Splitting the Maple Tree

This is the pile of maple we split on 04-27-08. You can see the hydraulic splitter in behind the forewood. This is two and a half hours work. Thats Harv on the stump, Avery at the controls and me making sure it gets done safely.

This Day 04-27-08

This was a great day. It started out with going to breakfast with my parents at the 49er in Castle Rock. They always make a good breakfast. I had a 49er omelet with lots of hash browns and coffee to wash it down. After that we got the hydraulic wood splitter and split some maple wood for a few hours. Harv came over and helped us and we got a lot of wood split. I will post some pictures later as Patty and my Mother were watching and taking pictures. After I took Avery and Harv home we kinda just goofed off and had a nice day at home. About 5:00Pm we decided we should have our first Bar Be Que of the year. Those of you who live in a climate where you can Bar Be Que all year would not understand the significance of the FIRST BAR BE QUE OF THE YEAR! We got the BBQ out and cleaned it and cleaned the deck and the table and hot tub and commenced to BBQing. We had some pork steaks and some beans and some salad and some nice biscuits. I must admit I over indulged myself, but WHAT THE HELL, MAN, THIS IS THE FIRST BBQ OF THE YEAR!!! Whoaaa it was good. Anyway, I gotta go close up the shop, put away the BBQ, maybe check out the hot tub and maybe watch a movie. Yep, it was great day!

Burning the Brush

Here's Alexi, Patty and Bart helping me burn the small branches from the maple tree.

Last of the Maple Tree

Here is the last of the big Maple Tree in our backyard. The butt of this tree is about two feet in diameter.

Devon

This is Grandson Devon. We had been salmon fishing out of Illwaco Wa. These are two of the six fish we brought home.

Leroy

This is Leroy. I made him from some old mufflers. He sits on top of my shop and waves to all who pass by.

Glacier National Park

This is a Mountain Goat we saw in Glacier National Park. It was in July and they were losing their winter coat.

2002 Dodge

This is our Dodge pickup in Glacier National Park. We took a trip there in July of 2007. We have since sold the truck, but I like this picture.

Fan Bird

This is a bird I made from a couple of old fan blades. he sits on the fence and protects the property.

Wooden Bowl

This is a bowl I made around 1983. I have stored it all these years and recently refinished it. It is made from Pine and Cedar.

Metal Fish

This is a metal fish I made from an old water heater. He just hangs out on my shop door.

Walnut Bowls

These are some bowls I built from Walnut wood. John Hayes helped me with the one on the left. He is the "Lathe Master" at R.A. Long Woodshop adult night class. THANKS JOHN!

good joke

So.... now that I have challenged you to tell a good joke verbally I will give you little help. Here it comes.

A man and his wife were traveling across country when they get into a disagreement. After a few minutes of arguing and neither one wanting to give in, they settled down to an hour or so of silent driving. Suddenly they came upon a farm with a few Jackasses and Donkeys in the field. The wife said rather sarcastically, Looks like some of your relatives out there.

The husband replied very quickly, Yes, you are right, they are Inlaws.

I hope this helps. Now get out there and verbally tell a good joke dammit!

Knock Knock, Who's There?

One thing that I have noticed since the invention of the internet is that we have lost our ability to tell a joke. Also, it used to be ( before the internet) a big deal to tell a joke that hadn't been heard before. People would say, "Tell me if you heard this one". It was very good to tell a joke that hadn't been heard before. That art, or ability has been lost because we can so easily read, forward and forget a joke. Trust me young folks, it used to be very impressive to have a bank of jokes, and the people who could remember and tell jokes were very popular because they were great entertainment. I know you don't know this, but, some people are better at telling jokes than others. This whole generation of people who grew up using the internet has no idea how to tell a joke and no idea how some people were better at telling them than others. It used to be like " Here comes Uncle Bob, he always knows a good joke". It isn't like that any more, and that is something we lost with the internet. When was the last time YOU told a JOKE?

So my friends, I would like it if you told (Yes, verbally) a joke to someone. Can you do it?

Fence creature

Here is a creature I made from a shovel and a pick that I never wanted to use again. He sits on my fence and guards my property.

Metal Flower

This is a metal flower that me and my son Rich made. The picture doesn'nt do it justice.

Wind Machine

This is a twirly gig that spins in the wind. I like it because i painted it with my airbrush. I made many of these wind machines in many different shapes and sizes.

Cat and Butterfly

I made this from an old waterheater. It is a cat reaching for a butterfly. Can you tell?

Metal Creatures

This is a couple of birds made from a garden hand shovel.

Alexi

Another picture of Alexi

Richard's Jungle Band

This is RICHARD'S JUNGLE BAND. I cut these from scrap wood and they are drawn freehand. Just something I needed in my shop. They provide all my music, and of course, they only play the blues.

Coat/Hat hanger

This is a Hat/coat hanger I made. I made three of these. I have one in my house, one in my shop and I gave one away. They are hard to see, but these are bears I cut out on a scroll saw . I got this idea from a gift shop in Glacier National Park.

Welding sheild holder

This is a holder for my welding facemask. I don't know what kind of animal it is, but it could be something from another world.

Fish Welding Cable Holder

This is a holder for my welding cables that I made from some old piece of metal. It is hard to see it, but it is a fish and the the golf balls are on the end of the hooks that hold the cables.

Crazy Faces

This is a couple of Metal faces I made from some scrap metal. You might think that they look unhappy, but they are very happy to be hanging on my shop wall instead of in the scrap bin.

Stove Stand

This is the stand I made to hold my wood burning stove in my shop. I made it from some metal sheets that my next door neighbor Todd gave to me. Patty drew the dancing bears and I cut them out using my plasm cutter. Did I mention that I also like to create metal art?

Madrone Wood

This is a pencil holder I built from a Madrone tree branch. Some say you can't do nothing with Madrone, but I kinda like it. Most say you have to cut it while it is green and then do some fancy drying techniques. I say make a bowl, sand it, finish it and forget it. If it doesn't turn out nice, use it for firewood.

Dove Tail Joint

This is the end of a box I built out of Maple. This is my first attempt at using a dovetail joint jig. I think it turned out kinda nice.

Turn the Crank

This is a goofy little time wasting maching. Just turn the crank until you have wasted as much time as you want.

Tooth Pick Hoders

Here is some toothpick holders I made from some Alder branches.

Natural Cherry Wood

Here is a cool bowl I made from a cherry tree I cut down in my yard.

Cutting down the Maple Tree

This is Orrin, my next door neighbor, He is cutting down a huge maple tree for me. That is his dad in the background. His left knee is on the stump of the last branch he cut down. I just got the first one cleaned up and here we go again making another mess for me to clean up.

Bunch of Bowls

This is a shelf full of bowls just waiting for a permanent home.

Facts to Remember

WALKING AND BEER:

A recent study found the average American walks about 900 miles per year.

Another study found Americans drink, on average, 22 gallons of beer a year.

That means, on average, Americans get about 41 miles to the gallon.

Kind of makes you proud to be an American.

Richard

Avery

This is Avery, my step father and Bar Be Quer extroidinair.

Richard's Mom

Here's a nice picture of my Mom. Her name is Clara.

Kites and Patty

This is at the LongBeach Kite Festival a few years back. It is one of my favorite pictures and I just had to share it with you. Don't you think this is a great picture?

Grandma Dowling

This is me and my Grandmother from my Dad's side. She has been gone for a few years, but I want her here on my site.

Patty's First Sturgeon

Patty and her first Sturgeon. This is on the Columbia River just out of Kalama Washington. It is too small and had to be released, but it was great watching her reel it in.

Canucanoe?

This is Patty. We are canoeing on Lake Mayfield in Western Washington. This is up the Tilton River as it enters the lake.

Douglas Fir Bowl

I made this bowl from an old door sill that I got from Castle Rock Building supply. This was going to be used as firewood. I love to make something nice from something that would be considered trash.

Grand Son #2

This is Jacob, son of Kyla of Kelso.

Grandson #1

This is one of my grand sons Josh, son of Harv and Janelle of Castle Rock. We are burning the brush on New Years day 2008.

Two Sons

This is my two sons, Harv and Rich. Yes, they are both Seahawk fans.

This is a picture of my wife Patty watching the sun go down in Soap Lake Washington. She loves the sun and she also has a liking for large granite boulders.

BIG BART

This is a picture of my wife and our other dog Bart, sleeping on our deck last summer. He is a Great Dane and I like this picture because it shows just how large of a dog he is. for those of you who don't have any knowledge of Great Danes, they are very good dogs. The only way this dog would hurt you is if he hit you with his tail because he is soooooo happy to see you.

Alexi = Friend and Campanion

This is a picture of our dog Alexi. He is very freindly, but I don't recomend that you try to take his bone away.