Wand Wednesday: Peng

Peng, dark cedar and glowing jasper. #wandwednesday

gloves last one year

I buy a new pair every spring.

Wand Wednesday!

Peng has a sweet spiral but the wand is still under construction.

#wandwednesday #wands

Wands in the Street: Night Mulberry

It's brush collection week in our neighborhood this week. There are piles of cut branches in front of every other house. Walking the dog tonight I glanced over each pyramid of circular ends and dying leaves. Most of the cuttings are bushes like red-tip photinia or Texas mountain laurel, or soft trees like ash or hackberry, none of which are choice for wandcrafting. I've definitely made wands from each of those varieties but there are many better woods so I gave these a pass.

Until I was back home and examined the pile of branches in front of my neighbor's house. Hackberry, live oak, miscellaneous unidentified bushes ... and a sprinkling of thick mulberry branches. I was pleased. And surprised. The neighbor knew I was on the lookout for mulberry branches, prized for its dark heartwood.

It wasn't until after dark that I was able to return to collect a few branches to craft into wands.

As the tree ages, a chemical transformation at the center of the branch makes the wood harder and resistant to disease and rot. This happens for all trees, but in the mulberry, the transformation also alters the color.

I chose the branch above, with a center core of about an inch and half across. The full branch is about four feet long. I'll have to find someone to cut away the sapwood, but only after the branch has dried for a couple months.

I also snipped this smaller branch, about 20 inches long. Sometime in July, when much of the moisture will have evaporated, I'll craft my first night mulberry from this thin core. Awesome.

Thanks, neighbor!

(I'll check again tomorrow for more, if the city hasn't already collected the branches.)