stacks of cedar dry in the warm September air

I counted five Kestrel perched along barbed wire as I wound down Marshall-Petaluma Road towards Tomales Bay from Evan Shively’s mill. I had been inspecting the deodar cedar (Cedrus deodara) Evan milled for my latest interior design commission, and I was delighted to find the fragrant stacks neatly stickered for air-drying on the S2 Ranch.

Evan sequenced the wider boards with white, numbered labels

Evan even took the care to label the sequence of wider boards as they came off the log, which will make for a lovely pattern to explore in my design of interior furnishings. The cedar stock should be adequately dry after nearly two months kissed by the dry breezes of our Indian Summer, just ready for my winter’s production in the shop.

the ciders continue to bubble away as they ferment

The lengthening nights have been getting cooler, with coyotes whooping their call and response as they venture into the dark clearings of a moonless sky. The hawks have been migrating along the coast, circling high over our ridgetop meadows and resting atop the redwood trees. The termites arrived as they do in swarms unannounced, and thankfully left as mysteriously. Meanwhile, the ciders continue their bubbling fermentation in glass carboys.

To follow my weekly reports about cyclic, natural events in and around West Sonoma County, CA, please follow the thread by clicking here.

Tagged: aesthetics, california coast, california flora, craft, deep craft, interior design, phenology, scott Constable, slow design, sonoma coast, traditional craft, woodworking

Perseus cluster (image by Ken Crawford, Rancho Del Sol Observatory)

I do my best to court coincidence, but would not consider myself superstitious. Like anyone, I just find it reassuring when cosmic events complement the task at hand and try to pay attention to patterns as they emerge. I did not plan to make the first, ceremonial cuts in my deodar cedar logs during the Perseid meteor showers this week, it just worked out that way.

grain of the freshly cut, deodar cedar

My head was literally in the clouds yesterday as I drove down the coast to Evan Shively’s mill, groggy from a night of star-gazing. I munched early apples from our Gravenstein along the way, and watched the whispy mares tails over Tomales Bay on a crystal clear afternoon, eager to meet my client and inspect the cedar logs. I’ve been commissioned to design the interior of a new guest house in Marin, which will feature the air-dried wood milled from over 7000 board feet of deodar cedar salvaged from the local urban forest.

I thought of Perseus slaying the Medusa as we watched Evan and his crew work in concert to finesse the massive logs onto the bed of the mill to cut the first cant of deodar for the project, the air infused with the wood’s sweet perfume.

detail from Perseus Rescues Andromeda, by Piero di Cosimo (1515)

Tagged: craft philosophy, deep craft, scott Constable, woodworking

Deodar Cedar (Cedrus deodara)

“In the stands of Lodhra trees, Padmaka trees and in the woods of Devadaru, or Deodar trees, Ravana is to be searched there and there, together with Seetha. [4-43-13]”
Nothing compares to the thrill of making the first passes with a sharp hand plane over freshly milled cedar to reveal the grain pattern of the tree. This is especially true when the wood carries such rich associations, brought to life under the blade by its sweet perfume, at once familiar and exotic. The same trees sheltered the ancient sages of the Western Himalaya, and is still worshiped as divine in the villages of Kashmir and Punjab. Native to this region, the name derives from the Sanskrit devadaru, and translates as ‘divine wood’; essential oils are distilled from the heartwood and used in Ayurvedic medicine. Because of its natural resistance to rot and insects, deodar cedar was important to the spice trade and featured prominently in the construction of Hindu temples. The wood is supple and tight-grained and its intrinsic qualities inspire me to make something with a vitality and character befitting the noble legacy of the tree.

I spent a rainy Monday venturing down the coast to inspect logs and a few neatly stickered stacks of  deodar for a project I have in development- a small cabin whose interior and furnishings I’ll be designing and making over the next year and a half. I’d like all of the wood to sequence from the same tree as much as possible, and began the design process by discussing the potential yield of logs cut from ‘horticultural salvage’ with my friend Evan Shively. The tree was planted extensively in parks up and down the coast as an ornamental, and logs are occasionally available when a tree comes down. I will grade all material for the project based on how it is used/seen, featuring clear, wide boards for the floor and knottier ones for the furnishings and casework. I’ll need around 2000 board feet for the project, which will require at least two logs 36″ in diameter, about 16′ in length. Evan will cut the wood to my specifications, dry it in stacks as pictured above, and deliver the cured material to my shop for fabrication next year.

Tagged: ayurvedic medicine, deodar cedar, evan shively, horticultural salvage, reclaimed wood, sustainable design, woodworking