We just completed week 9 of the Earth Skills Semester Program. Most of the week was devoted to making bows out of locally-harvested white ash. In the past we’ve always reverse-wrapped the bowstrings, but this year we made Flemish strings where only the ends are reverse-wrapped. It worked out well because you can adjust the length of the string by twisting it.

We spent Friday harvesting a brown ash tree with which to make pack baskets using axes, wedges and crosscut saw. Based on the strips that have been pounded out so far, it’s a fantastic tree and will make a bunch of durable baskets.

I posted some new photos in the gallery and will have a bunch more of the basket-making process as next week progresses.