Archive for June 2017
On May 11, 1910, President William Taft signed a bill into law establishing the country’s 10th national park: Montana’s Glacier National Park. It protects glacier-carved peaks and valleys, pristine turquoise lakes and streams, and dense ancient forests for all to enjoy. Photo by Shan Lin. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 5/11/17.
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Glacier National Park
Grinnell Formation
Grinnell Lake
Haystack Falls
Ninaistako
St Mary Falls
Two Medicine Lake
Which Is Prettier?
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Redwood National Park. Photo by Michael Bandy. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 5/8/17.
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Redwood National Park
Lady Bird Johnson Grove
Redwood National and State Parks
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Collaboration can be a good thing.
My engraver, Teri Diamond of Lavene & Co, likes what I do with wood, and I like what she does with a laser. It all works. She developed this project for the Sand Canyon Country Club, formerly known as Robinson’s Ranch. Their new owner is re-developing the property, and is re-imaging the golf course. He wanted new hole signs, and Teri saw how we could do this together:
- I shaped and stained the wood.
- She engraved and backfilled (painted) the engraving. She added a 3D element, with an appliqué of the SCCC logo, as well. Finally, she marked where each hole should go for mounting each sign.
- I drilled the mounting holes, and then put a topcoat of polyurethane on each sign.
- We installed them together.
Today, we installed 18 holes of signs on the course, bringing the total installation to 56 of the 84 signs made so far. There’s more to come … but we are well on our way.
This project taxed my capacity in a few ways. Completing 81 pieces at one time (the first 3 signs were done separately) is a challenge in my small shop. Importantly, finishing 81 pieces at one time is a huge challenge for me. It took over our driveway and front sidewalk, as you’ll see below. Then, the last batch of signs to get the poly topcoat needed for that to happen as summer temperatures climbed above 90 … and you can’t apply poly above 90 degrees, nor in direct sunlight. Lucky I just happen to have pop-up canopies handy….
Here, then, is a look at how this project went from being a pile of lumber on the driveway to informational signs at the Sand Canyon Country Club golf course.
So, I’ve got this pile of wood….
Waste is absolutely minimized.
These strips are not-a-signs. Good thing I have a need for boards this size!
Boards often have defects; these are cut out. These are also not-a-signs.
81x signs needed 135x boards cut to size.
The top sign has a rounded edge.
Sanding. Lots of sanding.
I’ve found the best way to protect raw maple is to sand it on a towel. Don’t tell Mrs M.
I need 27x of these panels.
I. Need. More. Clamps.
Good thing we have portable tables. And trash cans. I needed every square foot of “table” space I could find.
Each board got pre-stain, then stain had to be applied while the pre-stain was still damp.
Long hours.
These oily rags got soaked in water, and that’s how they stayed until they could be properly disposed of. If you don’t do this … you get spontaneous combustion. Been there, done that.
Stained. Ready for engraving.
The 3D logo.
Canopies keeping the drying boards in the shade as the temp soared.
Hole 1, Valley course
Hole 1, Desert course
Installation is complete for today!
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From The Shop: Planning To Be Wasted
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Monarch butterfly on Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. This adult monarch butterfly was nectaring on flowers of tapertip hawksbeard (Crepis acuminata), a native perennial forb. You can see how worn the edges of the wings are with a dull color from the loss of many scales during its journey here. This is likely the end of the road for this female monarch, as she will soon mate and lay eggs on showy milkweed plants here. This next generation of monarchs produced on Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge will make the return trip in September to coastal California, where they will overwinter. Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS. Taken 6/18/17 and posted on Flickr by the US Fish & Wildlife Service.
Mountain Bluebird on Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS. Taken on 6/10 and then posted on Flickr by the US Fish & Wildlife Service.
An Uncas skipper (Hesperia uncas) nectaring on a rubber rabbitbrush at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS. Taken on 8/16/16 and posted on Flickr by the US Fish & Wildlife Service.
Sagebrush Cicada (Okanagana luteobasalis) sitting on Rabbitbrush on the Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge The Sagebrush Cicada life cycle is not the same as the 17 year cicada … these live as a larvae for seven years, then the pupae emerge as adults, mate, and lay eggs before dying. When the eggs hatch, the larvae burrow down along a sagebrush root and live underground for 7 years. Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS. Taken on 6/5/17 and posted on Flickr by the US Fish & Wildlife Service.
Yellow-headed blackbird on Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS. Taken on 6/8/17 & posted on Flickr by the US Fish & Wildlife Service.
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Photographer Erik Fremsted loves capturing sunrise at Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge near Minneapolis. “The fog begins to burn and glow while the clouds dance in the sky. I breathe in the scene for as long as possible while the unofficial state bird, the mosquito, eats me alive. A price I am very willing to pay to witness mornings like this.” Photo by Erik Fremsted. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 5/8/17.
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It’s been 5 years since we’ve done good pictures. This blog post is fair warning that a new photo call is in the offing.
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My Father And My Grandfathers
My Mother And My Grandmothers
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California’s Case Mountain is home to some of the largest trees on earth! Located about 7.5 miles southeast of the town of Three Rivers, California, Case Mountain was established to protect the giant sequoias. Comparable in size to a 26-story building, sequoias not only loom over their mixed conifer forest neighbors, but they also outlive them – reaching over 3,000 years. Photo by Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 4/28/17.
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Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park is the largest hot spring in the United States and the third largest in the world. It’s almost 370 feet in diameter and 121 feet deep. Its vibrant color is the result of thermophilic (heat loving) organisms living along the edges of the steaming pool. This unique ecosystem is delicate and dangerous. To protect it and yourself, stay on the boardwalks when visiting. Sunset photo by Manish Mamtani. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 5/6/17.
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Yellowstone National Park
America’s Best Idea
Astonishing
How Wolves Change Rivers
North Twin Lake
Old Faithful
Steamy
The Animals Of Yellowstone
Traffic Jam
Twin Lakes
Uncle Tom’s Trail
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Abundant winter rain this year ushered in a series of super-blooms in southern California, including the thread-leaved brodiaea in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in eastern Los Angeles County. “It’s the only brodiaea left in Los Angeles County, so it’s extremely rare, and what we have on our land is pretty special,” said Ann Croissant, a retired professor with a background in plant physiology, who has led a local effort to protect this endangered plant. Credit: Joanna Gilkeson/USFWS. From the US Fish & Wildlife Service Pacific Southwest blog.
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Late To Rise, Early To Bed
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Half the park is after dark when the night skies come alive with dazzling stars. In the winter, skies are filled with a whole new catalog of stars, making the experience even better. Derek Culver took this amazing photo in December of Zion National Park in Utah. That’s the Virgin River, the Watchman, and in the sky, you can see the Orion Constellation with Barnard’s loop and Orion Nebula. Photo courtesy of Derek Culver. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 3/5/17.
Arches National Park. Photo by Joshua Snow. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 5/4/17.
Amateur photographer Matthew Hanna won the Share The Experience photo contest night sky category for this beautiful pic of the Milky Way stretching above the seastacks at Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge. Spanning the Oregon coast, the wilderness islands and windswept headlands of Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge are celebrated for their abundant wildlife, rugged grandeur and amazing night skies. Photo by Matthew Hanna. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 5/4/17.
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