Big move to the country

Very good Steve. I envy you and I wish you great success.

I wish I could be there to help you arrange all that lumber. :)

Dave

-- Until you spread your wings, you'll have no idea how far you can walk.

good luck and nice touch with the tree (but why Radiata? to make up for all those crates? :-) )

-- The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep...

welcome home !
sure looks like a nice place to live .
take your time ,
you got the rest of your life .
your new neighbors look just like mine !

now for a straw hat .

-- david ,new mexico ,allheart

Wish you good luck and brighter future in new home, new enviroment & new country!

-- masrol, kuala lumpur, MY.

Moshe, the radiata was actually a wilding frpm Bottle Lake I plucked out of the ground when it was about 20cm tall and I brought it home as our christmas tree one year. It’s really a bonsai radiata at this point, since it is about 3 years old but about 1/3 of the height it should be at that age.

Some day, it will make some nice crates…

-- Steve, New Zealand, www.steveracz.com

David, you got it all wrong again. now its the time for fur hats here….

-- The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep...

Hey, you’re gonna love it. I know you live in New Zealand but it looks a lot like many places in the US. I live in a fairly rural place in Southern Maine. Our nearby larger town is closer though. We’ve heated with wood and now pellet stoves are all the rage. The walls are 6” thick or more with insulation. The summers are wonderfully green and the winters brutally beautiful. The year changes from snow up to my waist to disney like springs, to 80 degree lush green summers, to colorful autumns and back to snow again. You anticipate each change as you wait for the previous to wear itself out. Since it’s your dream, you’re obviously up to the challenge. Good luck with it and keep us posted on that shop build!

-- The smell of wood, coffee in the cup, the wife let's me do my thing, the lake is peaceful. http://web.me.com/deceiver6/Deceiver/Craftsman_on_the_lake/Craftsman_on_the_lake.html

The place looks like a dream come true! Good luck with your new venture.

-- Fred.... Poconos, PA ---- Chairwright in the making ----

We moved “into the bushes” a couple of years ago to start our wood business and have never looked back !The place you have chosen is is really nice looking . You will probably live longer as a side benefit !!

-- rob

That looks like beautiful country. Wish you the best and enjoy your new home.

-- Doug, Cass City, Michigan

gosh moshel ,
you must have been talking to my ex’s ,
you all seem to agree that i am wrong !
it gets to -10 deg. here sometimes too ,
right now its up to 100 deg. outside !
dont you guys have any of those
” lord of the ring’s ”
party hats ?

-- david ,new mexico ,allheart

Wow, nothing like followng your dream! Just glad it included an internet connection :). Hope that your like in the woods is everything you ever hoped for!

-- //FC - Round Rock, TX - "Experience is what you get just after you need it"

A man and his family living their dream… could life be any better…

-- Never board, always knotty, lots of growth rings

Best of luck to you as you live out your dream, and mine too.

-- Every cloud has a silver lining

Thanks for all the well wishes.

Yes, we do have internet connection here ‘in town’. Down the road a ways, it’s another story. We don’t even get cell phone reception. But being in the telecom business, I have some sneaky plans to get wifi down the valley…and that may be part of the business venture as there are several people along the way who would also be interested. Right now the only option is satellite.

David, a straw hat to follow. This time of year, it’s mainly rubber boots and a raincoat. We get 6ft rain/year and a lot of it is in the winter and spring. At elevation it falls as snow but rarely in the valley. Last year, we did have a dumping mid-August, which became the source for most of the firewood for this year. All of the native trees are evergreen and they don’t do well with lots of snow on the branches and wet feet at the same time.

No LOTR hats yet but I may be growing a Gandalf beard.

-- Steve, New Zealand, www.steveracz.com

Congratulations on finally making the big move Steve. I’ve just made my own move from Auckland down to Motueka this month (and had to set up my shot again too), so now you’re just down the street. You’ll have to let me know when you’ve go some sustainably logged timber for sale, I’d love to take some of it for a spin.

Craig

Wow looks just like my home area here in scotland.well done have fun and try to relax now you have the country on your side.I live in the country and by the sea all at the same time so I am lucky too.Alistair ps good luck with the new shop

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

Hi Daniel ( Craftsman on the Lake),

I’m familiar with your area. I grew up to the North and a bit west of you in the Eastern Townships of Quebec.
I enjoyed having 4 seasons.

Here in NZ, a season is defined by about a 10F shift in average temperature. Summer, about 70F, winter about 50F.

I wish I had 6” of insulation. Kiwis thought they never needed it and now i have to find a way to retrofit. I’d rather insulate than chop wood.

From looking at your website, I aspire to the lifestyle you already have! My wood will be Red beech and Silver beech and pine.

-- Steve, New Zealand, www.steveracz.com

Craig (Emlyn),

We are indeed just down the road from each other. Congratulations on your move as well. When I have some wood ready, I’ll let you know.

-- Steve, New Zealand, www.steveracz.com

Ha, I took a look at all that terrain and just assumed you had drastic seasonal changes.

Ah Quebec; My Dad was from there and every once and awhile my wife and I head up to the old part. Beautiful country.

-- The smell of wood, coffee in the cup, the wife let's me do my thing, the lake is peaceful. http://web.me.com/deceiver6/Deceiver/Craftsman_on_the_lake/Craftsman_on_the_lake.html

Enjoy every second of you dream! and good luck

-- projects dont pay,pieces are profitable,production is painfull

Steve my friend, I truly envy you and wish you nothing but the best!
The pictures of the area you own are beautiful.
As our friend David said, take your time and enjoy setting up your new shop.
I will watch for pictures as your new shop progresses.
Congratulations Buddy!

-- Eric

Congratulations on the move. It,s truly a piece of gods own country around there. I,m setting up a shop now and my biggest problem is cooling, even in winter!. Hope i get to visit the west coast again some day.

-- if the hand is not working it is not a pure hand

Wow. This site not only inspires me to make new things out of wood… but also new places to seek out and visit.

I did a quasi move. Due to my job, I still have to go to the city… but I moved to a small town 10 years ago after living in cities all my life. I love it.

Hi Steve, congrats on finally making the move, will definitely drop in when I’m next down that way. Your comment re the ease of owning a forest is still making wormholes in my brain…
Sharyn

-- ... must be time for a cup of tea and a sit-down

Eric (woodwrecker) – thanks and I’ll be sure to keep posting. I have some big ideas to prove that even the forest/wood products industry can be sustainable and business can be about more than just profits ( while providing them nonetheless!)

kiwi1969 – anytime you want to come back and ‘cool off’, just let me know. Plenty of space for a visit.

mtkate – visit to NZ is highly recommended, though, come in the summer of course, it’s much more comfortable. I’m encouraged by all those who have told me they have moved form the city to the country and are loving it. Thanks.

Sharyn ( kiwisharyn) – I take great pleasure in invading anyone’s head space – in a good way. Timber exports are down, carbon credits are up in the air ( if you love your forest, who needs them anyway?), dairy conversions are on the decrease. This is a great time for long term tree lovers and a lousy time for short term tree profiteers. Good riddance to them.

-- Steve, New Zealand, www.steveracz.com