Finished Peeling

I debarked and peeled the last log on Wednesday.
All together it took about two months. Starting out I peeled about three days a week. Which was all I could handle. After a few weeks I was able to peel four days a week. At times I would push myself, either to work a longer day or add a day, which several times ended with a lesson that I needed to pace myself and that time for recuperation was very important.
During the designing of this house, I really struggled to come up with a floor plan that worked on the site and that was build-able with logs. Several times I considered giving up on logs and going back to conventional construction. At one point I was discussing the challenges with my architect, and he simply said "I don't know why you're doing this to yourself."
As I encountered difficult times peeling, that really echoed in my mind.
Around that same time I attended a log builders gathering. I had considered not going, and giving up on the idea of building with logs. Somehow I talked myself into going. While there, Earl, a log builder and timber framer, encouraged me to see it through. Earl had built his own log home, had a sense of how satisfying the experience could be, and tried to share that with me. But he was clear to say "This will be the most difficult thing you've ever done, but it could also be the most rewarding."
About mid December I had completed 18 logs, but I had pushed too hard. I ended up having to take a few days off. I made a trip to my physician and physical therapist to get some advice. I was having quite a bit of soreness in the tendons in my hands. When I would wake up my hands were clinched into fists, I could barely straighten them out. My pinky fingers would have trigger finger for the first hour or so.
I also made a call to Earl, the professional log builder, for some advice. He heard me describe my situation, chuckled and repeated himself by saying "This will be the most difficult thing you've ever done, but it could also be the most rewarding." Earl and I talked for 15 minutes or so. He had quite a few useful suggestions. I got off the phone knowing that the road ahead was going to be difficult, but knew it was something I could do.
I tried out a peeling spud for debarking. At first it was a little akward to use, but with a little technique it proved to be a great tool. The biggest benefit of using a spud is that it uses different muscles. My shoulders got more of a workout which took some getting used to, but gave my hands a bit of a break.

So it's time to actually start building something!