Critters and Wood Hunting

The critters have really started to come out in the high country. In the last week, we have seen at our place, a herd of deer that seem to not be bothered with the table saw noise in the barn, as they stood right out the open front door last Sunday and ate what little grass there was.

But Saturday we had some different visitors.

After a meeting of the road committee, I was standing in front of the barn and I thought I heard a rooster crowing up the road by the house.

We don't have chickens.

Although maybe we should because I learned earlier in the hierachy of animal crap fertilizers, chicken crap rates pretty high, as compared to the horse crap we have been shoveling, transporting and spreading.

As it turns out that we had a flurry, gaggle, etc. of wild turkeys in the driveway. Marlys said that they too didn't seem to be too put out by her presence in the window watching.

I wonder if we can train them to deficate (crap) on the 100 sq feet of lawn we are attempting to grow.

On the drive up Friday the number of deer and antelope along the road has increased markedly, maybe last hunting season was not a great success...depending on your point of view (hunter or deer).

The following is a video of a small herd of elk camped out on our neighbors parcel.

On another note now that we have been in the house for 2 1/2 years, it is time to start remodeling. The first project is to replace the railing cap around the stairwell opening.

When we built the house in 2006, we finished the railing off with a cap made of clear finished tiger maple. Although the tiger maple is beautiful, its light color didn't seem to work, so we want to go with a darker wood. I was think about a clear fir in keeping with the western softwood used in the house trim.

So off to the lumber yard. Our neighbor had mentioned a place in the Springs called C O Lumber and with the address entered into the trucks nav system (guess I forgot how to read a map), off Marlys and I went.

I had previously been to a place in the Springs, I called CO (Colorado) Lumber Specialties, so this would be a new place to view some wood porn.

As it turns out, once the nav system had us at our destination it was the same place. When I asked inside as to the name I was told "C O (not C&O or the abbreviation for Colorado) Lumber" was the name. So we had been talking about the same place all the time.

As we started our tour, I headed us toward the S4S Fir, but in doing so we passed the area where all of the "exotic woods" were stacked. You gotta love Marlys, because she stopped and began looking at that assortment.

I got us back over to the domestic woods, but alas, it was not to be, Marlys had decided that African Paduak was what she wanted, and I have to confess it is a beautiful red/orange color. A 12' foot long, 13" wide board has now become a personal record/legend of sorts for us, as the most expensive piece of wood we have ever purchased.

I have now decided that Marlys will go on all future wood hunting expeditions.