Inside and Outside

In 1958, a local teenaged boy on vacation in Northern California brought back some Redwood seed cones and planted them on the family dairy farm near Lynden, Washington. The planting was successful, and the seedlings grew rapidly to become huge trees, just as they do in their native environment.

Unfortunately, the trees were too close to a barn, and one fell during a recent storm, causing some damage. It was time for them to be felled. They were cut down in sections with assistance from a crane. The total weight of the largest tree was 25 tons. 

Our woodworking club was invited to view the display of large slabs for sale, with the additional attraction of some free offcuts. I didn’t want a large slab, but I did take one of the offcuts (extra). It was too big to fit in my Kona, so one of the club members cut it down to size with a chainsaw. 

Today I removed the bark — the photo collage shows the inner and outer surface of one of the pieces. The wood is very wet, and will take a few years to dry — the rule of thumb is one year per inch of thickness. I hope I’m still around when it’s ready for use. Don’t ask me what I’ll do with it — I’ll tell you when I decide.