I wanted to share some photos

While I'm waiting to show you more progress on my house full of doors, I thought I'd share some interesting wood related photos.
    I was walking on the back of my land and noticed the Redwoods needles, from 2 springs ago, was starting to turn brown as it does each fall.  As the winter winds come,  these clumps of Redwood needles blow out of the trees and blanket the earth with a golden brown layer of retired branched needles.  The Pomo Indians say that each winter the Redwoods cry and they call these dead branchs of needles, Redwood Sorrow.

 

Instead of snow, our Coastal forest is blanketed with the Redwood "Sorrow" that returns to the earth to become mulch and nurture our beautiful Redwood forest.

  

Speaking of Redwood, our cousins to the West continent grow a third variety of Sequoia.  It is called The Dawn Redwood.  Wikipedia states "Although the least tall of the redwoods, it grows to at least 200 feet  in height. Local villagers refer to the original tree from which most others derive as Shui-sa, or "water fir", which is part of a local shrine."

   About 20 years ago I planted a dawn Redwood on the edge of our garden and today it is about 35ft tall.  Every fall it looses all of its' needles.  

All of the needles will yellow then fall off and it looks like the tree has come to a fatal end until spring comes and life and foliage returns to this nobel tree.

  We have a western Maple that grows along the Pacific range.  Its' latin name is Acer Macrophillum, Pacific Maple, or Big Leaf Maple.  And this is why.........

These leaves turn yellow, not red or orange, and then turn into this tan shell of a leaf before they return back to compost and nurture the earth.


Another cool picture that I would like to share, is a very thin slice of old growth Redwood.  I cut it off the end of a board and noticed it was so thin you could see light through it......... so I took it outside and shot a picture of this slice held up to the afternoon sun in the Redwood forest.

A simple detail you should know ......... this end cut is 5-1/2" wide by about 1-3/4" tall.  Each line you see, indicates 1 full year of growth.  Part of this trees life grew in such a dark primeval forest, that it took 45 years to grow one inch in diameter.  Imagine these magnificent trees grow up to 20 feet in diameter, and have been on this earth since before the time of Christ.


So, one day my friend Sunray was sawing a 6ft cant (block) of curly Redwood into thick veneers for beautiful panels in our doors. Well it was so heavy that he decided to saw it in half to make it easier to re-saw the thick veneers.  And believe it or not (you really should) when he sawed this 6ft by 8 inch square cant of Redwood in half, he found this......

Yup ......... that is a bullet.  But look carefully that is a bullet that was shot into a young tree, maybe over 100 years ago.  There is no damaged wood behind the bullet and this piece of Redwood was over 120 years old before the tree was logged 40 to 50 years ago, and left on the forest floor for us to find and saw into beautiful veneer, like this

But I saved the the block with the bullet to tell its' story.  If your ever in the neighborhood ask to hold it and have a look for your self.  Can't wait to make "The Bullet Wood Door" for some nice (peaceful) folks!

I've shown this picture before, but take another look.  Here is a picture of the end of a board that was milled for me by a local sawyer.

 

This tree was originally fallen, by a man with an ax.  How very cool.  I'll bet he would be proud that we utilized his hard work and efforts to create a beautiful door to grace a home of a wonderful family.

Then, I'll end with this

This is a picture of some hand split curly Redwood and the cut end of a Buckeye Burl.  Not much more to say other then I love Natures paint brush.

Please visit Our Website to see more of this beautiful wood.