Meet Burl

Mr. W was about 12 years old when he first laid eyes on “Burl.”

{beauty is in the eye of the beholder}

It was an impressionable meeting, and Mr. W never forgot about Burl…

even though he didn’t see him again for 44 more years.

Burl began life as a “blister” on a walnut tree, and has since matured into a very large {huge} unusual “creature.”

(Hazel inspects)

Recently, they were re-introduced. Burl was no longer vertical, and the Blacksmith (aka Mr. W) rescued him, using a whole lot of tractor-power. It was a lot of trouble.

But Burl was SO worth it.

Soon, we’ll see if Burl is as beautiful inside as he is on the outside. We’ll keep you posted.

Read more about Burl Wood here.

As Summer Fades

Where has this month, and Dear Summer gone? We have been busy, but somehow it seems there is a new priority every day… and we keep spinning around in circles. Does anyone else feel like that? Here’s some randomness that’s been happening in our neck of the woods.
We said goodbye to an old wagon heirloom last week (Peter Shetler).

I’ve been working on a new pen as time allows. It will be  “Fort Knox” for geese (Greta and her future new gander friend), plus a hangout for roosters occasionally. This will consist of 3x6 foot panels with hardware cloth (14 of them). I chose the panel method so I can change my mind in the future and possibly move the pen or expand. You just never know :) There will be something over the top to deter raccoons and other predators. I never ever want a repeat of what happened to Grady Gander :(

Yesterday was planing day for the walnut lumber we milled last Spring. It was dry and ready to go. Hmmm, we will have to choose special projects for this dear old tree from our backyard that turned out to be our first sawmill project!

Our Hive #2 of Bees (we thought they were Carniolans) had a problem. They were without a Queen. While we were debating what to do, it seems the bees took matters into their own hands. Hive #1 (the Italians) started taking over Hive #2. Also, a frame of brood was moved over to Hive #2 from Hive #1. The objective is of course to somehow end up with a Queen in Hive #2.  We will check in a few days to see if there is any sign of a new Queen. So exciting! In the meantime, Hive #2 is guzzling *two gallons of sugar water per day*. Amazing.



Finally, I’ll close with a mosaic of our Sunday evening drive from yesterday. Just a few random views from our neighborhood. We shared the camera, depending on who had the best view at the time!

Also, Mr. W has had a  recurrence of his back woes. We are not 100% sure, but think there may be yet another back surgery in his future. We would appreciate any good thoughts and prayers on his behalf.
Hope all is well in  your neck of the woods!

Introducing: Flat Creek Sawmill

In our quest to never, ever run out of something to do around here, we’ve now added a sawmill to the mix. Actually, one of these babies has been on our wish list for quite some time.  After loads of bad luck and great difficulty, our new project finally arrived a couple of weeks ago. Mr. W has been working on the base for it, and yesterday we finally got to try it out. The Blacksmith and the Fiddler worked very hard yesterday to accomplish this.

Everyone had their chance at a test drive. It was fun!! 

Here, the Fiddler is the operator, cutting a slice of walnut from our old backyard tree that had died and was taken down a couple years ago. His sandbox was located under that very tree many years ago. Awwww ;)

Here are the first few walnut boards (they did get prettier with each cutting).

A closer view – see the Angry Ants?

The boards will have to cure for awhile, then they’ll be project-ready.

More sawmill posts to come in the near future.  Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!