Rustic Broom Blog

Tag: travel

  • Wandering off into the Woods

    When you make and sell handmade goods, you never have much extra time. You have to make the stuff, sell it, and then ship it off. It’s almost like having three jobs — and I haven’t even mentioned all the busy work happening behind the scenes. I love it all, but there is a time when my internal battery goes completely dead, and I just need to be totally AWOL for a little while.

    When I get like this, I often remember my favorite John Muir quote:

    “Everybody needs beauty, as well as bread. Places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike.”

    Serviceberry – Amelanchier alnifolia

    I wander off into the woods a lot. The woods don’t ask much from me, and I’m most always treated like a welcome guest. There are plenty of cow paths and game trails around here, so you can easily pussyfoot deeper and deeper into the trees. I just love to watch the scenes unfold, as I pick my way through, taking my time to relax and unwind. And I always stop when I see something intriguing. A flower, fallen feather, animal bones, or just a weird looking piece of wood. It’s a lot like beachcombing, but without all the water.

    Triteleia grandiflora – just opening

    Things have greened up a lot while I was away, and the wildflowers are popping out everywhere. Probably my favorites right now are the huge masses of arrowleaf balsamroot that really light up the hills. Spring is the perfect time to wander aimlessly, because you will definitely find peace and beauty everywhere you look.

    Arrowleaf Balsamroot – Balsamorhiza sagittata

    I never feel afraid being alone out here. There are two kinds of bears, mountain lions, wolves, coyotes, moose and some ornery wild horses, but if you keep to yourself, they pretty much keep to theirs. I do have my special dog Tig with me today, inspecting the trail, gathering information, and she doesn’t smell anything dangerous. We’ll just enjoy the wind in the trees, the song of the thrushes, and mind our own business.

    My dog, Tig.

    Ten minutes of roaming, and I’m already feeling relaxed. The woods is a grand sanctuary where you can rest. You can ask for God’s advice, thank Him for His grace, and have a greater level of understanding — without all the buzzing distractions. And you can see how profound nature is, and let it work its magic on you. For some reason, the woods is just that way. It grounds me.

    We have been quiet on the trail, and come quite close to a red squirrel. Tig loves to chase them up a tree, when they rob the bird feeder at home, or try to steal our lunch off the picnic table. But out here, she just gives them space. We have seen this little guy before, and today he is the star of the show. Lately, Sarah has made friends with him by leaving sunflower seeds and dry roasted peanuts with sea salt near his den. Maybe that’s why he let us get so close. Perhaps we should have remembered to bring him a little something, but today he was eating the seeds out of a big ponderosa pine cone, and was building up an impressive pile of spent shells!

    American red squirrel

    This will just be a quick walk in the woods, as I have work to do in the broom shop, and I feel like getting back. In such a short period of time, nature has rained its blessings on me, and given my body and soul healing and strength, just like John Muir said. In the future, I’m going to try to wander off into the woods more often. And if it continues to clear my mind and straighten out my path, I will surely come back, and let you know! Peace. -Kevin

    Oregon Grape – mahonia aquafolium

    www.americanbroomshop.com

  • Time Travel — Our Brooms Pay Visit to the Good Ol’ Days!

    Blog post from May 2022

    There is a gold rush ghost town not far from our shop named Molson, tucked snuggly against the Canada border in the northern most region of the Okanogan Highlands.  Founded in 1900, the old townsite is still in pretty good shape, with well preserved buildings, mining & farm equipment, and some of the original boardwalks.  The whole scene can really make your mind wander.  What it must have been like homesteading this harsh place back in the day? 

    I’ve often wondered how our brooms would look if we brought them to Molson.  Maybe try them out on the boardwalks or the floors of the old bank.  See what they look like leaning next to a doorway.  Molson’s peak, and the climax of the American broomcorn industry happened at about the same time in history, so it seemed to make sense to me…

    Winter is nearly here, and snow is forecast.  So if taking our brooms back in time is gonna happen this year, we better load them up and hit the road.  We took a few with us.  Some woven ones, and of course our own Shaker Authentic broom off the front porch.  We need a day out.  This would be fun.

    On the way through the Highlands, we listened to Colter Wall folk albums -Songs of the Plains, and Western Swings and Waltzes.  Really put us in the right mood to visit the Old West. 

    Arriving at the old town site, we were impressed how cold it was.  This is mid-November, and the wind will cut you half in two.  Some of the antique farming impliments were froze to the ground.  The buildings are still open to escape the wind, but bring long johns!

    We would have to work fast.  My hands were so cold.  First stop was the front porch of the Walker & Odell Cabin.  The woven lodgepole pine broom seemed to fit right in.  I was surprised that the placement of a household item could seem to bring an old ghost town to life!

    Then to the coolest building of all… Molson State Bank.  First on the porch, then leaning next to a cup of coffee at the teller’s booth.  Just like the janitor was sweeping and having a coffee break at the same time.

    Inside the bank…

    The whole town could have used a good sweeping.  I guess ghost towns are always a bit dusty.  Even outhouses need some broom love now and then.

    We didn’t stay long because of the cold, but it felt good to go back in time for just a spell.  It was nice to finally connect our creations to their own era. 

    Our brooms got to do a little sweeping on the old boardwalks, and blend in casually against the walls of the Molson ghost town.  For a minute there, it felt like we’d really stepped back a few years.  I dreamed up the faint smell of cornbread coming from one of the homestead kitchens.  I even thought I heard boots on the wood floors and some chickens running around.  Ghost towns can confuse a person that way.

     At least I know the brooms are real…  

     www.americanbroomshop.com 

  • Goodbye Winter — We’re Sad to See You Go

    Blog post from May 22, 2022

    Winter was long again this year, but I have to say it was full of surprise, and numerous challenges. In the north woods, winter is pretty much a year ’round concern. Around here, they say there are two seasons: winter, and getting ready for winter.

    Our shop is heated by wood stove, so we buck a lot of logs in the summer. It’s a team effort. I’m the chain saw man, and Sarah rolls the rounds into the truck. We take a drive into the mountains looking for downed fir or tamarack, which are known for putting out the most heat. We bring a picnic basket, and do our best to make a plain chore into a nice, scenic outting. Before we get started, give me a few minutes to fix the chainsaw…

    It takes about 3 cords of firewood to get us through winter. We heat the cabin with 5, so all-told we do a lot of splitting and stacking. Spring is the best time. The weather is cool, and it’s good to get out. Hot summer weather is for cooking the wood dry — while we sip lemonaide.

    Wood heat is the best way to dry brooms in our shop.  We soak the broom corn to make it pliable for bending and weaving.  A wood fire dries them quick, so we can get them packaged and shipped.  When we’re not busy building brooms or pouring candles, it’s likely we are splitting kindling or stoking the fires.  It’s a style of living that has a lot of rewards, if you can ignore a little pain and sweat.  They say nothing warms your bones quite like a wood fire!

    Wood heat is the best way to dry brooms in our shop.  We soak the broom corn to make it pliable for bending and weaving.  A wood fire dries them quick, so we can get them packaged and shipped.  When we’re not busy building brooms or pouring candles, it’s likely we are splitting kindling or stoking the fires.  It’s a style of living that has a lot of rewards, if you can ignore a little pain and sweat.  They say nothing warms your bones quite like a wood fire!

    The cold of winter aint so bad, really.  There are always a lot of surprises.  Deer come to feed outside our shop windows during the day, keeping us company.  Our yellow dog, Tig, is always entertaining.  Coyotes sneak through.  And once in a while we get a glimse of the snowshoe hare that lives in the thicket by the shop.

    It is a little sad to say goodbye to winter — but we’re always excited for the changes.  Spring means working outside again, making brooms out on the shop porch.  The birds are here, singing their songs.  We’ll plant the garden and do some spring cleaning.  Then — when the mood is right — I’ll try to fire up the old chainsaw, and see if it runs.  Maybe we’ll load the tools, and try to find an easy wood log along side a skid trail up on the mountain.  No rush.  We have plenty of time to get ready…     

    http://www.americanbroomshop.com      

  • The Stick Trip… Broomcorn Meets Diamond Willow

    Blog post from January 13, 2018

    The holidays are our busiest time in the shop. We fill orders from dawn to dusk, pouring candles, weaving brooms, folding boxes.  Outside, snow piles up and time flies by.  We have filled the wood stove countless times.  Chopped the kindling.  Shoveled the walks.  We wake up New Year’s Day wondering what happened.

    We are tired.  Our shop is a mess.  Our collection of cool sticks is dwindling.  The grey ghost of winter we call cabin fever begins to crawl under our skin.  This is surely THE best time for a Stick Trip!

    The temperature in our woods is between 38 Fahrenheit down to minus 20, so we stow a few things in our packs.  Hot coffee, venison sausage, dried pears, gorp, and some unfrozen water.  Our pup’s name is Tig.  She likes to go skiing, so we bring her special Milkbone & Vita Bone trail mix.  

    Our old Alaskan Camper rides pretty low, and is heavy enough to give us traction, four-wheeling up the un-plowed back road.  There is a good flat spot to stop about 3 miles in.  The camper has everything inside, in case of emergency.  Sleeping bags.  Extra food.  A furnace…

    We set out on skis to hunt for elusive diamond willow sticks for our brooms.  These are chubby skis, built for bushwhacking by Altai Skis – Curlew, WA. Just like snowshoes, but they glide through the woods nice and easy.  It sure beats post-holing through thigh-deep powder.  We have a pocket handsaw with us.  Some bear spray, and a six shooter — just in case.  Every wild critter is hungry right now — and we’ve heard tell of grizzlies and wildcats.

    The pup is a big help, actually.  At her age, she is indeed a baby sitting job — but she can use her nose to an extraordinary high degree.  We watch the hackles on her spine.  When her Mohawk rises up, we know there’s trouble.

    Sarah and I take turns breaking trail, since it’s a lot of work packing the new snow.  There are a few snow flurries today.  The air is fresh, but not too cold.  Just a perfect day to get outside.  This is the very best part of our job — getting out here to soothe our souls in God’s wilderness.

    http://www.americanbroomshop.com

  • The Real Reason We Just Love Making Brooms

    Post from June 12, 2015

    There is a patch of wild rhododendrons that grows in the San Juan Islands.  They grow along the edge of a small lake — where there’s plenty of moisture — protected from winter frost by a dense canopy of Douglas Fir and shore pine.  The birds love it there in the spring.  Trout rise on the water.  Lily pads hover around the margins of the marsh.  And then the wild rhododendron blossoms pop open.  It is a piece of heaven.

    We try to make it up there every year for the bloom.  The place is only accessible by boat, so we have to hope our old outboard stays running long enough to make the 12 mile journey to the secret cove where we hit the beach.  An old trail winds steeply up the hill, but we don’t mind — the pink blossoms are worth it.  Of course, we would never dream of chopping down a rhododendron, just to make a broom.  We go there to relax for the day, get some fresh air & maybe find some inspiration.

    One day last summer, a friend brought me a wild rhododendron branch he had pruned away to clear a trail.  It is hard to find a nice, straight branch like he had.  It was just the right thickness, and not too heavy.  So we took it.  The branch dried for a year in our shop — and yesterday I finally brought it out to make a broom.  Whittling on the bark, I started day dreaming about our secret spot in the islands.  It’s been a little while since we have gone there, and we really miss it.  As I carved out an interesting knot, the rhododendron wood started to really look cool.  I thought to myself, “This branch is going to make a cool broom, and someone is really going to love using it.  And looking at it too.”

    http://www.americanbroomshop.com