Just finished installing a three-barrel rain catchment system for our backyard with a kit from BlueBarrel. It was a fun project. BlueBarrel is worth checking out if you’re looking for rain barrel options.

I stepped away from posting (and woodworking) for a couple of months, but I’m back with a simple project. This is a barebones bed frame to hold a tatami mat, creating useful storage space underneath. Total lumber cost was $50. I made it in a day with hand tools, except for the screw assembly — I splurged and used a power drill for that!

After gutting my broken tube radio, I couldn’t bear to toss the tubes, so I made a little display for kicks. I was going to add utility (e.g., a pen holder or something), but decided to leave it and display it as “old tech art.”

I finally got around to gutting and cleaning up this old, broken German radio. Now it has a HomePod inside. I use the iMac next to it to hold an iPad, so now I have a fun setup in the shop for streaming music. The tube radio parts I removed are fascinating.

My wife shot this image of a golden eagle this morning using her iPhone while we were out near Gathland State Park in Maryland. I think it’s an impressive image given the equipment. The most impressive part was the proximity of the eagle, who couldn’t care less that we were so close.

North Point State Park, near Baltimore, yesterday morning. If you look closely, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge is in the far distance. Interesting place with remains of an amusement park from the early 1900s.

We noticed this bee on some woodland sage in our yard. It hadn’t moved in over a day, so we poked at it. Nothing. So we assumed it died and brought it inside for a flower display of sorts. The next day, we discovered … not dead. It began to move in slow motion. So we gave it some sugar water and put it back outside. I suppose you could say we’re easily entertained?

Final wood box with removable bottom drawer. Mistakes were made, but made it work. I planned to dovetail the sides, but grain directions were wrong. So I went with mortise/tenons, but they were shallow so I worried about strength. So I did something I rarely do: use hardware. I reinforced the corners with screws. Not my best work, but it will do the job! I’m happy with the curved corners, mostly (made with bow saw and my prized Auriou rasps from France).

I decided to add a pullout bottom to the firewood box so it’s easy to clean. When it’s closed up, you don’t notice it’s there (unless you’re looking closely). It’s pretty much done, except for the hours of card scraping and finishing.

Moonrise over Frederick, Maryland.