It begins! Today is the first day of the week of making Christmas gifts for each of my family members.
My sister Debbie likes beachy/rustic decor for her main home, and also her cottage on Nantucket. I'm hoping she can find a spot for her new tree in either place.
I've seen these online; they theoretically use driftwood from the beach, which is nicely seasoned and grey. I have a favorite petrified-looking tree in the woods along the road. It's been dead for atleast a couple of years. I figured some of its limbs would be the best for this project.
To my surprise, as I cut a limb off the exposed cut was a beautiful reddish purple. I smelled it... Ah, red cedar! Very exciting! I cut several limbs off, enough that I could barely fit into my arms to bring up the hill, into the woodshop.
I cut the thickest ones the longest, for the lower limbs of the tree. I made angle cuts, to expose as much of the grain while also giving a more interesting end, rather than just a blunt edge cut. I laid all the cuts in a flat shape of a tree, and made any adjustments to length. Using a stiff wire brush, I scraped and cleaned up the sticks, removing all debris, while creating some interesting crevices.
I found a scrap of mahogany, cut it square, sanded all edges, applied mineral oil, then drilled a 5/16" hole for the dowel to fit into. Put protective feet on the bottom and I was ready to drill a hole into each stick to build the tree. So exciting!
Using a vice, I drilled a hole into the center of each stick, choosing the orientation of the plane of each stick that showed off the most interesting features. Sixteen sticks in all for a finished height of 18".
I really like how it came out, and I hope she loves it.
🎄 🎁
Vanessa virginiences, or American Lady on Liatrus Spicata, or Button Snakewort.
Both Native
There are a lot of expressions that we hear now and then; most we think we know the origin of, some we don't. For the most part we just don't ponder the origin of commonplace expressions because they are... common. The first thing I discovered when beginning to read this little gem of a book, was not only hadn't I considered where many common sayings come from, but my preconceived idea of their origin was actually wrong! Kinda embarrassing, but guessing I may not be alone in this. I thought it would be of value then to share some tidbits from this book. Audio format is nice, as you can multitask while listening to this. This is my first attempt at recording reading a book, so any constructive criticism is welcome!
There are a lot of expressions that we hear now and then; most we think we know the origin of, some we don't. For the most part we just don't ponder the origin of commonplace expressions because they are... common. The first thing I discovered when beginning to read this little gem of a book, was not only hadn't I considered where many common sayings come from, but my preconceived idea of their origin was actually wrong! Kinda embarrassing, but guessing I may not be alone in this. I thought it would be of value then to share some tidbits from this book. Audio format is nice, as you can multitask while listening to this. This is my first attempt at recording reading a book, so any constructive criticism is welcome!
There are a lot of expressions that we hear now and then; most we think we know the origin of, some we don't. For the most part we just don't ponder the origin of commonplace expressions because they are... common. The first thing I discovered when beginning to read this little gem of a book, was not only hadn't I considered where many common sayings come from, but my preconceived idea of their origin was actually wrong! Kinda embarrassing, but guessing I may not be alone in this. I thought it would be of value then to share some tidbits from this book. Audio format is nice, as you can multitask while listening to this. This is my first attempt at recording reading a book, so any constructive criticism is welcome!
Cool! I've never noticed galls on staghorn sumac. Location: SE NH.
Melaphis rhois on Rhus typhina
https://bygl.osu.edu/node/1112
Happy garden with all the heat, humidity, and occasional rain.
I made a yummy zucchini chocolate bread for my sister's visit. Going to air fry some of what I just picked.
