The Squamidian Report - Feb. 8/03

Hi All.

For starters, Sue was in Calgary this week, again. They do so many audits there that the people at the hotel know them by name. A good thing about Calgary audits is that it's only an hour and a bit flying time so the travel part is relatively easy.

I have caved in to pressure from Warren and purchased a pair of caulk boots. Don't know why they are called 'caulk'. It is pronounced 'cork' and has nothing to do with either term. They are a type of safety boot used in the bush by loggers and forestry people. The sides are high like a normal rubber boot but the rubber is thicker and re-enforced. The wild thing about these things is the bottoms. They are studded with 3/4 inch spikes sticking out for gripping the moss covered logs and rocks. Without them you have to crawl around using both hands and feet. With them you can walk on and over anything. (Not for use indoors unless you don't like the people who live there)!! I think I can use these things to aerate my lawn.

Put the boots to good use on Friday. We went over to the other side of Howe Sound to gather tree burls. There is a pulp mill over there and the only access is by their private ferryboat. Warren somehow got permission to hunt for burls up the logging roads in the mountains behind the mill.

The burls are like strange growth on the sides of the trees. There are old cedars back in there that are so big the base would take up all the space in a normal living room. The burls can be anywhere from the size of a kitchen bowl to the size of a kitchen table. We filled the back of his truck with ones that were small enough that we could roll down the rugged mountainsides and lift in. There are several still there that we cut that he will need a winch to pull into the truck.

The land is so steep and rugged and the growth so dense that often you can't see more than a hundred feet or so in any direction. We go up hill to cut the burls from the tree trunks so we know that the logging road is somewhere down below us. Also, we go uphill as there would be no way of carrying even a small burl back up if we had gone down hill from the road.

The mountain sides are covered with moss and rotting logs. Without the caulk boots you would have to crawl on all fours trying to get around. With the boots you can walk up the logs and over the mossy rock. Mind you, the land can be so steep in places that no kind of boot can do much good. Interesting country around here.

The burls are used for making fancy wood bowls, lamp bases, all sorts of things. Even though they are ugly growths on the trees, the grain in them tends to swirl and twist making very unique peaces.

By the way, remember when I said the boots were made of re-enforced rubber. Good thing, I've already stepped on my own feet twice with those spikes.

Warren brings along his dog, Bella, on these excursions. She is a mid size Shepherd and is both willing and able to take on any size bear. You are in prime bear country when out in the bush and a lot of old trees have small caves under the roots. Bella would let us know if one of these caves was occupied.

We came across the local black tailed deer twice while driving along the logging roads. Good thing the windows were up as she goes nuts at the site of any wild life. She would have launched herself out of the truck had the windows been down. My old dogs would rather we took a picture of the deer to show them.

Anyway, it's another lovely mild sunny west coast day so I'd better get out there and enjoy it.

Have a good one.

the doug