Unnatural Resources

Unnatural Resources I make the things.

Plumbed the shop for dust collection this weekend. It was long over due, but as I expected my old dust collector couldn’...
06/08/2026

Plumbed the shop for dust collection this weekend. It was long over due, but as I expected my old dust collector couldn’t handle the new load. Luck had it that marketplace had a nice used one with double the power for a great price. Also fyi, dust collector fittings and 4” drain pipe are just enough incompatible that they can market a $20 adapter to go on each and everyone of your $20 blast gates so you can hook it up to your $20 pipe. The alternative of course is a $7 tube of silicone and some scrap pipe pieces.

Alison said it looks like it could be in the old animated version of Beauty and the Beast. I take that as high praise. N...
06/04/2026

Alison said it looks like it could be in the old animated version of Beauty and the Beast. I take that as high praise. Now to build a drawer.

First couple coats of Osmo Polyx I’ve ever put down and I can tell this might be a new go to finish. Now if they’d put b...
06/04/2026

First couple coats of Osmo Polyx I’ve ever put down and I can tell this might be a new go to finish.

Now if they’d put better directions on the can, they’d have a winner. If you ever use this stuff do yourself a favor and YouTube application methods. Seems no one applies it as recommended. And the recommended methods leave a gummy mess. Luckily I did a test piece first.

Aside from that and amazing no fuss finish. If the durability is as good as people claim it’s a winner to me.

It’s all good inside the yard.
06/03/2026

It’s all good inside the yard.

Chainsaw milling this maple tree took out the top end of my one year old Stihl 661 magnum. That probably should have bee...
05/25/2026

Chainsaw milling this maple tree took out the top end of my one year old Stihl 661 magnum. That probably should have been my first clue that it was hard maple and not soft maple. That was back in 2022 when I milled it.

The weight had me double guessing the whole time I milled it but it was freshly dropped so still retaining tons of water and the tree guy labeled it soft maple. I saw it without branches and followed the assumption.

Then it took out a $60 resaw blade on my bandsaw when I started processing it into useable size pieces. 😂 My new carbide blade showed up today and has been chewing through it. The picture of the pile was taken when I felt I hit about the halfway point of processing the blocks.

I’m not upset about it. Dried Hard maple on the lathe is one of the most satisfying things I’ve experienced since I got my lathe. But good looking hard maple is pretty damn rare. This stuff has no lack of color and character and while it isn’t the best, it’s gonna make some beautiful and durable bowls and trays and who knows what else.

Oh yeah, then there’s the pile of slabs from this tree. Eight foot long, two inches thick, and around thirty inches wide…

I dump all my sawdust between garden beds. 1. It gets rid of my sawdust. 2. It decomposes quickly and feeds the soil. 3....
05/20/2026

I dump all my sawdust between garden beds.

1. It gets rid of my sawdust.
2. It decomposes quickly and feeds the soil.
3. It keeps weeds down.

Last year I bought some wine cap spores and mixed it into a side area we don’t walk on much. Never saw a single cap. Yesterday I found these four about six feet from where the spores were placed.

Now I’m thinking about getting more spores and just putting them everywhere. Whether or not more of these pop up will probably greatly influence that decision. Any mushroom growers have insight or suggestions?

Baby frogs and toads are starting to come out of the pond. We have made a habit of checking on them before bed when it s...
05/19/2026

Baby frogs and toads are starting to come out of the pond. We have made a habit of checking on them before bed when it seems they are most active. Caught a little one hanging on to its tail the other night. Everyone was out after the rain last night though. We know we have two types of toads now, American toad and a Fowler’s toad I haven’t been able to get close enough to the frogs to identify them quite yet. One of the parent frogs was out on the rocks last night but not quite as brave as the toads.

taught me about the Eurasian Tree Sparrow this year and I just happened to me to see this print a day or two later, whi...
05/13/2026

taught me about the Eurasian Tree Sparrow this year and I just happened to me to see this print a day or two later, which she then promptly received for Mother’s Day.

Although we had seen them, I never picked one up on Merlin until…the same day the print arrived 😮😆

Print courtesy of who is also responsible for one of my absolute favorite prints in our collection, last picture.

Indigo Bunting. This weekend has been crazy. There was an Oriole on the oranges five minutes before this. We’ve also had...
05/10/2026

Indigo Bunting. This weekend has been crazy. There was an Oriole on the oranges five minutes before this. We’ve also had a Great Credted Fly Catcher and a pair of Tennessee Warblers move in. I’m gonna need a nap after all this excitement.

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