Posts tagged: tree

spring beauties

Hello Mo fans!

The cats are enjoying a beautiful spring in Seattle, all the flowers and warm weather are a treat.  Even Miss Nimbus has been allowed outside during daylight hours a few times.  Here she is in the early morning light, waiting on the windowsill to come in for breakfast.

Miss Nimbus at dawn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr Mo is out surveying his domain from the old apple tree, now laying down on it’s side.  The perch is not quite so fancy now.

Mo's apple perch now sideways

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But the old apple tree had more to say, one last branch burst into bloom, the sweet and delicate fragrance of the pink and white blossoms as a parting farewell.

Gravenstein apple blossoms

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And today we include a bit more beauty;  some guest art for Mother’s Day, a painting my mom did of Tucquala Lake north of Roslyn WA.

Tucquala Lake

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’!