By the light of the Moon

Each morning we all gather with a cup of coffee to prepare for the day ahead. We sit around, usually on a stack of timbers, considering the completed tasks from the day before, and what we will strive for as the new day fast approaches. Tasks are laid out and then teams assembled, people usually shifting from different roles in the frame raising process. Of course, the leadership team is doling out the work… but today a surprise. “Gang, tonight we are going to raise Bent 1 by firelight, under the full moon” said John Miller. We had all been watching the moon, as it seems to us that dawn and dusk here are short. Raise a bent in the moonlight…. why not?

The full Moon---Ready, set, raise!

The day progressed under the heat of the Sun as usual, sweating along at 100+. Remember now, this is still dangerous work so we made very sure that all was in place to essentially just lift the bent into place and stow it for the night. The lifting process is pretty simple really; we attach cables to the top of the frame, which is lying flat, then pull it up with some special winches that are tied back to the frame we raised previously. The hard part; pumping the winch. The cables come inch by inch with each pump…up and down, with the handle in hand. Kind of like deep knee bends with a heavy weight. So who were the lucky (or unlucky, if you will) to pump…. why Chuck of CI and the Architect, of course. Why not let them experience the hard work in the 100+ heat. Pull that cable, pump that winch, up, down….Yea, that’s how. The bent started to lift, creaking and groaning along the way. To help, the local men of Raleighvallen all gathered to bring rhythm to the job with drums of all shapes and sizes…. beating and pounding songs of similar nature as the bent headed skyward. Yet anther life experience to remember, all thanks to a love of carpentry and adventure. So what did you do today?