Thunder is rolling outside. Zaydee is a bit bummed (scared by Momma Nature’s grumbling) but so far she hasn’t crawled under my desk. I am once again light years behind on the desk part of studio life but here is my main excuse: FOUR batches of guests in the last two weeks. The post-it notes are spreading like ants across my desk (ugh! ANTS!!! – that was a whole other battle in my cabin with giant carpenter ants but I won’t be side-tracked…!) My plans to keep the blog current with photos of progress of my latest sculpture have been thwarted by the 4^th of July, being a host and – well – life! Thus this photo was taken three weeks ago. The Fir is MUCH softer than the Mesquite I worked with recently AND it smells better. I don’t blame Mesquite for smelling the way it does. The wood is old, dense, dark and slow growing but my gut instinct tells me Mesquite is toxic. Fresh intoxicating NEW wood smell permeates my studio as the piles of woodchips and sawdust pile up. I love being hit with the aroma of fresh cut wood when entering my studio early in the morning!