Pens and bowls

Here are a couple of pens that I have turned. The smaller 2 are mini key chain pens. I order the mechanical part of the pen and then "turn" the wood to make the pen. The dark rings on the top pen is burned into the wood. First you cut your groove, then you take a piece of smooth wire and while the piece of wood is turning on the lay, you put the wire into the groove and it burns the wood. The pen on the right was made out of a deer antler. You basically make them all the same way. You can make 'em skinny, fat, curvey, straight, tapered....however, just let your imagination run. I will say that I have never.....never made two pens or bowls that were identical. I don't think I could if I wanted too....lol

This is a wood bowl that I made from redwood. It is about 7 inches in diameter and about 2 inches in height. It has a smooth finish with a groove carved into the side.

This next one was made from black walnut. It is my favorite one so far. The white part of the bowl is where the wood was rotten. You can treat the rotten wood with a solvent that hardens it, making it stay together and then you are able to turn it. It has the rough rugged look. You can tell the top of the bowl is not level, it has character marks all over it. It is about 9 inches in diameter and 5 to 6 inches in height.

This piece of wood came from the woods right here in south Mississippi. You can order different types of wood through wood catalogs or go out and gather your own. I have a friend that owns a sawmill. He lets me come by and fill the back of my truck with pieces he would normally just throw away. I don't know if you have heard this saying, but we call it...."friends helping friends". I like to get them and let them dry. Cherry, poplar, walnut, oak....all make good bowls. I like to use a wood that is grainy....to me it adds more character. . My son, Tyler, made a bowl for his grandmother.....my mom for a Christmas present. She thought it was the best present ever. He told me that making bowls were not for him......he said "that one(bowl) was my first and last one to make".....ha. He is just too young and impatient for now. It is good therapy...quite and relaxing....and the reward is instant.......take a block of wood, cut everything off of it that doesn't look like a bowl, and depending on the size, you can hold and see the finished product in 2 to 4 hours.

The last one.........Ole Blue Boy

Well, all the puppies are gone except Blue. I brought the other ones with me to work this past Friday and gave them all away. I bet there were some happy kids Friday afternoon. This is Baby and Blue hanging out together. We are undecided if we should crop his ears and dock his tail.

Let me know what you think.........cropped ears/dock tail or keep him natural?

Free puppies!!!!!!!

This is the roadside puppy, Baby. Some(I will not call them exactly what I would like to) person threw puppies out by the side of the road in a box. Only two were alive....the others died a very horrible death. She was in such a poor state of health, that I didn't think she would make it. Lee Laurie and my son, Tyler, just had to take her and her brother home. Lee Laurie and Tyler put Vick's salve in their noses to cover the bad odor of the puppies, put on rubber gloves and bathed them. We nursed them back from near death. Then they came down with Parvo, first Spunky passed away and then Baby came down with it. I talked to the vet(a friend of mine) and he said the fee would be $500 with no guarantee. He told us how to treat it and Lee Laurie stayed up all night and day for 2 days giving Baby a teaspoon full of Pepto bismol and a teaspoon of Pedialyte every 30 minutes.........she survived....Baby made it too!!! LOL We said we should call her "Miracle Baby". Well, she grew up and made me a Grandpappy...6 times!! She has been a good little mommy. We are only gonna keep one of them, though. The top picture is me holding the last 4.....the kids named them Blue because he is blue looking, I think his color would be called a blue merle?, Moo because she is black and white like a dairy cow...almost as big as one too, Cookie, she is brown and white with lots of speckles, she would be voted "Most Friendliest", and then Smiley, she is brown and white, when she was first born she had a true smiley face on her back! It has almost gone away completely:-( Well, I brought Moo, Cookie and Smiley to work with me today to try to find them a nice home.....maybe one with children. I know that Garrett and Hailey will miss them, however they will still have Blackdog, Baby, Sassy and Blue to play with. We are getting Baby and Blue fixed. Blackdog is already fixed and Sassy is too old worry about having a boyfriend.

My Karate Kid......met her match....

Hailey is taking karate lessons and this is her in her Gee. She loves doing anything and everything outside. She is not one to sit inside and watch tv or play video games all day. She is very active. She loves to play soccer, going fishing, target shooting, climbing trees, building forts, making fires...and just plain good ole time playing outside. She and her friend Garrett (Lee Laurie from asouthernrose.blogspot.com's son) will play outside all day long. We have to make them come inside to eat. When Hailey starts to get hot, her face will turn as red as a beet..she gets this from her grandmother, Kacki. Well, last Sunday she was at her friend Erin's house playing on a trampoline. I received a call from Hailey's mom saying they were on their way to the hospital...they think that Hailey has broken her leg. I could hear Hailey crying in the background saying, "Hurry Daddy, I love you!" over and over and over. I can not think of anything in this world that could have stopped me from going to her. Sure enough, she did break her leg and may I say did a fine job....at least when one of my kids mess up....they do it right. LOL She broke both lower bones in her left leg about 5 inches above her ankle. They put her leg in a split so we could keep ice on it for a few days to help fight the swelling. When the doctor started explaining what could/might happen...blah,blah, blah....they will scare the heck out of you, imagine being the 11 year old he is talking about. Anyway, when we got her to her mother's house, Garrett had to come over and check on her. He was upset seeing her hurting like she was...she kept telling him..it's ok....it's ok. We went this past Wednesday and got a hard cast put on. It goes from her toes all the way up to her booty. It is orange...her favorite color. It was hard being there and seeing her hurt like that and not being able to do anything....except wish it was me on the table and not her...not my Hailey Bailey. And, it is official now...she is the Queen Diva!! She fit in the role way too easy, letting everyone wait on her. She is having a time getting around and still hurting a good bit. She is having to go to physical therapy. I know it is hard on her...having to stay inside. She does have her puppy, Maggie a miniture dachshund that she got for Christmas to keep her company. I don't know how long it will before she can start going outside and probably even longer before she starts back with karate lessons. So take it from us, trampolines can be fun and dangerous. I broke my ole bosses' nose on ours one night a few years ago and we ended up in the ER. All, I will say is wine, 30 year old boys and a trampoline....spells trouble!

Getting Ready for Deer Season

This was on a pretty sunny day in early November 08. This is my two children, Tyler and Hailey, and my friends son Garrett. We spent the day bush hogging. We cleaned the old lanes and made a couple of new ones. We stayed outside the whole day. It felt so good being outside. I think it is important for children to get outside sometimes....instead of staying inside all the time playing video games or watching tv. I think it is good for them to work outside, learn something....like how to plant things. They loved it. I know when we go hunting......they will be able to see the fruits of their labor. They will get a chance to see deer, rabbits and various small animals. I want them to learn to respect nature.