Holly Tree

Last Saturday, with the help of friends, I sawed an unusual tree into boards and blocks. There were three logs from a very large holly tree. The tree grew near a house that was built in 1852 in the Seward community of Forsyth County in North Carolina. Family from the home place estimated the holly tree was planted between 1900 and 1910. The house is under renovation and one sibling will soon return to the home where she was born and reared.

The picture at the top shows one log. Burl covers the log and made the trunk larger than the diameter at the stump. This is very uncommon since most trees are larger at ground level and taper above ground. Burl is an abnormal growth much like cancer where wood cells don't grow in normal ring pattern.

The first picture below shows three logs loaded onto a trailer for transport to the mill. The bottom two pictures show large blocks cut in preparation to turn bowls from this wood. Siblings from this home place requested turnings from this tree as mementos of their childhood yard.

Click on pictures to enlarge the photos.

Have a good week!