day in the sun

for two or three days the blossoms on our apricot tree literally stopped traffic. then, like snowflakes caught between seasons, millions of fragile white petals fell to the ground and disappeared in the grass.

only a few petals remain as fresh greenery bursts upon the scene.

jam by September? I'm hopeful.

photos by gh

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Please click here to view 'momentary brilliance'

about 'history in a box'

something else I learned when comparing century-old metal to some modern day materials.

work with the best.

photo by gh

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Please click here to read 'history in a box' 4

zoom w a view: birdhouse on birdhouse

rescued driftwood. bits and pieces from the scrap box. a touch of paint. steady hand on the brad nailer.

all part of a good day in the workshop.

photo by gah

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Please click here for more 'zoom w a view'

rescued from Port Bruce

Saturday was a beautiful day, perfect for a quick breezy ride to Port Bruce and collecting driftwood. And did I find a treasure!

["Look at the size of that one piece. I want it!"]

I loaded the car to the gunnels and headed back to London and my workshop in order to begin work with one particular piece. Soon a lovely birdhouse was perched atop an even more lovely driftwood pole.

As per usual, the house and pole were securely attached to the hinder parts of an even larger and sturdier monster home. All part of a perfect day's work.

Photos by GH 

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I could easily live in Port Bruce, the birdhouse capital of The North Shore.

Please click here to connect to Port Bruce via 'Discovering the World in One Pair of Pants'

dressing it up to the max

I dress up birdhouses on occasion to catch a person or bird's eye. A classy perch, for example, draws in some viewers, whether on two legs or wings.

["Just look at that cute little perch, would ya!"]

Today I'm onto something new. I'm attaching small birdhouses to hand painted sticks, limbs or branches so that people without a tree or fence post in their yard can still have a birdhouse... or twenty! (Twenty would be nice. And it's doable. Call me).

Oh yeah, I'm onto something.

Photos by GH

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Please click here to read 'dressing up a big, bold birdhouse'

Zoom w a View

something I learned while comparing century-old, hand forged hinges to some modern day materials:

Photo by GH

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Please click here for more zoom w a view

history in a box (4)

What to do with century-old hinges? Build a box for them and hang them on the walls of your workshop. People will surely appreciate craftsmanship from a bygone era. Won't they?

But, before you hang them on a wall, write a pithy remark about the value of quality workmanship under each hinge. Write in a small hand so people will have to squint, or have to get right up close to the piece of metal to read what you have to say.

"quality work earns our respect. cheap counterfeits rob us while we sleep"

"solid work lasts for several lifetimes. shit dries up and blows away"

"pieces of fine workmanship are like good friends. they won't let you down"

There is some monetary value in old metal, as one might expect. However, I say there is a greater value in examining fine workmanship 'up close and personal' and learning that our generation may have left behind more than can be imagined.

What say you?

Photos and 'history in a box' by GH

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Please click here to view 'history in a box' 3

come to papa (3)

Let's review:

["Clean logs and slats. Very little sanding is needed. Grrreat!!"]

Recently I spotted a child's bed on the curb a few blocks south of my house

I picked it up in my car

The wood (very clean, sturdy fir) was soon cut and placed in cribs inside my shop

Shortly I will be able to display 3 - 4 log cabin triplexes (like the special order above) outside my shop door... and beyond. (Will one be 'Casa Harrison'? Perhaps).

Not bad for one short rescue mission.

Photos by GH

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Please click here to read 'come to papa (2)'

history in a box (3)

Step by step six shadow boxes came together inside the workshop this week. Three boxes were for historic, century-old hand-forged hinges that once kept barn doors or gates in good working order. The village blacksmith who did the hammer work likely had shoulders thrice the size of my own and muscled arms that could lift a wagon out of any deep rut.

["100-year old wood for shadow boxes came from my own house"]

Thanks to modern technology, i.e., an electric table and miter saw, sander, and brad nailer, the various sides of boxes were ready for danish oil in record time. After a quick wipe down I started the enjoyable task of arranging odd bits and pieces from my father's barn door onto a platform (aged wood from a plank from his barn as well), where they were soon wired into place.

["The boxes and platforms are likely from white pine"]

Other hinges were then placed atop their platforms and black (with paint) plywood backer boards. And later I nailed the plywood into a suitable deep frame or box.

The three hinges now sit in their new resting places waiting for a final touch.

What might that be?

Photos by GH

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Please click here to read 'history in a box' (2)

history in a box (2)

'Take old pieces of metal hanging on the shop wall and put them into a box.' That was the idea. Easily said.

["Hand forged, century old hinges"]

However, a job 'easily said' is not always quickly done, especially if several steps - some time-consuming - lie between start and finish.

For example:

take metal off the wall

measure the pieces

draw up a plan for a suitably sized shadow box for each

cut lumber

paint the plywood backer board

apply Danish oil to the first box

rub in the oil, stand back, see how it looks

In my opinion, so far so good. But many more steps remain.

Photos by GH

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Please click here to read 'history in a box (1)'

history in a box (1)

An idea caught me by surprise 5 - 6 weeks ago while I worked in my shop. It said, "Frame three pieces of hand-forged metal."

["Two century-old hinges sat under a clock in my shop"]

["Aged pine sat in a nearby wood crib"]

Now that an important project is nearing its end, another is in the beginning stages. Century-old wood for frames - and plywood 'backer board' - lies at the ready, close at hand.

The process is the thing, and I'm happily underway.

Photos by GH

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Please click here to read 'forging an idea'

dressing up a big, bold birdhouse

It's a 30-pounder at least and - yesterday, while leaning over a deck railing - I was barely up to the challenge of lifting it over my head and placing it snugly atop a 10-foot pole. Perfect, I thought, after massaging straight my crooked back.

Today, life in the shop will be easier. I will continue the process of dressing up the biggest birdhouse I've made this year.

Perches, freshly painted score board, baseball 'odds and sods'. Whatever I finish today will be easier on the back that the overhead lift.

Within days the birdhouse will be ready for delivery to a grand location, i.e., near a hale and hearty group of trees just west of the right field stands at Labatt Memorial Park in downtown London.

Perfect again, I say.

Photos by GH

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Please click here to view 'today's lineup'

should we worry?

[April 18, London Free Press]

When the Central Bank is worried should we be worried?

For example, do any of the following have anything to do with me and my oh-so-comfortable lifestyle?

the Bank's cheap money policy

an earlier house building boom

current signs of a cooler housing market

a surge in household debt

the lack of good full-time jobs

poor employment possibilities for recent graduates

the price of eggs

Or, with you and your lifestyle?

Should I put spare bunks and a tub in the shed?

Photos by GH

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Please click here to read 'live small, with a neighbour'

caught by surprise

male cardinals are jittery birds.

they don't sit long in one place very often, especially after I walk out of my workshop for a quick look-see of one stopping momentarily on my back fence.

he was gone before I could get a second snap.

 Photos by GH

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Please click here to read 'golden! gold finch'

momentary brilliance

once per year, in white finery
apricot blossoms signal
warm spring temperatures.

while the signal
is but for a few days
it is loud, clear, brilliant

Photo by GH 

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Please click here for 'apricot blossoms'

Zoom w a View: apricot blossoms

For a tree that was once - in its younger days - unceremoniously pulled out of the ground to make room for sewer repairs, it dresses up pretty nicely every spring.

["The bees are buzzing today. Fresh apricots on the way?"]

Photo by GH

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Please click here for more zoom w a view

live small, with a neighbour

I like living in a house, with trees in the front yard.

["Having a workshop is a very good idea"]

And I currently live in one that will very likely be my last earthly address, in Wortley Village, London, Ontario. The house is small, close to the corner of Coffee and Hardware, has a great workshop in the backyard and is surrounded my wonderful neighbours and hundreds of healthy trees.

["My situation may change": April 18, London Free Press]

Recent news has me thinking. Will I one day have to rent out the basement in order to stay where I am? Will one of my philosophies of life, i.e., 'live small and prosper', have to change to 'live small and prosper and with a neighbour or friend renting out the basement in order to cover expenses'?

["Easy money and household debt court disaster"] 

The new normal appears to involve higher unemployment, rising household debt, vast wealth in the hands of the few, a resistance to taxes and paying our collective way, fewer safety nets to help those with decent jobs, rising threats to pensions and bad news around every corner.

Some will ask, "All this from a recent news article?"

Not word for word, but it got me thinking of the following:

Low interest rates have fuelled rising household debt

New home buyers are lured by cheap money

When interest rates go up so will the struggles related to paying mortgages

Sustaining an economy with low interest courts disaster

Low interest doesn't sustain pension funds, it robs them of growth

Pensioners will struggle as well to keep their homes

I should tidy up my basement. I'll need a broom and a lot of cardboard boxes.

Do events related to the housing market seem troubling to you?

Photos by GH

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Please click here for local unemployment figures