Hickory

The hickories in the woods behind our house are of the shagbark variety. A huge one hangs over the fence at the back of our yard and bombs my lawn tractor shed with nuts every fall. Now the county park a few miles way has I believe pignut as well as the shagbark. I have collected sticks from both species at the county park and on the young branches as Gdenby said its next to impossible to tell which is which. The trees leaves are the only reliable indicator.

I have made several sticks out of hickory and it is hard to work with but the results are well worth the effort.

The stick on the left is shag bark hickory with the bark stripped off it is a blond color with few amber streaks.

The stick on the right is also shag bark with bark left intact and sanded relatively smooth. The knots are blond and the darker areas still have some furrows from the bark. Both pieces of wood are beautiful in their own right, but sanding through the bark is a definite chore with this wood.

The first time I saw that place (my man cave) I fell in love immediately. The previous widowed owner, forced to give up driving, had "converted" the garage to additional living space . . . and used it as such as the weather allowed. She had installed two dining room lights rather than regular garage lights and the floor was simply beautiful. I knew then/there I NEEDED this place. So I've done my best to keep it as nice as possible ever since. Even during the cold winter days I use my leaf blower to blow all the sawdust out into the driveway - it helps with traction!

I keep a ruberized mat below the car to catch all the debris, including the melting snow/ice this time of year and ever so often put that junk out into the driveway with my push broom.

My lovely bride (60+ years) and I both like to keep our yard and living space **** and span and that includes the car and my garage/man cave.

thanx for noting and asking

-neb

ps - it's also my photo studio - I've had 50 pics published - here's a few...on display.