Men's Work Trip to Westminster Woods, March 2009

Redwoods 1

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

Tall Redwoods provide Westminster Woods a spectacular setting year round.

Rustic

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

(L): Near the stream that flows through the Woods is this intriguing sign.
(R): Cell phones do not always work in the Woods’ remote setting,
so alternatives (such as this one perhaps?) are recommended.

Blooms at Westminster Woods 1

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

Spring blossoms greet us, just outside the Dining Hall

TreeHouse

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

(L): We climbed a hill to visit the Tree House;
(UR): Closeup of the center opening in the Tree House ceiling;
(LR): Grain from a split log segment.

Mosaic

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

We visit the mosaic in back of Westminster Woods’ superb Children’s Playground, and find (foreground) tiles recognizing several Stone Church members for their help in building the Playground.

Loading Chipper

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

We now get to work. One project is to run a large pile of branches through a chipper,
to provide needed mulch and ground cover.

Bill Loads Chipper

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

Bill Palmer loads the chipper with an armload of small branches.

Group At Chipper

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

(L-R): Gabriel Faber, Lawrence Summers, Bill Palmer, Steven Graham, Ken Henry and Bruce Raby
are ready to load a large branch into the chipper.

Chipper At Work 2

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

The chipper grinds it up!

Chipper At Work 1

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

Still grinding away; that was quite a large branch!

KenInChips

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

Our resulting pile of chips was large enough to bury Ken up to his neck. (Not to worry though; he got out safely.)

Group Photo 1

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

(Chipping) Mission Accomplished, we gather for a photo. L-R: Lawrence Summers, Bill Palmer, Gabriel Faber,
Steven Graham, Ken Henry and Bruce Raby.

Group Photo 2

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

L-R: Lawrence Summers, Bill Palmer, Rod Thorn, Steven Graham, Ken Henry and Bruce Raby.

Blooms at Westminster Woods 2

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

Upon returning to the Dining Hall for lunch, this spectacular spring scene greets us.

Gathering For Lunch

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

(L-R): Lawrence Summers, Gabriel Faber, Bill Palmer and Bruce Raby gather for lunch.

Redwoods 2

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

Redwood trees seen just outside the Dining Hall.

Leland and Art Lift Cabinet

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

After lunch, Art Holtz (left) and Leland Wong lift a cabinet into the tool shed, for refacing.
They spent the day on this cabinet project.

Leland and Art With Cabinet

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

Leland Wong (left) and Art Holtz working on one of the cabinets they refaced.

Still Life

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

Still life: a Redwood sprig lies atop a fresh–split piece of wood.

John Lococo

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

It’s back to work for the afternoon, as John Lococo brings more limbs to chip, and larger pieces to be cut into firewood.

Group Poses With Axes

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

(L-R): Steven Graham, Ken Henry, Lawrence Summers and Bruce Raby with the axes
that will be used for splitting large pieces into firewood.

Group Swinging Axes

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

Bruce Raby (lower right) directs where the axes should go.

Scenery and Ken

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

(L): Part of the scenery where the chipping / splitting crew worked;
(R): Ken Henry tackles one of the larger pieces needing to be split.

Moss on Bark

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

This moss covered one of the pieces we later split into firewood. (Woodsman, spare that moss!)

Splitter In Action 1

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

We also employed a wood splitter to handle the most difficult pieces.
Here Bruce Raby (left) and Steven Graham attend to the task.

Splitter In Action 2

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

(UL): Bruce and Steven at work on the splitter;
(LR): Bruce, Steven and Ken continue.

Splitter in Action 3

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

Bruce (left) and Steven continue working with the splitter.

Another One For the Pile

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

The result: One more piece for the growing pile!

Wood Grain Mosaic

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

A collage shows grains from several of the freshly split pieces.

Richmond To San Rafael Bridge

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:23:00 -0800

Next day, Sunday March 8, 2009, we return home via the Richmond – San Rafael Bridge.