Shop Notes & Rambles
The Rambles are the stories lived and learned over decades — the moments, the lessons, and the shop life that shaped the craft. They accumulate here, sorted by publish date. If you want the curated version, explore the Workshop Library.
Outdoor Wood
Outdoor wood faces sun, snow, floodwater, ice, and 200 years of Prairie weather. This story explains how bur oak, tamarack, cedar, Douglas fir, treated spruce, and modern HDPE survived (or failed) in real conditions — freeze‑thaw cycles, river floods, soil contact, and decades of exposure. Built from fieldwork across Manitoba, it’s the long Prairie record of outdoor wood: what lasted, what didn’t, and why our choices still matter today.