Hello Everyone

I’ve decided to take up moonlighting as a carpenter. One of the unofficial goals here at the Visitor Centre is to create two new displays per summer. That way there is always something new to see and learn even if you visit every year. The first new (redesigned) display for this year is the bird/butterfly garden. I take absolutely no credit for the wonderful work that has been done. Most of the credit goes to Laura, Brady and Lauren, but all the staff have pitched in here and there. The newest addition to the garden is a tranquil waterfall that cascades serenely into the back of the pond. The sound of running water is very attractive to many species of birds and we’ve already had both American Goldfinches and Indigo Buntings bathing in the waterfall.

Bird Garden Waterfall

However, none of that explains my desire to moonlight as a carpenter. The second display we’ve decided to create is a new tracking display. Although there technically is already a tracking display, it was created quickly to see if it would be a popular display. The goal was always to build a special table to house the tracks, sand and interpretive information. Therefore I decided to try my hand at carpentry. With a fair amount of trepidation I went out and bought a bunch of wood and hid myself in the maintenance yard. After expecting to create something that looked a lot like a grade 3 craft project, I was pleasantly surprised with the results. There is still some sanding and painting to be done (aka covering up oopsies), and it’s never going to win a table beauty contest. All in all it’s looking pretty good and I hope to have it ready for the public in a week’s time.

Tracking Display Table

The other noteworthy occasion of the last week was the melodious music of Allison Lickley. The crowd at her concert on Saturday evening were treated to some beautiful original music and even sang along to some good campfire classics like Black Socks and The Other Day. More than one of us was reminded of a young Joni Mitchell as we listened to her sing. A big thank you to Allison for gracing us with her presence, to the Friend of Rondeau for bringing her in here and to the Grace Anglican Church for letting us hold the concert there.

Allison Lickley

Well I figured with all my ravings about carpentry I should keep the theme going and talk about every carpenter’s need – wood. Not just any wood either, but wood in the form of the highly prized Black Walnut tree. Nowadays, Black Walnut is highly prized for its beautiful grain. But it wasn’t always so, old trees (from the pioneer days) were very straight grained. Most of the Black Walnut back then was forest grown. In the shaded woods, the tree grew much slower and therefore had a denser straighter grain. Today Black Walnut is grown out in the open and it gets a much more varied grain. With the help of some skilled cutting, beautiful grain patterns are exposed that are ideal for woodworking.

Black Walnut

However, my favourite thing about walnut trees is that they partake in chemical warfare. Now you don’t have to worry about tear gas falling from their leaves, but if you are a neighbouring plant beware. Walnuts produce a colourless chemical called hydrojuglone. It is perfectly harmless until it is exposed to the air or oxidizing substances released by encroaching roots of nearby plants. Then it is quickly transformed into juglone. One of the most common effects of juglone is ‘walnut wilt’ where nearby plants will start to turn brown and wilt and eventually die – Black Walnut’s way of saying “go away, this is my space”. But never fear, some plants have found a way to fight back. Asters and goldenrods have joined in the chemical warfare battle by producing chemicals that are toxic to walnut seedlings and thereby ensuring their own continued health.

Walnut Wilt on Tomatoes

Cuttingly Yours
Kip

p.s. measure twice and cut once (I learned the hard way)