Wooden Eye

Wooden Eye

Wood is on the rise again. It seems to go in and out of favor like the bathroom porcelain color palette. There are times when wood is all about it for design purposes and other times when wood gets ripped out as grandmotherly. When I was a kid, knotty pine wood paneling was very comforting. I remember staying at some friends’ house and feeling very much at ease in the wood-paneled study with the built-in bed with plaid bedspread that almost felt nautical. In the 70’s, by contrast, we were ripping out wood paneling thinking it was tacky. My second house in the 80’s had a replica of the nautical knotty pine used in the kitchen and breakfast room. Then things went modern again and wood got lost in favor of lacquer and more sophisticated materials. As we prepared to move into our home in Escondido full-time, we chose to replace a lot of carpeting with grey wood flooring. Except it wasn’t real wood, it was a synthetic. We used to call it linoleum and while I’m sure it has lots a improved qualities, it’s basically modern linoleum engineered to look like wood. And not only does it not bother us as opposed to real hardwood (which we could certainly afford), we find it sensible and better. But our kitchen counter/eating bar is a selected piece of live edge that has been polyurethaned to a satiny smooth surface. It’s uniqueness, natural grain and smooth surface make it the focal point of an expensive and stylish kitchen renovation.

Wood is now on my mind almost as much as rocks. To begin with, on our deck we have a lovely wooden palapa. On our patio, our palapa was too big for wood, so it’s steel with wood highlights. The outdoor shower has a new teak bench. We’ve added two teak tables for our social distancing dining pleasure (the chairs are still padded verdigris aluminum). Out on our driveway we have a rugged wooden bench. And in the new garden, the benches are all teak (Brad just oiled them and they look great). We also have a new occasional table made of a piece of burled maple that Brad is sanding and polyurethaning for us. It will be a nice complement to the kitchen counter. We are also replacing a grey plastic shed with a cedar shed that we will protect to keep the wood looking good. We are surrounding ourselves with natural wood and it feels comfortable.

Today was a big wood day for us. We started the day in Arcata and drove two blocks from the Humboldt campus into Redwood Park. In 20 feet we felt like we had entered the forrest primeval. It was dark and moist and the mist was suspended in the air as though the grand redwoods themselves were holding the mist in the grasp of their boughs. It was almost like the forrest was so thick that the sun could not penetrate. We parked and walked around gawking as though we were in a unique spot. That’s when Frank reminded us that there used to be 1,000 square miles of redwoods in Northern California before logging began. Now, since the establishment of the Redwood National,Park in 1968 (a World Heritage site since 1980), we have 172 square miles left, which seems like a big drop, but it’s a LOT of forrest. That is especially so since these redwoods are both fast-growing and long-lived. Many are 600 years old and they can get to 2,000 years. The tallest measured was 368 feet and 14 feet in diameter. That makes this species as old and large as any trees on earth. That makes them pretty special, but standing at their base and looking up is actually even more impressive.

The interesting aspect about this northwest corner of California is the way these stunning and primordial forests go right up to the ocean shore. It creates a lovely contrast and a sense of the enduring grandeur of nature. It is hard to imagine on the East Coast what early explorers saw from their ships, but out here you get the feeling that they could be sitting out there on their masted schooners wondering what they would find if and when they found a spot to put ashore. We stopped at one beach called yet again, Moonstone Beach, and we went out on one cliff at Patrick’s Point to look down on the beach and marvel at that forest/sea interface.

Then we headed north into Oregon and little changed in terms of remote beauty of rugged ocean and dense forest, only the Redwoods were replaced with more modest varieties like lodgepole pine, We passed a few roadside shops and a high school touting their football team called the Driftwoods. It occurred to us that our home garden could benefit from a nice piece or two of driftwood so the search was on. The first few places we asked about driftwood (including several shops specializing in wood sculpture) thought we were a bit crazy and acted as though they had never had the request before. Finally,,one woman said, “why would you buy it since you can just walk on the beach and find it?” I guess if you live on the Oregon Coast, that’s a reasonable line of inquiry. It reminds me of when I renovated my house in Ithaca and was anxious to lay sod since I had a planned party I was throwing the next few days. That time I was asked if I realized that if I seeded my lawn for a few bucks, it would grow all by itself into sod grass. Sometimes, crazy isn’t just is as it does, sometimes it’s all about perspective.

After failing to find any driftwood for sale, we headed into Coos Bay to check into our hotel for the night. Kim, the shopper in the family, went off to town to check things out while I crashed from another day of bus driving. Suddenly she was calling me on FaceTime. She did so to share two pieces of driftwood she found to buy. They were in a souvenir shop, but were not technically part of the merchandise for sale. They were display paraphernalia, kept on the bottom shelves to take up space while looking purposeful. When Kim asked if they were for sale, the clerk was quick enough on the uptake to say, “sure”, but not so quick or not so commercial as to have a price in mind.

There were two pieces and when I heard the price, I told her to buy them both. She paid the clerk $40 and, as I am now fond of saying, “Bob’s your uncle!” We are very happy with our little piece of the Oregon Coast and feel they will add nicely to our garden. There is a favorite joke of mine that involves a guy with a wooden eye and a young girl with a harelip. The joke is less important than the response of the young lady when asked by the young man if she wanted to dance. It’s the same response I would give if someone asked if I would like to find some nice driftwood or a slab of Redwood for my garden. I would say, quite earnestly. “Wouldn’t I? Wouldn’t I”