy the same wood from the co-op, I figure I would have spent R12-15000!  I paid R150 for the wood, and around R500 in diesel!  A real blessing.  I had a feeling we would get $1000 this past week.  We didn't get it in cash, but in wood and steaks!  A farming couple brought us a box full of meat, nicely done too (they use to own a butchery, so know how to do it right!)  They gave us a dozen T-bone steaks, beef sausage for 10 meals, and mince to make another 10 meals!  Truth is, we've only had steak once or twice since we've been here.  God knows what we were craving.  Learning at a conference this weekend that God loves to give us these things, and it's nothing we've done.  He just loves us.  Been a good week.

Beautiful, thick beams from the last load.