one more shot from this morning

saturday mornings catch

   This morning Linda was standing at the kitchen window and saw (our) two mallards with a single baby swimming behind.  The (female) duck has been missing for a couple of months, we assumed sitting on her nest.  While the drake's stayed fairly close by (he likes our corn).  

I grabbed my camera and ran down to see if I could get a look and maybe a (photo) shot.  Never saw the hen or the baby.  Here's the best of what I did catch.

showroom friday afternoon

We are thinking about going all out and opening three hours or so a month during first fridays.  Stay tuned.

thursday

   

making progress on the remodel

Should move some pieces in tomorrow.  Looking forward to getting back to (furniture) work.

celtic earth month concert

Nancy Muse put on another wonderful event saturday night featuring Kinvara. Celtic is generally not my cup of tea, but we thoroughly enjoyed it.  These guys are amazingly talented musicians.  Seems like if the event is at Robert Rausch Gas Studio is always a treat.

sassafras bench

72" walnut console

We completed finishing this walnut console and a couple more friday afternoon. 

sunday in the creek

  

New slide show

Here's the new slide show that I spent too much time on this week.  Now that I think I've figured it out, future ones should be easy.  Ok, let me have it.  What do ya think?

second cut

Here we were starting the second cut into this old boy.  Ended up getting just over half of it flitch sawn and stacked today.

lining up - the sawmill to the log

We don't mess with these big logs any more than we have to.  We generally try to get the log centered under the blade of the sawmill.  From there, we adjust the sawmill to the log.  
measure and align the sawmill to the center of each side of the log.  Well, not really the center the way we might think of the center.  But the center of each side of the log, as in near where the tree's life began (the center of the grain).

(I swear I didn't know I was this bald!)

removing the bark

After we flitch cut a slab we remove the bark before stacking it to air dry.  If we don't the bark will retain moisture which causes problems.  We usually use a draw knife for this project.  Even though we keep our tools sharp, this is tough work that I that seems to be better suited to my apprentice.

does this look dangerous to you?

Does the current look strong?  Well, I've paddled the creek (with the dog's swimming close ahead or behind) just a few times this year so far.  Haven't really given this little fallen limb much attention, other than I (almost unconsciously) paddle around it rather than try to paddle over it.  Well yesterday it came to my attention, just how powerful and potentially dangerous water, even a little creek that's not in flood stage, can be.

As I do most paddling trips, I paddled up the creek with intentions of resting, meditating at our favorite little rapids area and float back home.  Well, two of my dogs swam across the creek and ran on up ahead 50 yards or so.  Mattie, my only pure bred did it the hard way, following right behind my kayak swimming the whole way.  As always, I try to keep an eye on all of them.  I could see at one point that the current was stronger than usual after the wonderful rain we had the day before, and she wasn't making much headway behind this limb.  Then, I looked back again and she was right in front of it, swimming, but unable to get out from and away from it.  I paddled over the the bank, got out and called her from there.  She continued to swim forward, just treading water, making no headway, with only her head in front of the limb, rest of her body behind.  She seemed kindof bug eyed and frightened.  I just walked over and drug/carried her to the bank and safety. 

If she had run out of steam, I THINK she would have probably been pulled under and out of harm, but I don't know.  So, it really wasn't a big deal, but it could have been.  I love water, but must always remember to keep a healthy respect for it, no matter how comfortable it may seem.  

another shot of mattie yesterday

mattie on easter sunday

Can you see how tired and maybe ever a little scared she looks here?  I'll update on tomorrow post.

the creek thursday april 1

Warm summer day on the first day of April.  The high was 84 degrees.  Left work (well play) a little early and took the pups for a swim (I paddled).  Just  our second creek paddle this year.  The air temp might have been 84.  I can tell you, the creek wasn't.  I just couldn't quite make the complete plunge, just getting in only to waist deep.  Today I was a wus.  Amazing day, anyway.

collaboration on first bed design

Let me start out by saying that I'm not accustomed to collaborating in the design process.  But, when I have collaborated with architects and interior designers, the outcome has been good.  Looks like this will be another successful example.  Here my friend, amazingly talented artist, author and architect Joey Leavitt is working out the detail of our first organic edge walnut slab bed headboard.

studio / gallery / office / photo room drawing

Here's a drawing of the studio remodel we are working on.  The back area will be my and Linda's shared office.  It will have two six foot sliding doors.  Planning to make them from translucent corrugated plastic and walnut.  The barn door hardware is ordered from Tractor Supply.  During my last remodel, I learned to use the barn door rail system with wheels made of rubber.  The metal wheels in our closet at home sounds like a massive thunder storm every time we open the door.

three stumps arrived this morning

I've only worked with a few stumps so far, and I can tell you, there's nothing easy or fast about making furniture from a stump.  The blades dull quickly, and that is If we get all the dirt and rocks out of the crevices. These three stumps completely filled up this big dump truck.  Hopefully my 6000 pound fork lift will be able to move them around before we remove the dirt.  The wood in a root seems to be hard and difficult to work. But, this morning it's feeling like Christmas.  I can't wait to get into them.  The grain patterns in these roots are usually, well, almost mesmerizing.  To be the first (well second) to see a wonderous grain pattern is humbling.