Thinkin fish, aren't ya? Nope, it's Basswood cuttings in a bucket of water. I've been looking around the neighborhood for a Basswood tree, studying taxonomy online to help me identify them, and I finally found one. Two, actually, while on a walk last week. Stole a leaf, compared to the pics online along with the description of the bark and seeds. Went by the same house today and asked the ladies gardening there what kind of tree it was, she said 'Linden' I said 'Basswood!' she said 'I carve that!' and the world got smaller. We ended up chewing the fat for a half hour or so, comparing carving notes. She tells the same story many of us have, pick up a knife and chunk of wood and the world goes away, time has no meaning, hours go by like blinking your eye. I asked if I could come back later with my pruners and take some cuttings, she gave me her pruners and I came home with a half dozen cuttings, now trimmed and stuck in a bucket of water. With some luck and a few years I'll have saplings I can use for hiking sticks. more importantly, I can recognize the tree for sure now, I have a couple woodsy areas I'll check for more mature saplings ready to cut. I won't cut them this time of year, I'll mark them tho and come back in the winter when the sap is down in the roots- the tree will dry faster with less chance of splitting then.
Woo Hoo, a Red Letter Day for me!
BfloBif
