the week got away from me, and a farmers' market serendipity

It seems like it was Monday and then zip - now it's Friday already. I'm not sure why the days flew by this week, but we've had another hot spell (that is being broken somewhat as I type by a very isolated and very sudden downpour) and keeping animals and people comfortable in the heat while also incorporating a new pup into the family has kept us busy.

A very fun thing happened today. I was at the farmer's market, and a new vendor was there with a table spread with absolutely gorgeous cutting and cheese boards, all made from many different kinds of wood that has fallen or died on his farm. The boards were all made of 12 or so strips/stripes of wood, creating lovely patterns and shades of color.

As I tend to do at the market, I stopped to talk and ask him about his work. I was amazed that the boards were only $25 - $35. each. He pulled out a portfolio and began to flip through the pages, showing me various things he's made. He was most proud of his workshop floor, which is truly a work of art. It made me think to ask him about my feed/tack room floor project, which has never gotten off the ground because I had in mind a specific thing - old, wide planks - that would need to be located before I could even think about installing them.

So I asked him if he knew of any sources for that kind of wood.

He thought for a moment and then said, "What you need is some poplar."

My ears perked up. "You mean like tulip poplar?"

"Exactly."

I proceeded to tell him about the huge tulip poplar in our front field that has been debarked by a herd of sap-loving horses. It's standing tall, but is definitely dead and we have been talking about taking it down at the end of the summer.

He got very excited, and told me he can give me local sources for taking down the tree and also a local sawmill that will cut the planks. He also said he'd love to have some of the leftover if we have any.

This is one of those serendipities that makes me want to jump up and down. I had the idea for the wide planks, but couldn't find the exact right wood or source. But to use a tree from our own property that has died is absolutely perfect. And how cool is it that the tree the horses were obsessed with to the point of killing it ends up as the floor to their feed room? There's a certain poetry to the way they debarked it that would be neat to photograph before we take it down and hang that in the feed room above the wood plank floor.

I'll have to price the cost of the sawmill, but hopefully it will be affordable. A different kind of farmers' market treasure this week - but a very special one.