A Pile of Ilex

Last autumn our Maryland friends Karl and Nina had a large holly tree cut down next to their house. (The area is rich with large holly trees; the yard of my daughter’s house has several gigantic trees with trunk girths up to nearly six feet with many more with a girth of three feet!) The tree had become a hazard to the house and had to go. I knew the tree and asked if they could keep the trunk and stump for me. They agreed, and several weeks ago I was back in Mordor and spent some quality time with a chainsaw in their yard. The harvest was almost three truck loads of wood.

Even though much of the wood was unsuitable for woodworking, the good stuff was a considerable pile. I now have enough holly to build many dozens of veneered Federal pieces with holly stringing. This is a the portion of the haul I brought back to my storage barn, the longest piece is about 5-1/2 feet.

Next trip back I will harvest the crotch, and somehow cut that into veneer or turn it into some spectacular bowls.