New life for a branch of beetle killed pine,

Pine Wood Ring   David is making himself a ring right now as a side project. I'm calling it his '48 Acre' Touch Wood Ring.  It's made of bug killed pine from our own property. 

David wears a size 13 1/2.  He's tapering his ring and it features a 'galaxy' knot. He swears by a tapered ring for comfort.

I thought it would be fun to share a few pics of this ring as a work in progress, then when it's complete, I'll come back and update with final pics. The grain and figure in wood deepens and intensifies through the sanding, shaping and finishing processes.

'Bug killed pine' is the blue stained wood sometimes called Blue Pine, Denim Pine or Beetle killed pine.

And here, as promised, are some pics of David's finished Denim Pine Wood Ring

"The current outbreak of The Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic in BC started in the early 1990's. Today the Mountain Pine Beetle occurs well beyond its historic range, extending into northern British Columbia and eastward in the boreal forest of north-central Alberta. Not just limiting itself to lodgepole pine any longer, the beetle is also reproducing in jack pine, the dominant pine species of the boreal forest." 1 source NRC
 

Six years ago, David wrote a blog documenting the sustainable harvesting of the dead and dying pine on our own property.

You wouldn't necessarily know it from reading my 'zippety do dah' posts, but our remote off grid lifestyle requires a good deal of grunt work.  Living here is worth every minute of the hard work required. I'm just saying I don't talk about it much.

David's blog is called Racing Ants It's a good read; full of intelligent, thoughtful commentary.  He talks about all sorts of things;  road building, fencing, sustainable logging, forest health, and it's chock full of photos too.  It's a great record of some of the hard work that happens to keep our 48 acres singing.  


And so ... as a bit of background to the bug killed pine that is getting another life as a wooden ring, here is David's introductory post on Racing Ants.  It was written June 5th, 2009. 

Chapter 1

In the beginning . . . there were ants

It's a busy time of year when spring finally emerges from the frosty nights and blustery days. Every project that winter inspired becomes more urgent as the short summer approaches and setting our priorities becomes paramount. Thank goodness our talented lead hand is also patient as we jump from one job to the next and he struggles to divide his time into our list of wants.



This is the year we have to deal with the considerable amount of bug killed pine that peppers our little forest. The trees are standing dead, but just barely standing, as root rot and ant colonies conspire to fall them before we do. We have to be very careful and keep our wits about us because they will sometimes fall without provocation . . . unnerving and dangerous . . . and the sound of wind is a warning to make your way to a clearing . . . heads up!

The Pine Beetles that eat the Cambrian layer and kill the tree, cause a stain that penetrates the tree for several inches in some cases. This stained wood when sawn produces a spectacular show of blue grey wood mixed with the typical white pine. The stain does not appear to fade or run so the wood can be finished to enhance this natural beauty. We have been burning this wood in the home fires while lamenting the destruction of these beautiful trees and the huge waste of potential lumber and wood products that are falling all around us. This winter we decided to do something to at least deal with the trees on our own land, so we bought a four head Logosol planer to add some value to the rough sawn lumber that is commonplace here. . .

Planing our lumber is the final step in the production process . . . first we had to acquire all the support machinery that is needed to produce the rough lumber for the planer and to selectively log the trees and haul them to the mill, and clean up the branches and remove the stumps and build the roads etc etc. Also we had to provide shelter for the machinery and store the final product. This will be a record of how all that is coming together . . .

 _______________________________ 

For the rest of the story, visit David's sustainable logging blog at http://racingants.blogspot.ca and check back here at the end of the month for some finished pics of his '48 Acre Ring'.


David and I are old school readers ~ the idea of reading a blog from the latest entry backwards never feels quite right.  There is a sense of order in starting at the beginning :)  on that note, here are chapter by chapter links for Racing Ants.

Chapter 1 
Chapter 2    
Chapter 3 
Chapter 4 
Chapter 5 
Chapter 6 
Chapter 7 
Chapter 8 

As always ~ thanks so much for dropping by!  

Reconnecting with old friends

David and I worked with Melisa and Luke in 2010.  

We made their rings during the summer of that year and were finishing their rings when our area was in full wildfire madness. It was pretty scary. Luke and Melisa and the other folks we worked with during that time were so understanding.
That's the first time I've lived anywhere where I was surrounded by raging forest fires.   But we all made it through.  No human lives were lost and very little human property was damaged.  I know that was not true for the wildlife and birds with whom we share our surroundings, but four years on, everyone seems to have recovered from their losses ~ thank goodness.  Even the forest is recovering, albeit rather slowly.

We got an email from Melisa just a few weeks ago.  She writes:

"I hope this note finds you both well.  It's been more than 4 years since the last email, and I am happy to report that Luke and I are very happily more than four years married. I had meant to email you a picture from our day and now it's years later and I realize I haven't.  Funny how time goes so quickly...

I'm writing now because our well loved rings are ready for some refinishing ~ they're a bit worn but they've been worn with love....."

Turns out their rings are actually in lovely shape and David is refinishing them this month. Luke wears his ring less often than Melisa as he is doing tree work and wants to protect his ring ~ it's a tad snug on him too so David is doing a little resizing at the same time as refinishing their rings.

When I wrote back to Melisa, I assured her that we would dearly love to see those photos from their wedding.  While it might be old news to her, it is always a joy for us to share in moments from couples celebrations of love. 

The way I see it, celebrating love never gets old. 

I mean, look at those pups wearing their beautiful wedding collars :)

Melisa and Luke designed their rings with Black Walnut wood and offset inlays of Greyed Maple and Pietersite. 

 

They were so much fun to work with.  Melisa shares our passion for birds and photography
and she volunteers at a wildlife rehab facility where they work mostly with sea birds, but also raptors and songbirds.  

I want to share a link to Melisa's website too ~ she does such beautiful work.  www.melisakroening.com
 

 

We always love meeting new people who come to us to create rings for them  ~ and it is truly heartwarming to reconnect years later.  Much love to you both, Melisa and Luke!  It was wonderful working with you in 2010 and awesome to reconnect.  You make us smile!!

The 'Thinking of Each Other' Tree

I want to share a set of Touch Wood Rings David created recently that included some very personal material to incorporate as subtle inlays.

 

Ethan and Amy's Redwood Rings have Cherry wood interiors and specially sent Acacia Confusa Root Bark which they requested David use for their inlays.  They kindly left the remainder with us to spread around our home for some good energy. 

 

If it's anything like Amy and Ethan ~ then it definitely has good energy. Thanks you guys!

I did a bit of a search and found a company called 'Eternity in a Box'.  They had some interesting information on the Acacia Confusa.  From their website: "Acacia Confusa is sometimes referred to as the ‘Rainbow Tree’ or the ‘Thinking of Each-Other Tree’ in Taiwan where they grow naturally.  These trees are originally native to Taiwan, though were brought to the Pacific region years ago. They grow vigorously in Hawaii and are even considered of a higher medicinal value than the Taiwanese native trees.
Acacia Confusa has been used in traditional Taiwanese medicine to help heal blood disorders as well as for detoxification. The more mystical application involves preparation into an Ayahuasca-like brew, and has been utilized for visionary and spiritual purposes."

E Ho'omau Maua Ke Aloha

"I would like to thank you and David for making our beautiful and true Hawaiian wedding bands. His work is amazing. Everyone we showed the rings to was speechless, even our kahuna. He said these rings binds us to the land. Here are some photos to share of our wedding at Kualoa Beach on the island of Oahu. Thank you so much! We chose the right person to make our rings."


Vernon sent David Hawaiian Kamani and Kou Woods for his and Ruth's rings and sand from a special spot on a beach in Oahu.

"I see my ring is on the front page of your website. That is so cool. We love the rings. They are a beautiful work of art. We have some pics to share of our wedding at Kualoa Beach park on the island of Oahu. Thank you so much for taking the time 
to make our beautiful Hawaiian rings. God bless both of you and with much love from Ruth and Vernon "

This is a photo of Ruth and Vernon's Hawaiian Touch Wood Rings resting on a Kamani tree stump.

And a photo from their wedding celebration in front of two beautiful Chinese Banyan trees. 

E Ho'omau Maua Ke Aloha

Strength, resilience and wisdom

Kirsten and I wrote back and forth for almost 6 months.  She and Norm have been happily married now for a couple of years.  I was thinking about them, and their rings today and Kirsten's lovely positive attitude.   They commissioned David to create their rings from a dark Hawaiian Koa wood with inlays of Lapis Lazuli, Eliat and Turquoise for Kirsten, and Lapis for Norms ring.  
Kirsten was wonderful to work with. 
In September of 2013 she wrote


Dear Nicola and David; 

We excitedly picked up our rings from the post office yesterday.
In anticipation we opened up the package to reveal the most gorgeous pieces of art!! We are so pleased with the final products. The are beautiful!!
Thank you again for all your guidance, patience and support through the design process. The entire experience was filled with such wonderful care and personal touches.
We are thrilled to be able to exchange these rings with each other. They have so much meaning and truly represent what we value in each other; our individuality. The Koa wood symbolizes strength, resilience and wisdom, which we continue to strive for as a couple.
Thank you again so much  
With warmth and gratitude,
 
And a few months after their 'little big day' as Kirsten described it, she writes:

We both receive wonderful compliments on our gorgeous rings on a daily basis :-)

Thank you again for all your guidance and support through the design and creation of our beautiful rings. 

You and David have become an important part of our love story!!

Our thanks to you Kirsten and Norm, and much love. Wishing you at least one lifetime of happiness together.