I'm excited to get to work with this new bunch of lovely apple wood wand blanks! I've just finished curing them after several months, and just like the life of Spring they are ready to emerge renewed. After non-chemical treatment over the Winter the colors are warm and rich, plus through heat tempering the wood has become very strong!
With the sweet smell of Autumn leaves in the air a nearby old crab apple tree was still decorated with heavy red fruit clinging to the branches -- branches that had begun to hang down onto a neighbors car. Because the driveway path was becoming precarious the decision was made to do some late season pruning. It's a shame when any tree has to be cut into, but I feel that it would be a bigger shame to have the cuttings all go to waste. I prepared myself for a sweet harvest of apple wood -- sweet because the wood that I usually work with is from trees that I've personally cared for, so my choices often lack variety, and sweet too for the scent in the air. A few narrow branches were carefully cut from the mother tree; none more than three inches around. I browsed through the offerings to select strong healthy portions to cut into wands while trying not to squish over-ripened apples onto my shoes, but secretly glad when I did squish one because the aroma was like fresh apple pie in the crisp Autumn sunlight; This tree could really produce some big sweet fruit! This tree hasn't grown under my care but has survived an untold amount of years being both loved and neglected -- a true survivor and provider!
After I trimmed the wand lengths from the prunings they were dried in the last of the Autumn sunlight then allowed to steep under the Winter snows to be dug out on the Spring Equinox with dark rich color tones under the bark. Each piece produced from this harvest will be ripe with color and active natural metaphysical energy! When they were removed from the Winter snow they were soaked, de-barked, scrubbed cleaned, heat sanitized, and allowed to keep their natural forms for the most part. I've put in as much care and investment in personal energy as possible. I'm proud of this harvest because I feel that the Mother tree is a hard worker caring for her community and it's a great honor to put her trimmings to such metaphysical uses after her fruit provides food and her branches shelter for the creatures that I share my environment with... truely Wakan (sacred)!
Visit my Etsy store for available wands https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtistTreeCurios?ref=shopsection_shophome_leftnav
Aho mitakuye oyasin!
