More Lessons from my Amish Friend

There are some lessons we learn that we do not know just how valuable they are until after the fact. Art, my fellow muleskinning apprentice and friend, and I were blessed recently with several lessons while spending a day felling trees with our Amish muleskinner and logger friend. One lesson in particular was of the “after the fact” variety and exceptionally valuable to me, though it cost me very little, thank God! As we went to specifically learn the art of safe tree felling, I decided to leave the camera at home, so that I could give these lessons my utmost attention, which I am glad I did. Sorry there are no photos as they would have really added to the story.

Breaking Stereotypes

We met with our teacher on a steamy May morning in a woodlot his brother recently purchased that lay in a sandy bottom along the Thompson River. Because of soil type, it was comprised of about 85% Cottonwood, 10% Soft Maple, and 5% miscellaneous woods. As it clearly was not sustainable farm land being so close to a river that frequently flooded and cut new courses, and, as it was not prime hardwood forest either, I asked him why his brother purchased it. “Simple,” he said, “it’s for deer hunting.” They were logging it to thin it out while also pinpointing a number of strategically located trees to build hunting stands in. It turns out that this clan of Amish take their fall deer harvesting quite seriously, as they frequently bring home the venison “by the pickup truck load,” which is a strange thing to say for a devout man of the Amish faith, or so I thought. It appears that stereotyping had got the best of me, as I found out throughout the day.

As most Amish do, at least in our area, they do not drive on highways, except with their buggies, wagons, and farm equipment. When the situation calls for it, they hire locals with internal combustion vehicles to drive them to and from places too far for their teams. This was the case for this day. Our Amish friend and his sixteen year-old son had hired a fellow to take them to the logging site in the morning and then to pick them up at 5 PM at the end of the day. To sweeten the deal, this guy had their permission to fish the river along their property, which yields large catfish, drum, bass, and several species of delicious pan fish. Forget the lessons, where is my pole!!

As we pulled up to the logging site we came upon the landing where there were huge piles of logs, some cut to length and ready for transport, and others ready for cutting, though the loggers were nowhere to be seen. It didn’t take long to find them, however, as we tracked them by the roar of the chainsaw and deep growl of a skidder, which his son was operating – a late model Timberjack 360, an enormous, rubber tired, diesel powered machine that was equipped with a massive set of hydraulic pinchers and a dozer blade. This was yet another blow to my stereotyped image of the “anti-technological” Amish who don’t drive. Talk about the ultimate teenage toy, driving anywhere or over most anything you please in a gargantuan 4-wheeled ATV that has the ability to pick up several tons of logs like toothpicks. Nonetheless, he handled it well, as his father had a pretty tight rein on him. But where were the mules?

It turns out for our Amish friend that draft animal logging doesn’t work out so well when he has to log places too distant to drive his team, which isn’t all that far. Though he logged for years using his draft mule teams, he was forced to quit using them because of the daily transportation issues unique to his faith. The further the jobs were from home the harder it became. The time and expense to have his teams transported to and from the logging site everyday was too much. It was more economical to just have a skidder dropped off at the logging site and kept there until the job was finished. In this particular case, since they were mostly harvesting huge pallet logs, the skidder worked out better since it could rapidly skid these logs whole to the landing where they could be bucked (cut to length) and immediately stacked, thus saving them time which was critical in this late spring job. There was a major downside to this, however, as there was little money to be made after expenses, but our friends were willing to take the better part of their pay for their logging efforts in the many years of deer harvesting to come. A draft mule team could have worked, though it would have taken much longer, as they work at a much slower pace.

Lessons Learned

Lesson one: His religious scruples hampered his ability to fully utilize his draft mules because of transportation needs which required equipment he was forbidden to use or too expensive to hire, and since he did not have access to woodlots close enough to drive the team to, he resorted to a form of corporate-industrial logging that, though it did give him some immediate income, is detrimental to himself and his community in the long run. I must say to his credit, however, that he is at peace with the limitations his elders have placed upon him and the men of the community. He works heartily as unto the Lord, and it appears that he has plenty of work. Nonetheless, the forbidding of the use of a pickup truck and horse trailer and the granting of the use of a skidder put him in the position of logging in an unsustainable manner that damages the forests he works.

Lesson two: These skidders can cost upwards of three hundred thousand dollars and take a fortune to maintain and transport. To “own” one profitably means using it at a constant, break neck pace that produces enough board feet to exceed not only it’s daily costs, which would include a high loan or lease payment (with interest), insurance, maintenance, wear and tear, transportation, and fuel, but also the high overhead of employees, and other costs. So how does an Amish logger fit into this? The owner of this skidder contracts with him by the job at a set price per board foot logged and the owner gets his cut whether or not our Amish friend meets all his overhead. Out of his remaining cut he must also pay for his daily transportation costs to and from the job, the $100 plus daily fuel bill for the skidder and chainsaw, the truck that hauls the logs to the mill, and other expenses. Because he sells his logs on site, he essentially works as a middleman between the skidder owner and the pallet sawmill, which means he has to produce at a high volume to make any money. Bottom-line: he told us that after he has met all expenses he makes a few cents per board foot logged. This means that he has to work at a fatiguing, hard pace to make even a reasonable wage, which he soberly admitted was a reality for him. He has yet to be seriously hurt, which is a tribute to his Lord who protects him and gives him grace to work safely.

Let me tell you, this man can really work. He wastes little time and takes no “unprofitable” steps, which means that he does not take all of the measures possible to be safe, and this primarily when it comes to using all of the tools and sometimes tedious steps necessary to fell a tree with the largest margin of safety and control, as this can really eat up the time. Where he can do it with reasonable certainty of a safe outcome he takes shortcuts. He is, nonetheless, safe and conscientious, as far as one can be working at the pace he does. Though he does wear a hardhat and steel toed boots he does not use loggers chaps to protect himself from the chainsaw, which amazed me all the more after I had a close experience of a potentially dangerous kind. He doesn’t stop moving, for as soon as it is safe to approach a felled tree he jumps up on it and hustles down its length cutting the toppings as he goes. Just as soon as he is finished with this step, the skidder moves in to pull it out, and then he is quickly on to the next tree. For one man to profitably keep up with a skidder requires fast, focused, and efficient work at a near nonstop pace. This is why he does not allow his son to switch places with him in felling trees, but has him primarily operate the skidder. The only time his son uses a chainsaw is when he is bucking the logs to length with his father at the landing where they will be picked up. Recalling his own teenage years where he didn’t stay focused on his work particularly well, because his mind was on “other things,” as he said, he felt his son would be prone to accidents under the rigorous pace of skidder logging. What about the much slower pace of draft animal logging?

This raises a very important question. Should Christians not log or train their sons in it or other occupations like farming because they are potentially dangerous? Is it tempting the Lord? Did the seventy-two Puritans that crossed the Atlantic in the Mayflower in the cold fall of 1620, of which 36 died, tempt the Lord? By what standard do we define danger and tempting the Lord? If we are called as the Lord’s people to steward His land as covenant keeping husbandrymen that produce food and products made from the resources He has placed in it, which is where true wealth and generational blessing comes from, than are we to leave this vital calling to the unregenerate or lawless because it’s potentially dangerous? How are we to establish biblical communities and godly inheritances (to finance the passing on of the New Covenant to the next generation) if we do not labor on and care for the land the Lord puts under out feet? For whoever controls the land controls the people on it. History has clearly shown that true civil freedom comes when the Lord’s people faithfully keep covenant with Him on the land where He establishes them. It has also shown that when fallen or covenant breaking men control the land, its resources, and production, that great tyranny and suffering comes, which is where we are today as our monstrous corporate state takes greater control of every aspect of our life and the land we live on. What price are we willing to pay to maintain our “safe” personal kingdoms and comfort zones? Which is better, to live free and “dangerously” as covenant keeping bondservants and stewards of the Lord, or live enslaved and “safely” as consumer slaves of wicked men? The truth is there is no safer or freer place to live than as covenant keeping servants of Christ on the land he gives us, dangerous jobs and all.

In the name of debt-based lifestyles and sweatless income (usury), America has come to redefine danger according to the deadly delusion that man can create a “prosperous, relatively safe world” on his own and according to his standards of right and wrong. Like the great ship Titanic which sailed arrogantly into the icy waters of its grave, I can hear “We, the people” cry out, “Damn the Laws of God . . . full steam ahead!” This is why we could not live in more dangerous times than now, though all “appears” to be relatively safe and comfortable around us (1Thes. 5:3). The virtual paradises that fallen men create have the appearance of long-term sustainability, but the ends thereof are death (Pro. 14:12). Because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My statutes, profaned My Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on their fathers’ idols. Therefore I also gave them up to statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live (Eze. 20:24-25). For us believers, therefore, to rely entirely upon others to produce our food and products vital to sustaining life, especially those who deny God and violate His law in how they conduct their affairs, is to put ourselves in grave danger, infinitely greater than the risks associated with logging or farming, as real as they are. In the name of our progressive, risk avoiding, outcome-based lifestyle, the American people, including the vast majority of its Christian citizens, have taken the greatest risk of all by turning their backs on God in giving their futures and land over to corporate masters who defile and destroy them both in flagrant violation of His law.

Since God created the land to be farmed and its forests stewarded by man in obedience to Him, we believe that by His grace it can be done safely, provided it is done in the manner He ordains, in the scale He created it, and at the pace He commands, all in accordance with His law. Yes, we are all prone to wondering minds and accidents, but God’s grace is sufficient, else we could never get anything accomplished. In any event, we fool ourselves to believe that we can sustain our lives independent of His merciful grace.

Lesson three: For the small time logger there isn’t much money to be made selling logs as a middleman, let alone for a draft animal logger who works at a much slower pace. Missouri Woods is not going there, as we intend to add our God-given labor and skill to what we cut to produce quality products for the end user, which brings a far higher price. Though some can make “good money” at middleman logging, especially the huge logging corporations that operate with government subsidies and tax breaks, they all must work at an unending dangerous pace to be profitable, which is the core reason behind the dangerous rating logging has these days in comparison to other trades (farming is a close second to logging, however). This is why there are a number of logger groups seeking government reform in both Canada and the United States to lower the accident rate. Their complaint: because they often work frenzied 11 to 12 hour shifts in 14 day blocks, they suffer many accidents due to their unending fatigue. The harsh toil of sabbath-breaking work[1] induced by usurious, debt-based economics pays a huge toll upon those who live by it. Let none of us be deceived for one minute, however, as this is not limited to logging only, but to every occupation our debt-based system has the dominion over. Our nation is burning itself out in an unsustainable orgy generational mammon worship. The answer is repentance and reformation, not more government intervention and corporate oversight.

The “After the Fact” Lesson

Our Amish friend’s warm hospitality and ready willingness to stop and train us was exceptional. He demonstrated a genuine esteem for us and our time. As soon as we were beside him, the tree felling lesson began in earnest. First, we learned how to judge where a tree is likely to fall by examining its condition, lean, branch distribution, and wind factors. Second, the spot of the planned fall was determined, which didn’t always line up with where it would “likely” fall. Third, the path of escape was determined, which is set at a 45 degree angle to the line of the planned fall. The escape path is then cleared of debris and branches that might cause one to trip, which is one of the chief causes of injuries for loggers. Fourth, the area around the tree is cleared so that nothing hidden, like old barbed wire, can cause dangerous problems with the chainsaw. Fifth, a series of precise cuts are made, which create a hinge by which the tree will pivot when falling, or so the plan goes. Sixth, the tree is felled and then a period of time is allowed for the “widow makers” – limbs caught in the branches of other trees – to fall to the ground. A vital rule of safety: when a tree is falling do not be looking at where you planned it to fall, be looking at it as it falls, in case one needs to exit stage right a whole lot quicker or in a different direction. Seventh, the butt of the log is trimmed to make it easier for the sawmill, and, in the case of draft mule skidding, to make it easier on the team. Eighth, the tree is trimmed of branches, making it ready to be taken to the landing. Ninth, for draft animal logging, the tree is bucked to length before being skidded to the landing.

The time came for us to “fell” our own tree and our friend handed me the chainsaw and led us to the where our trees awaited us, a spot several hundred yards away. Felling is different than falling, as it is an art form that cuts a tree in such a way that it falls in the desired direction and results in the least damage to the tree. In carrying the felling tool I rapidly discovered that it weighs quite a bit, especially in the hot muggy weather of Missouri, which gave me a far greater appreciation for the physical conditioning and stamina of our Amish friend. Though he is small, he is strong as a mule. I do believe that I also perceived a slight grin on his face as he watched me labor in a full sweat to keep up with him, an appropriate “rite of passage” for one such as me who has never felled a big tree in his life.

I went first. He selected a towering Cottonwood about 30 inches in diameter. After a few minutes to carefully determine the path of the fall and escape, he looked at me, pointed to a specific spot between two trees, and said, “Put her down there.” After a few silent minutes and a short lesson in how to properly start a chainsaw, I slowly made the cuts as he had taught us. In a matter of minutes there was crack and the large tree fell to the ground with an earth shuddering crash and, to my complete amazement, in the exact spot he planned. The teacher had done his job right. Next, I trimmed the log butt and branches and soon the behemoth skidder picked it up like a dog with a bone and was gone to the landing to deposit it. I was exhausted, though elated . . . until I made a very frightening discovery, a jagged 6 inch tear across my jeans where my left thigh resides. Yeeoow!! I had managed without even knowing it to run the saw across my pant leg, but praise be to God, I did not receive so much as a scratch. This immediately put a damper in my triumphant demeanor, as a new found respect of chainsaws took over, which was accompanied by some major trembling on my part. Though I trashed a brand new pair of jeans, the cost for such as incredibly valuable lesson was well worth it, for it could have been my leg! My oh my, how merciful is our Lord!

Art stepped up to the plate next and successively fell another Cottonwood of the same size. It also landed precisely where it was planned, only he kept the saw away from his pants. Once again the growling skidder appeared, grabbed the log, and then disappeared down one of the muddy, compacted trails it made. Our Amish friend examined his saw and determined that it was time for a lesson on chains and their sharpening. This finished, we drank some water and munched on a homemade Amish cookie, whereupon we commenced to fell more trees. It was my turn again, but I opted out. The jagged tear in my pants reminded me that I needed to develop better skills and control of a saw before I took on another tree. Art stepped in and made it most of the way before the saw became seriously pinched by the tree. We would have preferred to learn how to free it using tools available to a draft mule logger, but that wasn’t the case. Our Amish friend called in the skidder and soon had its huge pinchers push against the tree until the pressure on the saw was released. The saw suffered no damage and Art finished the cut. As planned, the tree landed in the right location and soon it disappeared in the powerful clutches of the skidder. We then watched our Amish friend take on a huge Cottonwood which was well over six foot in diameter at its base. About six feet up from the ground it divided into two trunks, each about four feet in diameter. This had us a little concerned, as he had to operate the saw above his head to cut it down, something we have decided not to do, as it’s very dangerous. In as much as we will be pressed to get the job done in a timely manner, especially by contracts we will make with private landowners, we will just have to take the time to do things safely.

It was time go. We thanked our friend and agreed to meet again. It was fairly easy to find our way back to the car, though the many trails the skidder made were full of mud, the ground bordering them was relatively dry. Besides costing a fortune to run, these skidders exact a costly toll upon the trees and the land they run roughshod over. Our next goal: to spend time working for our Amish friend’s brother, who operates a small sawmill and kiln. See you then -- the Missouri Rev

[1] What I mean by Sabbath-breaking work is not limited to working on the Lord’s Day, though that is important, but to the types of work and economies that break the greater substance Sabbath of Christ under the New Covenant (Col. 2:16-17). What do I mean by this? We are called to enter into the rest of the finished works of Christ on the cross (Heb. 4:11). More so, as a new creation in Him we are called to labor from that position of rest in doing good works (Eph. 2:10), just as Adam did in tending the Garden of Eden – (Gen. 2:1-3, 15). The terms of our laboring in Christ’s rest are His commandments, which, if we love Him, we will keep. Our debt-based system, which must operate at a 24/7 pace to succeed, is a gross violation of the Sabbath rest of Christ and the commandments which govern it. So long as we willfully choose to violate it, we will pay the consequences no matter how much we seek to make our way of life safe and profitable.