March in New Hampshire

Today the temperatures reached 68 degrees, snow disappearing, people in shorts but in New Hampshire just like Missouri, tomorrow will be something else.  But as the weather improves so will I be able to get back to carving; it is a shame that there is not someplace in town where carvers and woodworkers can get together to do their work.  But I imagine the insurance for liability would be huge, so tomorrow back to the deck and since the folks under neath us have moved maybe I won't get flack from some wood chips hitting their deck.  The flu has jumped up and got all of us, I was first, then mom and now Pat, each time the recovery period is longer-it sucks to get older!

Do have 5 leaves that will travel from New Hampshire to India.  They will travel with a friend that works for IBM and will spend a month providing and working service with the people in India.  He travels extensively in the far east and India for his job, but this is about helping people.  The leaves will go to 5 people who provide leadership for the group.  The leaves are wooden copies of actual leaves from the mountains that surround Camp Merrowvista, so they travel with love.  I know that some of the hearts and leaves from the apple trees in Missouri are in the middle east, now in possession of the Kids 4 Peace that were here last summer!  Perhaps they can be the leaders that will make the world safer.  Now if we could just get some kids to take the place of many of our politicians!

If you get a chance check out the Ward Museum in Maryland; it's 9 hours away but I hope to travel there some time.  They have a world championship show in late April that attracts carvers from all over the world, conduct work shops and seminars, plus competition for all levels.  During the year they work with local schools and groups to conduct exploration of the wetlands and the animals that live in the area.  Would be so much fun.      www.wardmuseum.org


Working on two leaves right now, finish with Tung Oil and so far I really like the  rich, finished look, thin coat, rub like "wax on, wax off", drying time is 10 hours before next coat so not real time efficient.  I guess when you are retired that time efficient thing does not make much difference!   I am excited to get back to carving and getting outside-temps for this week are in the 50's and  60's so could be a productive week. Also going to get the mountain bike out, trails still  have too much snow and ice but the streets are clear and the local grandson needs some "outside time".

The leaf on the right is red cedar wood from Missouri; it is a soft wood that doesn't take kindly to rough treatment but has great colors.  Can be used to line chests and closets with a bug resistant smell but this one will have no smell.  The leaf on the left is from a piece of wood I picked from a burn pile some place, think it might be poplar, a much harder wood.  No matter what the wood is, extensive sanding reducing the grit to a fine level plus the type of finish (varnish, oil, acrylic) makes all the difference.  This is one process that can't be rushed.

The outdoors is calling so need to stop the rambling.  Thank you for reading this and I hope that your days, and weeks are good. Daylight Savings time starts today, so we have more daylight hours-use it wisely because once it is gone, it is gone forever.  Much peace to you.  And remember to "measure twice and cut once"!

Christmas Season and Magic

This is the season of magic, traditions, joy, memories and peace.  There is much to be said that when winter comes we follow a star, or go to the woods to talk with the animals; we reflect on a new year to come and the past year to see if our balance sheet really balances out.  Retirement has changed how I look forward and backward-fixed incomes seem to do that to me.  I have always had a job, a steady pay check and knew that tomorrow would bring a routine or at least as much of a routine that education can provide, but now each day brings different challenges.  Whether it is a doctor's appointment for mom, fixing lunch or doing the laundry there is no routine.  Pat has gone back to work in her field of economic development and although the job is labeled as part time, her hours and her dedication is full time and she is really really happy.  I have looked at some part time work but now have an opportunity to unload trucks and stock shelves at a local store starting at 2:00 a.m.-I am sure that this will bring a routine but can I function with the "day duties" after an early morning start!  But the extra money will be nice!

The Santa Claus carving season has been fun, even though the money brought in was down, several Santa's and decoys found new homes and that is always my goal-everyone needs a good home.  Perhaps after I am gone they will be very valuable!  The carving is always fun and looking for new projects is good; Pat evaluates my new work with a very critical eye, which is good!  Of course I listen to her!

One of the things that I try to do is to be a student of wood;  there are many traditions that must be followed if one is going to be a successful wood worker so I have attached the Legend/Mythology of Wood for your enjoyment plus some pictures of wood spirits!

The mythology is very simple. In what are now referred to as Pagan cultures, those that preceeded Christianity in many of the Western countries today as the Germanic States and the British Isles, Mother Nature was the major diety. She was the creator of life and from her everything both mankind, animals, and nature were born.

In some of the earliest stories Mother Nature is the Sun and her consort was the Moon. She would look upon him with her loving nature and that is why the Moon sometimes is full and bright, reflecting her love. But, being a female spirit she would become moody and jealous because her consort, the Moon, would light the earth with the light that she gave him, his reflected (full moon) light. So she would turn her back to him, scorning him, and therefore with hold her love and light. Which is why the moon becomes dark during an old moon. But he would be patient and he would wait because he loved her so very much. Because of his patience she would soon relent and again smile gloriously upon him.

So it was that Mother Nature wanted to come to earth and enjoy the beautiful world that she had created for us, to walk the fields and forests. But she became lonely. To ease her loneliness her consort also came to earth and he did so by inhabiting the trees of both the meadows and the forests. He stands as the single old apple tree that graces the grass lands giving shade to the cattle and goats. And he stands as the gardian of the forest, the large tree right at the forest margin. And he is the oldest twisted tree deep within the black woods. But one of his favorite trees was the evergreen.

Now it was the humans knew that the evergreen was special for even during the coldest and harshest of winters it remained forever green. Other trees around him suffered the 'small death' of winter, losing their leaves and going bare. The people realized that there must be something very special about the evergreen so the story arose that the Wood Spirit of God that walked the earth during the warm seasons went into the evergreen to live during the winter. There he slept until the warmth of spring returned.

Because the people were frightened that the 'small death' might one day not give way to spring they decided that they would go to the forest and bring into their homes an evergreen. They would tend the evergreen giving it water and protecting it from the deeps snows and harsh winds. Therefore they were protecting the Wood Spirit God. When the time came that the 'small death' of winter should be passing they would return the evergreen to it's place within the forest so that the God would awaken and once again bring spring to the earth.

That's why wood spirits are male. They are the consort to the Goddess - Mother Nature.

Thanksgiving, December and Christmas

Thanksgiving has gone, the kick off of big shopping and now December is here.  Have had a hard time getting stuff started as mom was back in the hospital for a couple of days right before Thanksgiving-had low hemoglobin count and took 3 units of blood to raise count back up.  We had thought that maybe her time was about done but after the latest stay and a good doctor visit we have put all those thoughts aside and now turn back to making Santa Claus and the season joyful!

Had an interesting post from the American Youth Foundation asking "What have you done today to make your community a better place (yes I did paraphrase it) but did make me think about my daily activities since I have retired.  The AYF also has a saying about "at your very best all the time"; how great it would be if we all followed that creed; maybe at this season it could be come our daily thought for the day.  Think how productive we would be and how we would make a difference in the lives of those around us.  OK, done with the philosophical stuff.

Opened up the stored Santa Claus box and found all sorts of things that I had forgotten-took some down to the local art vendor and have been to a couple of craft fairs.

Also found some of the "flat" one dimensional Santa's that I started with several year ago.  The daughters have received a Santa carving, either flat or carved, every Christmas over the past 15(?) years. Check these out, the arms even move!

A new friend from Tuftenboro, NH, saw me carving with pine and gave me a piece of basswood that he had cut from his local forest-I have never worked with a better piece of wood than this piece.  Also read about a new Santa design with the jolly gent looking up at the skies, trying to figure out if the time was right for flying.  Hope you like it.

Also did a new Nativity Scene, one dimensional but have some carving in to separate the colors.  I would probably call it a piece of Folk Art as the characters are pretty funky.  Found the design in an old craft book from a used book store.  For next year also bought a book on how to do a fully carved set-will probably be a "long term" project!

Weather here has been really strange-October snow of 12+" but last month temps in the 60's.  Local ski places are bumming as too warm to make snow.  But most folks feel that a day in the 60's is one less day with cold and snow-let's just hope that spring comes on time.  A good friend told me that over the next 20-30 years that the NE will become more like the NW United States, less snow, more rain and moderate temps so  maybe we are on the way!

Selling some of the  Santa's-most of the bigger ones (6" ) are around $50, smaller ones (4") $35 or so.  Ornaments run $10-$15 depending upon the size (no pictures of them).  Sold the Loon decoy to a good friend who will give it a great home; have a Cardinal in the works too.  Staying busy but still having fun.

Hope that this holiday season is going well for all-let me be among the first to wish you a Merry Christmas.  And much peace in your life.

And don't forget to measure twice and cut once.

PS-Christmas at the Richter's version 2011.

Loons

My first attempt at carving a loon decoy is done (pictures are attached).  It seems like starting a new carving scares the heck out of me and I just go so slowly that I don't ever seem to get it done, but-it is done.  It is 1/2 size-I think that my next one will be a full size with more detail in the feathers but for now I will be proud of this one.  It is that time of year when the Santa's seem to start popping up again-had a decent summer with carving, now the painting begins (pictures will follow).

The weather in New Hampshire has been off the chart, ranges from hurricanes to early snow storms so who knows what to expect this winter to be.  Guess will get a lot of carving done, but back to the loon.

Did you know that loons are large birds weighting in at 9 pounds with wingspan up to 4 feet.  In the water they have a low profile with a curved neck, summer their neck and head are a glossy black with a green sheen.  They range from Canada and the Northern States n the summer and in the fall they migrate  along the coasts of North America and the Gulf of Mexico.    Loons preferred diet is fish and  occasional crustaceans such as crayfish.  Loons locate fish by sight, underwater diving as deep as 60 feet to chase down their prey.  The female lays two brown eggs, the first one larger than the second and are incubated for 30 days by either the male or the female depending upon the time of day.  Once they hatch the chicks leave the nest almost at once to avoid predators.


 One of the biggest threats to the loon populations is man as we drive our boats too close to nesting sites and continue to use lead in our fishing equipment.  The first eliminates the nest while the second takes the life of the loon from lead poisoning.  I have fished in my float tube while these birds swam within 10 feet plus I have laid in bed and listened to their mournful calls at night. In short all water fowl is pretty cool but loons may be the coolest of all.


Remember to keep those lines tight and to measure twice and cut once.  Much peace

Wood burned feathers head and neck

Base coats-trying to get sheen on head

Starting to Add Details

Side view finished product

Top View finished product

Nelson (papa)

Wood, Words and Hurricanes

As the summer comes to a close, camp has been over for a couple of weeks, it takes me a while to get back on top of things at home.  This week we had an earthquake and now this weekend have a big storm coming at us-we went to the store and bought batteries and water-plan to fill the bath tub tomorrow so that we can still flush.  Could be worse in that we could be closer to the coast or in New York City!  I know that many people refuse to look at valid research on Climate Change; what will happen to the planet if we continue to ignore science-makes me wonder just how much we have failed a generation in providing a quality education.

One of the high points(and there were many) of the summer was working with Sam, the oldest (13) grandson.  He originally took the job because he could earn some money and he had been a camper and wood worker for many summers.  But once he got started, he gravitated to the camper who needed some extra help; he knew how to offer his help just at the right moment, encouraged the effort and celebrated the completion of the project.  Few adults have such talents in working with other people but Sam nailed it every time.  I know I sound like a grand parent but I saw Sam through the eyes of an educator; and what I saw was truly outstanding.  He made the summer very special.

Below, a bird house constructed entirely with by the camper, designed, constructed and painted.  Just how neat is this.

Had a good summer with wood working-actually had a good summer with several hundred projects completed and sent home with happy campers-now if I just had a good feeling about the parent's views.  But had one girl make a chair for her sister, another boy made a bench for his sister's American Girl Doll.  The painting was an experience in its self-many projects had enough paint that they probably are still not dry!!  It is amazing what young people  can think of as they build a shelf, a box or a bench.  I did provide some patterns and kits but what happened to these when an imagination took over was really cool.
Check out the striped bird house, the bench with the stars and, yes, a basketball goal!!!!  And check out the box beside goal.

Carved some Santas and roughed out some shorebirds but time was so tight that didn't even get any fishing in. (Pictures come later)  Will get back on a schedule of carving every day.  Met some interesting people at several "Artisan" Events, several excellent carvers, goggle Brian Stockman and look at some of his work.  I met a log furniture maker from Maine-he makes some great lamps with home made shades of bear, moose and fly fishermen.  He asked me to come up with a bear pattern for his lamps; hard to find a log that can be carved and look like his lamps but will come up with something.  I promise to be a more consistent writer and keep everyone updated.

Just remember two things: 1.  Measure twice, cut once and 2. If it doesn't fit, get a bigger hammer!

Peace to all.

Nelson

July at Merrowvista

The first 2 weeks of camp is done but still have a bunch of campers riding bikes, canoeing and hiking all over New England.  I will post some pictures of the woodworking projects just completed later but today need to talk some about camp.  I started coming out here 20 years ago and have been amazed at the changes that occur in the young people that pass over "honk horn "hill and are never the same.  At the present time there are hikers on the last 100 miles of the AT finishing at Mt. Katadin in Maine; there is another group of bikers riding in Nova Scotia while other are making the same kind of shorter trips.

Merrowvista asks that each individual recognize the unique qualities of all those who come into camp;  tolerance, patience and kindness and respect for all are the foundation for all programs.  Sam said that camp is a safe place to sing, shout and dance in the rain but the coolest part was that the adults who are here don't just shake their heads and say "oh those young people" but instead the sing, shout and dance in the rain with you!


I would invite you to visit the American Youth Foundation web site and read about Merrowvista in New Hampshire and Minniwanca in Michigan.  Challenges are given, risks are taken the people are never the same.


Much peace.

Not really summer

Summer is officially here according to the calendar-yes!  School is out for most everyone in New Hampshire, the swimming pools are open (but really cold), baseball is into the playoffs, and the highways are busy with families heading into the White Mountains.  Me, I am at Camp Merrowvista-check out the web site-getting the wood shop ready, preparing some projects and ready for 300 young people to arrive on Sunday!

Part of the Kiley family flies to France on Saturday for an early start on the vacation to Italy that happens in a week.  The oldest grandson has more miles on his passport than we do!  They are excited although trying to get in as many days as possible with life long camp friends, who will be gone when they return.  It is amazing how much the whole "family thing" has changed since I started doing this summer job!  Used to fish every evening some place, go to town and hang out or just sit on the farm house porch and watch the world go by-now, there are base ball games to watch, video games to play with the grandkids or just throwing a ball around..fishing-not yet!

Will get some pictures up of projects we have going in the shop plus some pictures just of the shop-wish it was across the street from where I live!  But all is good.

Remember, if you are on the water to keep a tight line or if you are in the shop to measure twice and cut once!  peace to all.