Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Coming full circle

Last summer, our elm tree died. They are very susceptible and have their very own disease, sadly.

Whenever that happens, my husband saves the interesting, solid pieces of wood and takes them to the basement. Then they sit and dry for months. It's a process! One day I'll get him to guest-blog about it in more detail. For now, here's what happens next: 

The wood gets turned. It produces a bowl ...
... and a large pile of very clean wood shavings. Guess what I do with them? Of course, I use them as bedding in the chicken coop.

And from there?

Onto the compost pile and back into the garden, where I grow vegetables that feed the family, including the wood-turning husband. This same husband who finds baby trees in the woods, gives them TLC and room to grow, and finally transplants them into worthy spots in the yard. Full circle.


I shared this post at  
The Self Sufficient HomeAcre   Small Footprint Fridays - A sustainable living link-up

4 comments:

  1. The wooden bowl is amazing. We inherited a wood lathe, but it needs a little bit of repairs so we haven't had the chance to use it yet. What an inspiration! Thanks for sharing.

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    1. I'll relay your compliment! He's getting better and better. He got the lathe used, and it needed fixing up (according to him). I think he really only wanted to play with the gears. In the process, he near cut off his finger, too. Never a dull moment... (the finger healed amazingly well).

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  2. Those bowls are gorgeous, I'd love to see a post showing how he does it!!

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  3. Gorgeous! Thanks for sharing on Wildcrafting Wednesday!

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