The maple vase is finished, at least for now.

January 10, 2017 - Tuesday

19 degrees/snow showers/calm winds

Pentoga Road

I guess we're in the calm before the storm. According Carl the Weatherman, up to eight inches of snow is to fall today. Sargie doesn't have to work, so we say, why not! It's winter in the UP.

I went fishing first thing Monday morning. The bass were hitting, lots and lots of bass.

Bass are out of season in the UP and even if that weren't the case, the size limit for our little lake is eighteen inches. Those I caught yesterday were in the fourteen inch range, a pound to two pounds each. Though they are great fun to catch, I really wanted to fill the pail with bluegills and crappies.

I'm going to give our local lake one more week to produce. If that doesn't happen, I'll move to one of the hundreds of other lakes in our immediate area. It's just that this one is so handy. I can bop up the road on snowmobile and be fishing in a matter of minutes. No muss, no fuss, but unfortunately, few fish.

I was home well before noon and spent most of the afternoon in the shop.

The vase is done, at least for now. Now that it's finished, I am finding more than a few mistakes and various things that I would do differently. Oh well, other than snowmen and wooden soldiers, it's only the fourth piece I've turned, so I'll learn and move on. 

One thing about it, working with a lathe is addictive. I previously made mention that I get the same feeling turning as I did years ago while working at the potter's wheel. As with clay, I love taking a piece of wood and shaping it into something that is supposed to be a work of art. In my case, I'm definitely shaping it. Hopefully the art segment will come later with lots of practice and patience. On a positive note, we own forty-two acres of trees. At least I shouldn't run out of wood.

I found a piece of birch that had an extremely interesting grain and immediately pictured a long stemmed wine glass. 

I had an art instructor who once told me that if I could picture an object, I could make it.

Sure, why not?

So I began. The entire project was coming along nicely until the stem let go and the entire thing blew apart in front of me.

The stem was another three inches longer

I was only partway through, barely shaping the wood. It's not a small chore to prepare a piece of wood for turning. Two or three steps have to be completed just to mount the piece. One thing was certain, this piece of birch was never meant to be a wine glass.

But wait! Hmm, there was enough wood left on the base from which to make another small bowl. Once Sargie saw what was to be a vessel to hold the wine, she quipped that if I'd turn it upside down, it would look like a snowman's hat. All I'd need was the snowman. 

So, out of lemons comes lemonade. It's with a renewed sense of purpose that I'll return to the lathe with a roughly turned bowl and potential snowman's hat in hand.

A large lip was purposely left on the bowl so I can practice carving a decorative rope completely around the top. Stay tuned on that one.

Sargie arrived home later Monday evening. We feasted on large bowls of soup while catching up on programs already recorded on the DVR.

Thankfully, Sargie's off today. I may sneak out to the lake at first light for yet another try at a mess of bluegills. I may not be much of a fisherman, but I'm persistent if nothing else.

Other than that, I'm sure we'll sneak into town sometime today for a bit of shopping, then there's that decorative rope to carve across the lip of the bowl and a snowman's hat to make.

I'm ready to go fishing, but it's going to be dark for another hour. Seems like it's a good time to pour another cup of coffee, listen to the news, and think a deep thought or two while waiting for daylight.

After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

With a couple of warnings thrown in for good measure, this is the forecast radar screen for later this morning.