OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

262882 Claudio DeLorenzi <claudio@d...> 2017‑08‑15 Re: Concern for the list
Very interesting.  Since we're on the porch, and since I have a cold beer
in my hands, may as well add to the conversation, right? My poor ol' dad
(an upholsterer and furniture maker, among other things) hated spruce,
because it would literally explode in the fireplace and shoot coals all
over the damn place.  Legno del diavolo, he called it (devil's wood).  We
typically burned hard maple and white oak cut offs (from wooden frames for
couches- called "Chesterfields"- like the cigarettes- for some reason).

   Never made any musical instruments, but looks fascinating. BTW wet
spruce rootlets are very strong and pliable- great for emergency repairs in
the wilderness.  Found out later that the natives had used these for canoe
building for ages.
Cheers from a lake side in beautiful Ontario... with plenty of very loud
loons, and a beaver just swam by to examine a tree that fell into the lake
from a huge storm the other day.  He just took a look at it and kept going
further west- lots of trees down this year.
    I had to cut up a bunch of beaver felled trees at the camp this past
spring.  Trees that got caught up on the way down, and so the little
engineers couldn't drag them into the lake.  Beavers btw, are surprisingly
large, with heads the size of a small dog.  I'm guessing the guy that swam
by tonight was 30 to 40 pounds?  Not sure, but he was about twice the size
of my doggo ( who was going unpleasantly nuts that a rodent was boldly
trespassing on 'his' territory).  The beaver just looked over, nonchalant
like, said 'Fffffft' in Beaver, and swam calmly onwards. Back home, a
resurgence of the beaver population has devastated the city tree planting
efforts in the local quarry rehabilitation project.  A beaver also pulled a
friends large husky to the bottom of the quarry lake last fall. Thankfully
the shaken dog got away somehow, but it was a close call.  Lesson learned,
don't let your dog off leash near beavers while they are in the water.  If
they can pull trees in the water, they can pull your dog down too. That's
all for now, my beers done!
Cheers
Claudio

Recent Bios FAQ