I can always tell when my world is spinning a bit out of control when I can't find the time to post here! Over the past years, posting here has given me a sense of time and balance that I miss when things get too fast. From the image above of the Chairnotes Covergirl on the beach, you'd think all was smooth sailing. But after a few short days in Florida, we returned to this!!!
I managed to dig out some wood from the snow bank and head down to Kelly Mehler's School in Berea to teach a continuous arm class. I really can't say enough about the wonderful school that Kelly has down there. It is a reflection of him and his wife Terri, thoughtful right down the visit from the masseuse on Wednesdays! The fact that some of the students were on their ninth return trip says more than I could say. Here is Jim Crammond, who was also in my class at Arrowmont last year.
The first day of class, we managed to heat the whole building with our effort!
Seeing the bows like this brought out the art student in me.
Everyone's chair was together by 5:15 on the last day of class after a lot of hard work. I was very please with the quality of the chairs, which is largely due to the assistance of Greg Pennington (third from the left), who's high caliber chairmaking skills and humor kept the class flowing. I'm already looking forward to teaching another class there next year and I'd welcome suggestions about the project for the class.
After the thirteen hour drive home, I saw that the snow had converted to "corn snow" which is a pebbly, icy kind of snow that signals the beginning of maple syrup season. If you want to meet me in my best mood of the year, come right now and walk to the taps with me.
Here is Seth tapping his first tree.
And now the collection begins. I hope to boil the first batch by the end of the weekend.
Warm jars of fresh syrup should be just the cure for this hectic ride.
