So we finally finished our Driftwood Plant Propagator, got it photographed and loaded up here for sale. But like everything we make, it has a pretty great story and we wanted to share that. We simply love the beach at any time of year. Living in the middle of the great Lakes means we have a lot of freshwater coastline to explore. On a trip two years ago, in March, it happened to be snowing. We went to the beach anyway because you just can't keep us away.
While we were there, I spied a log that was washed up on the shore. A beautiful bone-white piece of driftwood. And this wasn't some 2 foot piece of log I could tuck under my arm and carry home, it was as long as I am tall. I'm short but still, it was a big piece of wood and it was completely saturated and covered in sand and beach gunk. So I dragged it back to the car. Because why wouldn't I?
It had branches jutting off of it and every edge was softened by the sand, ice, sun and water of the lake. It took it a month or two to dry out and we lopped off one rotted knobby end to make a pot for our staghorn fern. The fern loves it! The rest has been sitting under the broiling full sun on the south facing side of the garage since.
But this winter, creamy against the stark white snow, it spoke to Chris. He cut a piece, made the plant propagator and brought it into the kitchen on a snowy afternoon. "I love it!" I told him. I hugged him too because he is such an inspiration. :) We talked a little about finishing it with a shellac or mineral oil or maybe epoxy and in the end we decided to leave it 100% as it was. It's smooth and soft and simple just like it is.
That one log has yielded so much not just in plant propagators and fern pots but every day in all seasons it has sat next to the garage in my direct line of sight. And every single time I see that log or water the fern, I remember dusting the sand off of my coat in the snowy March wind and smiling triumphantly at Chris while that log leaked lake water all over the back of my car. It's the little things.
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