Coven of the Ancient Swamp Ch. 04

"Well, well, little brother. And how's your day going for you? OH! I sure do like what you fished out of the stream behind the house. Any idea on what it weighs?"

"Yeah, between say eight and ten thousand pounds or so. Getting the damm thing all but broke my crane! By the way, what the hell did you do to piss off the boss so totally yesterday! He has been flying around like you planted a hornet's nest up his ass. All of us at what's now called Base Caroline would like to thank you."

"Base Caroline? What's that? You mean the LZ and everything you guys have here across from Caroline's Cafe?"

"You know we have to have a name for everything, so it is now Base Caroline. Just like this is Port Shepherd. Anyway, to give a little head's up. Later today, we will be blessed, or so it seems, with an enhanced detachment of security personnel. Brother, it seems the shit is fixing to hit the fan and get real."

Later in the morning, the folks who made the bandsaw I needed to get called me back. The general conclusion of their people was, that thing is a monster. And hell yes!! We want our equipment to take it from its current state into a blank ready for finish. The immediate solution was to get an engineer and an operator here. The only question they had was could they land a small airbus here?

That morning Derrick and his band of happy troopers installed the maglev trolley system and set up a mobile crane. At best, the result might be called organized confusion. Into this, a small airbus landed, which only increased the tempo of madness. I had to laugh to myself when I saw PG and her sister witches standing over by the chicken coop watching the ballet play out around the mill. I had to wonder if they were enjoying the show as much as I was.

The three of us went over to the whale. The whale was my name for the stump Derrick had fished out of the bayou. The general conclusion they quickly arrived at was this was going to be one hell of a project. After dancing around the thing, they had a plan of attack. The idea was to start where the tree had broken off the stump and get a level cut there. Then clean up the root ball and cut it level as well. Finally, the whale would have to have all the loose bark peeled off. Their suggestion was to take the debris from cleaning the whale and run it through a wood chipper. You get mulch that can be used around the base of trees as an excellent fertilizer.

You want to slice this thing like you're cutting a loaf of bread, right? The diameter of this damm whale is upwards of six feet. The bandsaw will need at least a foot clearance on either side of the trunk. When we get back, we will work up a saw that can do that. Your next step is drying the freshly milled boards. To do that, you'll need to build a kiln. That should be no problem; a kiln is a sealed storage shed that is solar heated to dry freshly cut lumber. The wood needs to have a moisture content of less than nine percent before you begin sanding or plaining. When you cut the whale into boards, it could have a moisture content as high as forty-five, fifty percent, or even higher when you start. In the end, the moisture content needs to be less than 10 percent. The drying time will take a month and could be as long as two months or more. Don't try to rush it. This step allows the beauty that is hidden in the wood to emerge. The result will be a beautiful piece of lumber. These slabs will be too big to fit a planer or drum sander; they will have to be hand worked. Then you'll apply a finish. The finish will protect the wood and bring out the beauty the wood holds hidden away. You know the old saying, opinions are like assholes, everybody's got one. My opinion is you should use tung oil to finish this. Yes, it will take time and work, but what you will have in the end is magnificent.

Shep, you will have our support. When the word gets out about these tables, you will be famous. These tables you make will command prices you can't believe standing here today. Your mill will become world-renowned. If you can get this nasty-looking stump to show its beauty, well, you better get ready.

We need to get you a bandsaw to get this shaped. I'll send you the plans to build the kiln you'll need to season the green lumber. We make the tools you'll need to plan and sand the tops into what will become fine furniture. Our people will work with you in making this happen. The reason why is by having our name attached to this project, we will bask in your fame. I know a guy who will come here and work with you on finishing this. Also, I know a young woman, hell she's a girl, she is a stunning metal designer, blacksmith. She can create bases for these tables that will be amazing.

After their airbus left, I very slowly made my way across the yard looking for my wonderful lady. Finally, I found her at Karen and Bob's temp where they were finishing what looked like the crumbs of a sandwich. "Could a poor old simple sailor get something like that, you think? I'm famished, and I'm confused, and I don't know what else I am." As if by magic, a sandwich appeared in front of me.

"Shep? Bob just left and is headed back to the store. He wanted to talk with you, but you looked tied up with those two men. The company will have a survey and engineering team to confirm the measurements and everything they got from the survey material attached to the plate map tomorrow. At the same time, they'll check the water supply and septic system too. This bird is going to fly, isn't it? All of us together are going to have a home. A real home for us, for our families, and for our children to grow up in. This is so amazing."

The next weeks were like riding lighting. Port Shepherd, thanks to Derrick and his band of misfits, was up and humming. The heavy transporters had taken over the Shell Road going to Base Caroline. I got inside the mill and started working on the equipment there.

Jack got the bright idea that he would show Derrick around the neighborhood, so the Bobbsey twins went down Shell Road towards Jack's old home site. Of course, they ran into the pile of logs blocking the road. My wonderful brother got a case of the brights. He knew that his older brother had a lumber mill. So he would take these logs lying around there to his brother's mill so he would have something to do. Suddenly I had a log pile; after all, every lumber mill needs a log pile. From nowhere, a wood chipper appeared as if by magic. It looked to have been freshly painted grey but did not seem to have any types of identifying information. Very strange, almost magical. I wondered if this was the work of the coven or some other force? But the logs were neatly stacked as tree limbs disappeared into wood chips. A container arrived from the mill company filled with supplies to put up the solar kiln. When Derrick and Zeke opened the container, they were like two evil children whose grandfather had just given them a set of drums as a present. The Pied Piper of Hamlin and his band had the kiln up, tuned, and balanced before I knew the damm thing was even here.

The only thing that seemed to be slightly out of kilter was the increasing presence of Naval Security people, but from experience, I knew to stay away from them; after all, they had a job to do. And PG seemed to like them, so all was good.

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The Coven will be going on a vacation for a short while as, quite honestly, I have been struggling with chapter five and onward. So I am stopping here for a while and going back to my roots as a Chef. I hope you will join me in the kitchen and dining room of the Corner Cafe.