Labor Of Love

My small furniture shop turns out a few distinct pieces a year. Great care is taken in the design and construction of what is made. Many of the smaller pieces like this are crafted out of recycled barn wood. The wood for this particular table was cut from larger timbers that were removed from an old barn that had collapsed. This particular barn was originally built in 1880.

Using a chainsaw I removed several large timbers from the barn and brought them back to my shop. While resawing the wood to sizes more suitable for furniture I counted the tree rings in one particularly beautiful piece. The rings numbered 220 before they became so tight that I could no longer count them. Which means the wood in this particular table was crafted from a tree that began growing right around the year 1660. To work with wood that is over 350 years old is not something a lot of people have a chance to do these days. There is nothing else like it.

Main Street Afternoon

I took this picture of Main Street two days ago. It was a warm spring afternoon, the leaves are back on the trees, and everything just seemed so green. If anyone wonders where all the traffic is I'm afraid you'll be disappointed as this is pretty much "rush hour" in this part of the world.

Sandstone Mural

The upstate New York region is littered with small charming quaint villages and towns. The population of many of these rural communities numbers in the hundreds or, at most, a few thousand residents and nearly every one of these communities were created in the early-to-mid 1800's. Needless to say there is a lot of unique architecture. Part of the architectural uniqueness lies in the building materials themselves. In this case, Medina Sandstone, which was quarried in Medina, NY in the 1800's.

While you can still visit Medina, NY, the quarry and its sandstone have long since ceased. But the buildings that used this particular dusky-colored sandstone still remain and probably will for another 150 years. One of the habits in a good many of these communities is that murals, often mimicking street scenes like the one here, can easily be found. Beautiful and eye-catching they add a sense of whimsy to these already striking structures.

Storm Passing

In our part of the world there is a winding road that runs parallel to the shoreline of Lake Ontario. Driving home late one afternoon past an open field I spotted these rain clouds coming off the lake, which is just behind the treeline in the distance. I stopped the car to take in the view and to get a picture. All was quiet as I was the only car on the road and this scene made for a memorable moment. 

Early Saturday Morning

Something about an early Saturday morning with a hot cup of coffee and a nice view. When people talk about the simple pleasures in life this must be one of them. The sun was just cresting over the trees here and made for a beautiful scene. Glad I had the camera! And the coffee was great by the way.

And Old Bikes

A good friend of mine stopped by the other day. He lives with his wife on a little over 100 acres. He's retired now and did quite well for himself in his working life as an apple farmer. While he has a couple of very nice cars in his garage his preferred mode of transportation is an old bicycle. I've asked him why he hasn't bothered getting a newer fancier one. His answer is always the same- "This old one suits me and I like it." That seems like a perfectly good answer in my book.

Old Augers

I have an old friend who, like myself, loves wood. And while I have a small furniture-making shop this friend of mine is a carpenter extraordinaire. He can build, repair or create nearly anything out of wood and he's been doing it for a long long time. Now and then we visit each other's shops to have a laugh, share a smoke or just say 'Hi'. His woodshop is housed in a century-old barn and smells of wood, old hay, dirt and oil. It's a wonderful aroma. These old auger bits were laid out on a table. They've seen a lot of use but are still in working condition. Something about old tools like these brings out a sentimental part of me. Maybe you too.

JUST PRETTY

While out last weekend I ran across these striking potted flowers outside of a small country store. I don't know what kind they are but they sure caught my attention. Amazing color. Yet another reminder of what a beautiful season Spring can be.

Plowing Time!

Another sure sign of spring in the country is the distant sound of a diesel engine. In this case it belongs to my neighbor Brad's favorite John Deere 8-Wheeler. Brad's got many hundreds of acres and I caught him on his first day on the job... Plowing that is. It's a rather tedious task but his John Deere is quite comfortable with an enclosed cab and everything at his fingertips. It will be a long day for him but he'll cover as much as two hundred acres.

Here he's just plowing over the topsoil. Shaking and softening things up before coming back in a few weeks with seed. I suspect corn will go in this year.

Notice the big tool box mounted on the plow itself. Something always seems to break and always at the worst time. Good to have a set of tools with you. This is a medium-size Deere 8-Wheeler and will run all day on a single tank of diesel fuel. And just in case you're thinking of picking up one to impress the neighbors - This John Deere will set you back about $150,000.

Well Hello There

The bird houses are meant for birds! Well, this little field mouse found himself a nice comfortable place to be. A roof over his head, a window with a view and plenty of bird seed to feed on. If I were a field mouse I think this would be "livin' large!"

CHERRY BLOSSOMS AND MORE

Spring happens so fast! There are several cherry trees on our property and this one came out in all its glory! These particular blooms lasted just about a week with other colors from the trees and flowers popping out in synchronous harmony. But blooms also signal yardwork too. Ugh. If only the lawn would mow itself and the all the broken branches that the snow no longer hides need to be picked up. But at least the weather is warmer and it sure beats shoveling snow!