The summer of ‘08 I enjoyed the privilege of working with clients creating a blue-stain pine rail system and front entry doors for their home near Butte, Montana.   As we let the project develop we always found joy in the process,  shared laughter in our conversations and we have become friends as a result.  Thank you Bill and Anna.

The lodgepole ’blue-pine’ used for this project was harvested within sight of their incredible home which is surrounded by the continental divide.  The staining in the lumber is a result of bark beetles that are killing millions of acres of forest in North America.   I’ve worked with beetle killed lumber for several years and I try to utilize reclaimed woods including vertical grain fir, oak and pine timbers from renovation projects in the Butte area.

I had some fun last summer watching a variety of flowers grow on the corner.  Some were mammoth sunflowers that added some color and now have become birdfood.