Turned a couple birdhouses, for the art store

[Leo Van Der Loo]

The art store here has a seasonal setup for gifts etc., there is quite a variety of artist in the area, but no wood turner in sight, so I filled in for it

I got juried and past with flying colors, whew .

They came and choose different pieces I had standing for sale here and then had to make a few birdhouses as I had only 3 left and 2 got sold the first day.

Made about a dozen, here are some pictures of a few

Any comments welcome as always .

[Ron Rutter]

Leo. Do I see birch, pine & ash/elm?
Your first winter there has been mild so far!!!
You may be lucky & find some sizeable gray willow which could be interesting.
Cheers. Ron.

[Mark Hubl]

Nice Leo. Glad you are filling the turner void at the art store. Good to see that you are turning and posting again.

[Bob Rotche]

Nice work! Really like the natural edged roofs.

[Allan Ferguson]

I like the rustic style.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Nice birdhouses Leo. I find they sell well.

[Richard Jones]

Love them!! Classy with just a touch of whimsy. They're bound to sell quickly.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Leo. Do I see birch, pine & ash/elm?
Your first winter there has been mild so far!!!
You may be lucky & find some sizeable gray willow which could be interesting.
Cheers. Ron.

Thanks Ron

Ron if you look at the right bottom of the pictures it shows the type of wood used, (at least over here), if not, there is

Birch and Black Walnut, spalted Red and Sugar Maple, Apricot, Lilac, Tulip tree and Redwood.

I don't know what you call Grey Willow, as Grey Willow is supposed to be a European shrub/small tree willow, and I don't expect that to grow in the wild around here, so I suppose it is something different, these tree names are a jumble so often, with different species given the same common names for different ones .

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Thanks for taking the time to reply , they are fun to make and I have sold a lot of them over the years

This was my first Birdhouse with the natural bark left on it, turned that in 2003, made some before and many more since

[Ron Rutter]

Leo. Most people call it diamond willow. I believe grey willow is the correct name. I brought some back to the coast years ago from my old hometown (Dryden) One stem is close to 4" diameter. It is found from Minnesota up through NW Ont. & into Manitoba. The deforming is apparently caused by some type of a virus. It can have real interesting inclusions.
Ron.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Leo. Most people call it diamond willow. I believe grey willow is the correct name. I brought some back to the coast years ago from my old hometown (Dryden) One stem is close to 4" diameter. It is found from Minnesota up through NW Ont. & into Manitoba. The deforming is apparently caused by some type of a virus. It can have real interesting inclusions. Ron.

Ron I did some more digging about Diamond Willow and found this,

Diamond Willow.jpg

Then I went and looked for Salix bebbiana, as it was apparently the most common Diamond Willow, and got to this info,

Salix bebbiana.jpg

I could not find Grey Willow in the Diamond Willow in connection with it, so assume it is one of those misnomers that are very common, I guess Grey is easier to say then Bebbiana , still Diamond Willow would be the better name.

In the art store there are a few walking sticks that are looking pretty good, thanks for the conversation, yes the weather has been mild, hope to keep like that

[Baxter Smith]

Always enjoy seeing your birdhouses Leo. Always a great variety of woods and neat designs!

[Jeff Welch]

Nice bird houses!

I have a cane made out of Diamond willow. Always gets noticed!

[Greg Just]

Nice job Leo. I really like the natural edge roofs and the bark houses.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Always enjoy seeing your birdhouses Leo. Always a great variety of woods and neat designs!

Hi Baxter, thanks , they are fun, rather than a repetitive job and they are well liked.

Nice bird houses!

I have a cane made out of Diamond willow. Always gets noticed!

Thanks for responding Jeff, yes I would imagine that a cane like that would be noticed, it is certainly different with the color and the deformation on it.

Nice job Leo. I really like the natural edge roofs and the bark houses.

Thanks Greg, I do to, I have to find some suitable sized wood for making this kind, as I like those and have made some before, they are a bit more of a challenge to make the roofs

birdhouse.jpg