Developing Woodsy Acres, One Log at a Time

Location: Woodsy Acres
Season: Early Summer 2026
Projects: Back Porch Awning, Hidden Cabin & Storm Cleanup

Some days on Woodsy Acres end with a completed project. Other days are spent moving several projects forward a little at a time. Looking back at today, it turned out to be one of those productive days where nothing was finished, but everything made progress.

I started the morning just across the driveway from a pile of logs I’ve been slowly working through. Last winter, a powerful windstorm brought down about six beetle-killed pine trees all at once. The trees had been standing on my neighbor’s property, but when they fell, several crashed across the property line onto ours. I’m cutting one log at a time to length and will use it later on the mill or some other project.

Last winter’s windstorm dropped several beetle-killed pines across the property line. I’ve been slowly turning the best sections into lumber and beams.

I’m in no hurry to clean them up.

Whenever I have time between other projects, I’ll buck another log or two and haul them away, but typically it’s one log at a time. The straight, solid sections become building material. Anything too crooked, cracked, or rotten gets cut into firewood.

I’ve always hated seeing good wood go to waste. Around here, a dead tree usually has one more job left to do.

Some of those logs will be used as lumber to finish the Hidden Cabin. Others will eventually become beams, porch posts, or other projects around Woodsy Acres.

Several more beetle-killed pines are still standing. They’ll eventually become future building material instead of being left to rot.

As I worked through the pile, I also looked over several standing dead pines nearby that will eventually have to come down. They’re no longer healthy, and before insects and weather have their way with them, I’d rather put the wood to good use.

Later in the day, I loaded another log onto the sawmill, getting everything ready for the next milling session. Every log that goes onto the mill is another step toward finishing the Hidden Cabin and other projects around the property.

The biggest milestone today, though, was making progress on the new awning over the back landing of our log home.

The first peeled and sanded pine post finally stood in place. 

The peeled log post I’d been working on finally found its permanent place beside the landing. It’s amazing how one standing post can suddenly make a project feel real. For weeks it had simply been another log lying on sawhorses waiting for its turn. Now I can finally begin to picture what the finished awning will look like.

Before I could move the main beam into place, it still needed some work. I trimmed it to length and spent time sanding away years of weathering before hauling it over with the tractor. Once it was sitting beside the new post, I could finally begin measuring, checking clearances, and figuring out exactly how everything would fit together.

After trimming and sanding the beam, it was finally ready to be hauled to the back of the house, where it would become the main support for the new awning.

I also spent part of the afternoon grading the road leading up to the Hidden Cabin. It’s one of those jobs that rarely gets noticed when it’s done, but every trip up the hill becomes a little smoother afterward.

As I walked back toward the house this evening, it struck me that I’m still not really maintaining Woodsy Acres.

I’m still developing it.

Almost every day is another piece of a much larger puzzle. Storm-damaged trees become porch posts. Beetle-killed pines become beams. Rough logs become lumber on the sawmill. One project quietly feeds the next.

None of today’s work will probably stand out by itself.

But taken together, it moved Woodsy Acres one more step toward the place I’ve been building in my mind for years.

Update: It took a little more work than expected, but the beam is finally in place. Seeing it resting on the log posts completely changed the feel of the project. For the first time, I could step back and see the awning taking shape as though it had always belonged on the cabin.

The log beam is finally in place, tying the support posts together and bringing the back porch awning one step closer to completion.

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Materials

• Salvaged beetle-killed pine logs
• Peeled pine porch post
• Pine beam for the back porch awning

Tools Used

• John Deere tractor with front loader
• Chainsaw
• Orbital sander
• Tape measure
• Pencil
• Miscellaneous hand tools

Observations

Every project on Woodsy Acres seems to begin long before the first board is installed. Last winter’s windstorm looked like a mess at the time, but months later those fallen trees are becoming beams, posts, lumber, and eventually part of the property itself. It’s a reminder that even storm damage can become an opportunity if you’re willing to put in the time and effort to use what the land provides.