Save your lids

                   Why on EARTH would you need to save lids???
    
     We know this sounds CRAZY, but save the lids from any canned item that you use.  Soup cans, veggie cans, any thing that requires a can opener...save those lids! Some have a similar lid on the bottom some have the easy stack bottoms, the easy stack bottoms are useless just don't worry about it. When we open a can we immediately wash the lid and dry it and put it in a specail container that we have, you will be shocked at how quickly they add up.  Last night we opened the container and counted the lids, we have saved nearly 100 lids in just 2 months. Well then we took a paint pen and marked on those lids giving each one a number.  We put them in numerical order and bundled them in groups of 25 and placed that group into a small baggie. When we start cutting trees we have a spreadsheet that we have made up that has basic information about each tree.  We will take those lids and nail one to the butt end of each log that we cut and then we can have an inventory of sorts of all of our trees. Here is the information that we collect about each tree.  The number of the tree, the diameter of the butt cut, the diameter of the tip cut, the length of the tree, which drying rack it is located on and any notes about that tree (standing dead, beetle kill, or maybe where we got it from).  We believe that this list will be very valuable when we are planning which log to use next while building the structure.
       
       So save those lids, if you don't think you can get enough on your own then ask somone to help save them too.  Keep in mind that you want to wash and dry them right away, and please be careful those edges are SHARP!