Islands of driftwood-Part Two

Although there are quite a few red cedar driftwood islands located throughout this part of  Florida’s Gulf coastline, it can be very challenging to get access to where the wood is located. The winding narrow waterways can be very shallow & are greatly effected by the tides. Once we got close to this small oasis of driftwood, we knew we had only a small window of time before the tide receded & the water would be too shallow to navigate. Once the stumps were selected & trimmed they had to be carried thru the water & over the limestone rock to the boat…..no easy chore.  After the boat was loaded we explored a little further looking for the next driftwood island for another day. They spotted this much larger driftwood stand around the bend but wasn’t sure if they could get close enough to carry the wood out. Selfishly, I hope they find a way. (They did make their way back to that island in the following week & spent several days collecting some beautiful pieces, even though it was a 75 yard walk through tall sawgrass to the boat).Combined with the stumps I had loaded the day before, I carried back to my shop a very nice & large selection of future pieces to work on this summer. Even though I enjoyed going out on the boat & on the water, I’m very glad I’m not the one carrying those heavy stumps off those islands anymore . But I’m very much looking forward to turning them into something my customers can place in their homes. The evening I spent by the river I had the opportunity to see this large manatee come cruising by the dock.