Here’s a sneak preview of our next project. All we need is our trusty chainsaw back from the shop and a couple days free of rain. Last Thursday, I found two massive excavated tree roots while walking to a friend’s BBQ in Ukrainian Village. On Saturday, I lured friends and fellow gardeners Micah and Art to the roots’ temporary resting place where, in a driving rain, we loaded them into the back of the VW. The job required two trips and the generous (and unsolicited) help of two highly intoxicated Ecuadorian guys moved to pity when they passed us on the street.

The root pictured above is the bigger of the two and, hence, nicknamed Big Boy. After scraping off the rot, lopping off their tops, sanding them down and finishing them off with tung oil, what I think we’ll have is two comely, salvaged benches on which to sit and contemplate life’s enduring etc.