Don't Tell Anyone

Loading the log deck is one of my favourite jobs at work , I drive the tractor up to the stacks and select the timber that best suits our cutting list. Then wrestle the logs on to the trailer with the crane .At the sawmill the logs are placed on the log deck, this has a three chain feed , this feed takes the logs inside the sawmill then on to the carriage. Anyway here I am loading up sitka spruce its tough but someones got to do it!! :)

Saddled Up

The hobby horses and the dragons are now finished ,complete their with leather reins and brass tacks.
I have enjoyed making these four guys, just from scrap really some dusty old oak and some hazel that was to thin for using for legs on stools.
The only new materials are leather and some brass upholstery tacks .I think that one of these four guys will put a big smile on a little face, and that's what really counts :)

Chest ,Sticks In Horses, And Oh Yes A Mink

At the weekend I worked a bit on the spalted beech chest I put it together to see how it would look with a dry run no glue yet. The wild spalted grain really stands out. I also put hazel sticks in the hobby horses and dragons I found some nice soft leather for the reins.

On another note imagine cycling along a canal and seeing a wake rippling the water, and catching a glimpse. Of a chocolate Mink that was trying to cross the Avon aqueduct, but then think back to leaving the kitchen checking the camera and oh! the battery lights flashing, better get moving in case it rains.
So I left it behind, nothing would crop up on my travels. Anyway the Mink slowed up when he realised I was no threat, he slowed down and showed off a bit diving then rising, then when he could leave the water he got out shook himself.And made a great silhouette on top of the bank, only the second mink I've ever saw.
The first one ran through the yard of a Sawmill that I ran a few years back but this one I got a good look at. Mink are not a native to the UK and are classed as vermin. They were bred in fur farms a long time ago and either escaped or were released by protesters .They can do a lot of damage and have a reputation as ferocious killers but I was pleased to get a good look at him. But I still wished I had the patience to change the batteries as there was only 8' between us . Third time lucky maybe! I think I'll wait a long time to see another one of these secretive characters :)

A Tree And Two Roses

Matthew and I hung out for a while today walking in the woods, we found a huge Beech tree. Matthew thought this was a cool place for a clamber around, these big beech trees all seem to struggle with many diseases in the trunk and branches and this one had a lot of dead brittle roots .So no way it could stand up to a recent gale so it gave up its foundations and let the wind tear it from the ground .,

A wild rose at the side of the road caught my eye, vivid pink in the summer grasses. And back at home a climbing rose that I planted a few weeks ago, has flowered this weekend, so I was pleased that the rose is happy in its new garden :)

Hobby What

I was asked to make some wooden toys recently so after some thought .Hobby horses and dragons would be traditional but with a twist.

They still need a lot of smoothing and sanding but you get the idea .A hazel shank will provide the stick part, this will look better than a brush handle. Hopefully I can find some thin leather strap somewhere to make nice reins for them all .Here are the dragons and horses so far (made with two good eyes again) :)

Put The Boat Down!

The other day we were returning from a day out when we noticed a cruise liner in the river forth .So we stopped for a look at this huge vessel in the shaddow of forth rail bridge. Matthew acted out some gullivers travels and had the ship in his hand, its good to see ships like this coming to our part of the world, the tourism helps the economy too .Heres the Costa Magica, Matthew and the Forth Rail Bridge :)

Harvest, Berries,Boards And A Sore Eye

The harvest is under way around my part of the world . Golden straw lies in thick carpets up and down the fields.

Berries and fruits are now hanging from the trees here are this years plump rowan berries bright orange at present they will soon turn red as summer gives way to autumn. And some cherries on the (Gean)a cherry tree which is often planted along the edges of plantations of spruce pine and larch. Small birds will soon prize these fruits.

I have prepared some boards for a small chest that I wanted to build out of some spalted beech, that has been kicking around in the shed for a while .Here's the start of this chest . And the end of the shed for a wee bit, as while driving with the window down returning from a day out, a speck of dust blew in through the window and. straight into my eye . No amount of rubbing would get the little aggravator out or eyewash. So a wait at A&E was in order, where they froze the movement of my eye and removed the speck checked my eye through a machine and told me, that with all my rubbing I had badly scratched the surface of my eye .So some time out away from the dust in the shed will help along with the eyedrops ;)