Spring, of course, is an elusive concept here on the Mid-Coast.  It started this year with a few inches of snow, then some rain, and of course there is always the mud.

The dogs have been spending quite a bit of time by the stove lately- they like warmth and don’t really mind cold, but chilly and damp they can do without.  I haven’t been too productive of late, though I did fashion a crooked knife from an old straight razor, a few scraps of cherry and a couple copper boat nails.  A crooked knife is a traditional (among northern tribal people) one-handed (with out clamps, one hand holds the work) drawknife.  I plan to add it to my paddle shaping tool kit.  I’m thinking it will allow some cuts not possible with a two-handed drawknife or a spokeshave.

Most of my time has been spent renovating the upstairs here in the barn, putting a wall and door between the “office” (read- place where I keep hunting and fishing gear, as well as a few books and a drawing board) and the finishing area (now finishing room.)  I am hoping this will make it easier to control dust, resulting in even better paint and varnish finishes on my boats.

Tomorrow, Julie and I are heading to Prague for a few days, followed by a trip down the Danube from just inside the border of southeast Germany to Budapest.  It is our present to ourselves to celebrate twenty-five years of marriage.  I will try and put pictures on both Otis’s facebook page and@whitewoodcraft instagram.

Hopefully spring will be firmly established when we return.  Then it will be time to get Preamble ready for the coming season.  I also have a few “furnishings” to make, as well as an end table and a coffee table, in cherry, to partner with last fall’s bookcase/bench combo.