Dear old apple tree, or the snow report
January brought a snow storm and then an ice storm. The snow was pretty and a rare type of snow that rolls up well into snowballs, so I made a pair of snow cats to decorate the back yard. They have leaves for eyes and whiskers made from apple twigs.
snowcats chillin
Seattle rarely gets much snow and it doesn’t usually stay around for long. The snow cats tipped over the next day and seemed destined for a quick melt.
Unfortunately a few days later an ice storm proved too heavy for the ancient mossy apple tree nearby, and it tipped back into the bramble patch, getting a final bit of revenge on the blackberry canes that had been trying to strangle it.
the old apple tree keels over
Mo used to enjoy sitting in the crotch of the apple tree, surveying his domain. I am now considering sculptural options the apple wood might offer. Can I save Mo’s catbird seat and make a shallow dish from that slice of the tree? The next slice down with the main trunk swelling out into three heavy limbs would make a lovely fluted vase or bowl. The main trunk of the tree could be turned on a lathe or sliced into boards.
I will have to read up more on wood grain and perhaps find answers at Rough Cut Woodworking with Tommy Mac. I don’t have any fancy wood shop tools like Tommy, but with some old fashioned hand chisels and my electric drill and some rough cutting with my chainsaw, I can get crackin’!
Tags: apple, cat, ice, Mr Mo, snow, tree, wood, woodworking
the mo report | mary | 
January 30, 2012 3:40 am
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