#461 Now Sold

Figured Eucalyptus with Black and Red Spirit Stain, a 24ct Gold Plated Fountain Pen 

FIGURED (FIDDLEBACK) EUCALIPTUS - E. obliqua

Eucalyptus grows primarily in tree form, but many shrub-like species also exist. Trees grow from 135 to 300 feet tall, with trunks 3 to 4 feet in diameter. More than 600 species inhabit the genus, although only about a dozen are in commercial production. Among them are Eucalyptus resinifera, or Australian red mahogany, whose leaves produce the distinctive camphor-like scent associated with eucalyptus. A species called E. obliqua, or figured eucalyptus, carries the intriguing common name messmate stringybark, and E. robusta, known as swamp mahogany, grows in Hawaii.

Eucalyptus heartwood is red to reddish-brown, and darkens as it seasons. Its sapwood is pale cream. The grain of this tree is slightly interlocked, with sometimes ripply or fiddleback patterns. It has a medium to coarse texture. It is moderately resistant to termites, but susceptible to marine borers and pinhole borers. Cut eucalyptus will stay strong and dense for a long time; logs have been known to lie in wet forests for 10 to 20 years without heartwood decay.

Our daughter Jess called from Poole and gave us the great news that she would be able to pop up and visit us towards the end of the month. It'd be the first time she drove up to visit us and Birmingham isn't the best place for parking. With nothing else needing doing in Birmingham we decided to head out of town to new waters for us and get as close to Stratford upon Avon canal basin as possible for her visit.

Canal cruising is a bit trickier in the depths of winter. Frozen ropes and icy back decks are enough for me after about four hours or so and there is a real danger that a couple of cold days in a row could mean the canal is frozen solid and we wouldn't be going anywhere.

32 miles and 54 locks doesn't sound an awful lot but it equates to a trip of about 28 hours. Luckily most of the canal down here is fairly deep, without too many moored boats to slow right down for and at this time of year hardly any other boats are moving so we made fantastic time. We left Cambrian wharf early Monday morning and by Wednesday we had moored up in Stratford upon Avon a little after the sun had set over the basin.

Pen #461 was made in the canal basin at Stratford upon Avon on Tuesday 1st March 2016. It was stained firstly in black, this was then sanded almost entirely off and layers of red spirit stain applied.