Wood Working

This past weekend Alex and I went searching for fallen branches and wood pieces. We want to make some walking sticks, Alex wants to make a wand to go with the broom I am making him for Samhain (another reason I'm out looking for branches- I need a broom handle!), and I have some craft ideas in mind. Every few weeks we'll stop and collect some roadside branches that have fallen that catch our eye and toss 'em in the trunk, and we've been storing our collection in the garage to let them dry out.

Unfortunately, our collection isn't nearly as large as I'd like. After almost a year here in Idaho we realize there just aren't that many trees! Most of the solid trees are on private property, or if they are on public property the debris is quickly taken away so there isn't any for us to glean. The trees most abundant are those lining the river and canals, which tend to be more reedy than woody.

So you can imagine my joy when I happened to think about checking the Free section on craigslist and found two listing for free wood! One was from a lot where trees had been cut down to clear it for new construction. 

Here is Alex using the branch cutters for a branch he liked. I don't have a chainsaw, so I couldn't cut up more than 4-6" round branches, however I did find a nice sized cut down log that was about 5 feet long and grabbed that up! Since these trees were cut down for profit, we did a small ritual to thank the trees and to cleanse the area of any negativity left behind.

 The other listing was for wood scraps and flooring planks from an older house that was being gutted.

Joy O Joy!!

This is the one I was REALLY excited about, because I've been thinking about doing some primitive and rustic art/crafts with old wood and flooring planks. But where to find them? And not a week after I thought about them did I find them, and they were free!

Thank you Universe!