presents

 Seems that demad is over taking demand on the wee carvings.  Youngsters birthdays and xmas tree ornaments are being requested way too much.   However that is n't all bad in ffact its good, at 70 I can not only growl at kids but make them smile.   The above is a photo of the old dog we lost a few months ago.  A bit like her owner she could get into trouble even in her dotage.

poplar

  Not much further in my mission on tree bark.  Not entirely true, the cottonwood tree is of the poplar family.  Poplars grow in Europe.
Interestingly its the red pine of california which is credited with the thickest bark.

I'm back blogging again

  After a series of events I'm back blogging again.
Nothing drastic just a heap of things that limited my time.

One of the more pleasant was a short break in Poland, my first in 30 years.  Then it was north Poland Gransk in what was refered to as the German Corridor.   This time it was all different in all senses, we went to Cracow and then visited Auschwitz.

  We met up with a carving pal and had a meal together.  Apart from the brotsch which I never liked the food was to my liking.  More to the point the company was good.  Romek does n't speak English and I speak no Polish so we depended on his son to translate.

  The churches were full of carvings and other artistic works.   Some had been looted by the Germans and then returned after 1945.

 On a more down to earth level I came across these carvings, in bark for sale in the market of the old City.

 These impressed me but poses the question which bark.  According to my research cottonwood does n't grow in the old World.  All I can say is the bark must come from a very old tree.

bark carvings

These are NOT my carvings.   They were on display at the Old City in Cracow.    Bark they were but what bark I do n't know.