Some of my woods have interesting stories behind them. For instance, a large piece of desert ironwood that I am using is an ironwood tree root that my grandfather brought in from the desert to my great-grandfathers homestead early in the last century in what is now Phoenix, Arizona. I figure that it’s pretty well cured, considering it's age. I have a good supply of apple burl that came from a tree that we believe was planted by the original homesteaders on a friends' farm about a quarter mile from the Canadian border. The first branch, about the diameter of most apple tree trunks, became unsound and had to come off. I also have beautiful plum wood from two trees cut in Bellingham that must have been planted about a century ago. I didn’t know that the trunk of a plum tree could get so very large--or colorful. As I put reel seats up for sale or display in the gallery I will note the stories behind the more interesting materials.