Summer winds down on the meadow.

These are busy and beautiful days ~ I'm still behind with my emails but working hard to catch up with folks while David builds rings for our oh so awesome touch wood friends!

We are in the midst of haying our fields and the rain hasn't let up since it was cut. That's not the greatest situation but it happens. Hoping for some warm dry days to get that job finished up.

When we first moved here, we supplied hay to our neighbour for his small herd of cows. He lived fifteen miles to the north east and was a fountain of local knowledge having lived here all his life. He cut our twenty five acres of hay with his workhorses and a ground driven mower. It was an amazing experience to take part in the daily harnessing and care of the team and get to understand some of what goes into their training. We took lots of pictures and videos of something we won't ever see done again.

With the highly efficient haying machines our neighbouring ranchers use these days; the meadow is cut in one day, raked in one day and baled in one day making the whole process five or six days counting some drying time and moving the huge bales to the feed area. That's if the rain doesn't slow it all down.

The method has changed but the result is the same ... the meadow hay will be fed to brood cows' that will grow new calves over the winter to be born in the spring... the hay from this meadow has been used for this purpose since at least 1890, so we are just the latest participants...

Here are a few pics from around the homestead on these late August days.

  

And some of the commissioned rings David made this summer :) 

Jack's Hawaiian Koa Wood Ring with Maple interior

Greyed Maple with Magnolia interior for Alex

Ally and Gordon's Choke Cherry, Madrone, and Burr Oak rings

Kenneth's Black Walnut wood ring with a featured knot and Cherry interior liner

Ian's Black Walnut, Willow with a center inlay of Amethyst mixed with Kara's stone

Laurent's Hawaiian Koa, Walnut, Birds eye Maple and a braided inlay of Yucca

Mary and Kevin's designs incorporate Juniper Heartwood, Walnut and Bamboo

We've also been building a stone circle. Taking a hour some evenings just before or after dinner to move the next boulder down to the clearing we choose for stones.  It's something I've always wanted to do and we have the property and the big stones so it was just a matter of choosing the spot and making the time.  Well, and enlisting my honey's help with his trusty skid steer and his smarts. It's coming along.  Going to be beautiful!!  A sacred space built with stone that should outlast us by many hundreds of years.

Talk to you again soon and thanks, as always for dropping by.  If you haven't already, please visit our Facebook page and follow along.  My updates there are much more frequent :) 

A Welsh Love Spoon and their wooden rings

We first connected with Eric and Sarah back in November of 2015 and decided that February would be the perfect time for David to make their rings. 

They chose walnut as their primary wood (more on that in a moment) with inlays of dark figured Bethlehem Olive wood and a full moon inlay of Aspen for Sarah`s ring. 

Eric and Sarah were engaged in Cornwall in the traditional Welsh fashion, where a carved wooden spoon is presented rather than a ring. Their spoon was made of walnut, which is why they wanted walnut rings. They shared a picture of their spoon and were hoping the rings might be somewhat similar in terms of color and grain.

For the uninitiated; the custom of giving a Love Spoon is unique to Wales and originated in the 15th Century, when lovers would offer intricately carved spoons, bearing symbols of their feelings and hopes, to their partners. Love Spoons today are given as gestures of friendship, engagement, wedding and anniversary gifts.

David used our Heritage Black Walnut to mirror the figure in their beautiful spoon.  

They were kind enough to let us share a few pictures from their wedding, and they wrote:

We had our shindig in the Catskills and took some time out while we were still in the mountains to do a little photo shoot.  The rings are on the chicken foot ring holder that I made for them -- don't worry, just a plaster cast, not a real foot :)  

We fashioned the broom out of an aspen walking stick that Eric had made when we lived in Colorado... partly why I wanted aspen wood in my ring :)  Thank you both again, we love the rings and have received so many compliments on how lovely they are. We'll cherish them forever!  Best wishes,  Sarah and Eric.

Now happily married, Sarah and Eric are moving back to Colorado and excited about the next chapter in their lives.  

It has been wonderful to meet you both (hopefully we`ll meet in person one day too) and we had so much fun working with you on your rings. Thanks so much Eric and Sarah!

We`ll sign off with this old Welsh Blessing. 
Wishing you a house full of sunshine, hearts full of cheer, love that grows deeper each day of the year.

Married under a Full Moon

Lindsey and I began our conversations back in October of 2015.  Right from her first email I felt a kinship with Lindsey ~ she's a massage therapist, and her beloved; Jeff is a Chef and a guitar player. As Lindsey explained; their hands are their tools. They are both genuine, warm and positive people. And they have a truck load of beautiful dogs!! :)

In March of this year, David created the rings they designed: Hawaiian Koa Wood, Greyed Maple and Lindsey's ring has an inlay of some of her own special raw opal. Opal being her birthstone.

They were married at Point Reyes, California, surrounded by friends and family ~ and with David and I attending if only in spirit.  :)  We got this lovely email from Lindsey and Jeff just a few weeks after their wedding.

"Our wedding was the most beautiful and memorable event of our lives. Everything was perfect beyond our wildest dreams! All of our friends and family were gathered and beautiful Point Reyes, California for a wonderful weekend. The weather had been threatening all week. Right up until right before the ceremony the clouds were thick. As the bridal procession began, the clouds parted and the sun came shining through. It remained beautiful all day and into the night, so that the full moon shone brightly over us. The ceremony began at 4 pm and the festivities continued until 2 am. The food was amazing and nearly 20 musicians (mostly friends) performed throughout the day and night.

The ceremony was really very beautiful and moving. A lot of laughter, a lot of tears, and mostly a lot of joy. During the ring ceremony our officiant spoke specifically about the rings and about their meaning. Everyone loves them, especially us.

Thank you for your support, kind words, and extraordinary artistry. The rings are perfect for us! We will continue to follow you and your work through Facebook and wish you both the very best!"

Thanks so much Jeff and Lindsey. David and I wish you both tremendous happiness in the days and years to come and we will give the last pic to your pups who will be delighted to have you home again after your much anticipated honeymoon to Cuba!!  :)   

Love is in the air - and at their feet too.

Back in March, I posted a photograph on our Facebook page of Eva and Randal's Mesquite, Oak and Coffee Wood rings.

I just love the rings they designed, was so pleased David undertook their commission for braided hemp inlays ~  and Randal and Eva were an absolute joy to work with.

Well, they are 'Mr and Mrs' now and we are so happy for them. They sent us an email the other day and some sweet photographs of their warm and loving backyard ceremony ~ with just closest family members attending.  Their awesome pup Leroy featured nicely in the photos ~ though they told us they barely noticed him there during the ceremony.  :) Those of us who have exchanged marriage vows know just what that's like.  We only have eyes for our beloved during those intense and beautiful moments of committing to love and cherish each other!  Still, there was Leroy ~ very much a part of them and feeling the love.

  

  

Here's an excerpt from Eva and Randal`s recent email.

"We absolutely love our Touch Wood Rings and are learning how to take good care of them so they can last a lifetime. My heart swells every time I look down at my left hand, the rings are not only beautiful but invoke feelings of happiness, warmth, and excitement for the future. We are so pleased to have gone through such a unique and personal experience that resulted in something so special and one-of-a-kind. Thank you both again for everything you do and we wish you nothing but happiness! 

When I asked if we might share their email and a few of their pics, they wrote back, "We are so pleased and proud of our rings and truly enjoyed the overall journey that we would love to share it with anyone who is interested in the amazing work you two do. 

We will absolutely stay in touch and also hope to maybe meet in person one day - we might have to take a trip up to the beautiful Canadian wilderness ;-) All the photos you share are stunning! Thanks again! Much love "

David and I send our dearest love and our very best wishes for your happiness!!  Big hugs and love to all three of you!  XXX  Thanks again Randal and Eva!

My Love My Everything

Back in October of 2015 we had the pleasure of working with a lovely young couple from France; Kajana and Johann.  They designed and commissioned Dark Hawaiian Koa rings with Bamboo interior liners and inlays of Lapis,Turquoise and Tibetan stone. Kajana's ring bears the beautiful inscription "mon amour tout pour moi" which translates to "My Love My Everything".

Just the other day we had a sweet note from Johann and three lovely photos from their wedding.

Kajana and I got married on the 30th of January. Everything went perfectly and I would like to share with you a couple of pictures from this moment.

We really love the rings you and your husband crafted for us ! Thank you again for the great experience :-)

Much love from France. 

Johann & Kajana 

  

And Much Love to both of you ~ and from David and I.

Thanks so much Johann and Kajana!!

We wish you both tremendous happiness in the days and years to come.

Spring in slow motion

Since early in 2005, I have kept two separate blogs.  'The Homestone' where we post photographs of the changing seasons on our 48 acre homestead, and this blog (The Warmth of Wood) which has been devoted primarily to the work we do and the folks we work with.  I have decided to combine the two blogs.  I'll just post here from now on; on our Touch Wood Blog, and on our Facebook page; Touch Wood Rings, 48 Acres.    

With that, I'll share my final 'Homestone' post published earlier today.

Today is the last day of March! Spring is just now springing from the snow packed ground. The melt has begun and the birds are returning.  The male Red Winged Blackbirds have been joined now by the females and their mellifluous conversations fill this 48 acre bowl we call the meadow. 

Our early Canada Geese are back.  Yesterday the most magical thing happened ... I was standing outside when I could hear them honking from over a mile away. As they flew over the house and out toward the hay field, I said "hello you guys welcome back" and they did an abrupt turn around and flew back over top of me ... so low... closer than I've ever had them come to me in flight ... I knew it was their hello.  

Spring really is nothing short of miraculous!!  It's so amazing to be witness to the natural world waking up from winter, a world we know so well after all these years.

We watch for the first Dandelion.  And yesterday, there she was ~ her yellow flower open to the sun.

There have been a few ducks dropping by but the creek is still frozen in lots of spots and the hay field hasn't yet turned it's snow pack into the temporary lake we look forward to. 
The warmth of spring is quite a bit later this year than last.  We enjoy the slow melt to spring ~ the slower it goes the more we can enjoy the change of season.  

For those of you who don't frequent Facebook and other social media outlets; I want to share a new braided inlay design recently commissioned by a lovely couple in Colorado and recently posted on Touch Wood, 48 Acres.

Mesquite Rings with Oak interior liners and Coffee Wood inlays bordering Braided Hemp ~ commissioned by and created for Randal and Eva.

Here's an excerpt from the lovely letter they wrote when they received their rings:
"Our rings are unbelievably beautiful, truly beyond our expectations. The hemp braided inlay looks incredible and fits so well with the overall design and chosen woods. We could not be happier!!

This has been such an incredible and unique experience/process and we cannot express our gratitude enough. You are both such wonderful people and we are so pleased to have gotten to know you. You serve as more of an inspiration to us than I think you realize, and have given us the confidence of knowing off-the-grid living is achievable and can be quite fulfilling. We wish you both the very best and hope to keep in touch!"

Thanks so much Randal and Eva!  David and I wish you every happiness in the days and years to come, with much love.

And so it goes. New Touch Wood Rings for lovely humans and a 'slow motion' spring on the meadow. We are so fortunate to be living where we live, to be making a living with this work we do and to be sharing it with you.
  
I look forward to having you revisit us here at our Warmth of Wood Blog and invite you to join us on social media.
You'll find us on Facebook, Pinterest and on Instagram

As always, thanks so much for stopping by.

Waning Winter and Wooden Rings

Winter appears to be waning on the meadow. We've had a run of Chinook like weather for the last little while.  It's the 20th of February and it's 5 days early for us to be seeing our first harbinger of Spring but we have, just this morning ... and here he is.  David got some lovely pics of our first Red Winged Blackbird of the season.

Renowned photographer and naturalist Chris Harris notes that "In the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast region of BC, spring typically comes during the month of March. It can arrive late some years in this part of the province, but when you’re outdoors in March, it’s time to start keeping your eyes open and ears perked. It’s a wonderful day when you see your first robin or hear that early first call of a Red-winged Blackbird. Then you know that spring is officially here!"

My post on our Homestone blog last year notes that our first Blackbird arrival was the 25th of February and on that day we also noted the arrival a flock of snow buntings and two robins!

Here are a few photos from my walkabout yesterday morning. It was a lovely start to the day with a touch of frost on the trees and willows.

Today David is busy building rings for some lovely people.  The sun is shining down on us and I must, once I get this post written, get back to answering emails from more lovely people.  We are so touched by what folks write to us.

David made a ring for Bob in January.  

Bob writes: "The ring is exquisite! A perfect fit, the coloring I was hoping for (And as a woodworker myself, believe me, I know how impossible it can sometimes be to select for final color…), and a beautiful swirling grain around the knot. It is… Perfect!   

I had looked at other sites, seen photos of other rings… But I kept coming back to Touch Wood - and I’m glad I did. David’s rings just looked more natural and artistic. And, especially when we started corresponding about the ring, I knew I’d made the right choice. Thank David for fashioning my beautiful ring for me, and thank you both for being such great people to work with!" 

 Spring is springing, the birds are singing and all's right with the world.  Thanks so much for stopping by and ... drop us a note sometime.  We love to hear from you.