Search the Community

From Yueya ; " A good friend of mine took his own life a few weeks ago. We held a commemorative service for him in our community hall yesterday. He lost everything that he'd built up over the last 40 years of living here during the massive 2019 fire and felt too old at 70 to start again. And his health wasn't good. Although I've felt deeply saddened, I know he was always a person who chose his own path in life. He thought about his options carefully and he decided he could no longer live the active lifestyle he wanted on the land he loved. He was someone who was connected to his land with his heart, belly and bones. Yet because of a complex set of reasons that involved the betrayal of his trust in an old friend, he was being forced off his land. He chose to die there rather than to leave. That's him and his cabin. As you can see, he's become part of the land. The property he lived on was over 2000 acres, mostly forested. I felt a heart connection with him, because, like me, his natural temperament was to live a semi-reclusive lifestyle. He built up a small timber mill over the years and he supplied beautifully sawn hardwood to local owner builders for minimal cost. He worked entirely by himself and was extremely conservation minded with his tree felling. All the building work I've done here has been with his timber. He would only supply timber to people he respected and delivered it exactly according to his own timetable. That might be in a week or it could be several months. But when he delivered it he would stay and help with any building work that needed an extra pair of hands. He was never in a rush and was the least materialistic person I’ve ever met. No way could you buy his services with money. He chose who and when he’d supply. And although he milled timber and helped many people built substantial houses, he himself was totally satisfied with his small cabin. " ============ Nungali : " I am thinking of Malcolm that owned the small mill at Gleniffer many years back , him and his mate ( name I cant remember ) lived a similar lifestyle and ran the mill . They mostly went in behind forestry and did salvage . My cabin is mostly made from wood from there - 3rd grade salvage, one grade above 'firewood' yet I got a cabin made out of it - more than 30 years old and not a termite anywhere . You could get wood by working there , wood instead of cash .... if you where up to it ! They where in their 70s and back then I was a lot younger ... NO chance of keeping up with them , he could dance over a pile of logs with a broad axe in one hand and de bark a stingy bark log ( the stringy bark jams up the saw ) in 5 mins with seemingly effortless actions . real craftsman that could predict the type of wood grain pattern inside a standing tree . A real eco logger too ' No, , if we drop this tree, it might damage that seedling coming up over there " or " No, we are not going down there , mess the ground up too much . " They destained local logging " Its wrecking the forest " or ' animals live in that tee ' and " You think the 'old growth' forest is spectacular ? You should have seen it when I was a lad " few of the houses around here have wood from that source . Nowadays ? Most people cant get it . I am fortunate enough (as I am STILL building ! ) to have a local mill, some light wood machinate and know people with heavier stuff like a thicknesser , portable mill , etc . But mostly, if you want a big beam, elsewhere, its going to cost a fortune and be a ( ugggh ) 'composite - all little offcuts glued together - looks shit ) Malcolm too took his own life, when it was time and he was no longer able to live as he wanted . ( Its not too bad an idea that - I have an unofficial agreement with my 'specialist' about that ) - I have another one I want to honour , but ... speaking of building .... I should get off line and into that . I hope to share another 'local gem' with you all tomorrow .