From The Workshop: 101 things I learned from my dad

Actually, I lied. There are over 101 things I picked up from my dad along the way, the man who could often be described as a crusty old fart.

1. Be prepared to duck.

2. Don’t throw anything out.

These first two I have memorized. The rest come back to me - at any time of day, several days per week.

I'm often reminded that I'm a chip off the old block. I suppose it's true.

He had a well-used workshop. So do I.


I call my workshop ‘The Shed.’ I work in The Shed, on average, 4 - 5 days per week, a few hours at a time, often with scrap lumber (Rule number 2).

Excess scrap is kept in The Annex, a 7 x 9 ft. shed in the corner of my small backyard that’s made from scrap (Rule 2) from another person’s shed.

I shingled the roof of The Annex for free. (3. Don’t be afraid to pick up what others leave on the curb.)

And my latest project on the go in The Shed is the building of 10 GH birdhouses using strips of pine leftover from last year’s house reno. (Right. Number 2.)


Dad made hundreds of birdhouses. I'm well past my first 100.

Great-uncle Henry (Hank) Catton carved decoys from old telephone poles (Got it? Number 3). I picked up cedar poles this past spring, with wooden bowls in mind.


["Wooden bowls come to mind": photos by GAH]

So, in my opinion, I’ll likely spend a goodly portion of the next 27 years in my shed turning scraps into... something.


["A Hank Catton decoy. Unrelated to Rule 1"]

4. Everybody needs a shed.

***

Stay tuned. Ten GHs are underway. I may give linseed oil a rest and try a bit of paint.

5. Try different things.

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