Wood talk: Cheif Hiawatha:

I know a man named Lyle N. who is a woodworker who lives in the U.P. of Michigan. I was admiring his hand carved cane one day, and told him if he ever wanted to sell it to let me know. So he graciously carved me this one out of a solid branch that had fallen in the Hiawatha National Forest , near his "deer camp".

He sold it to me for a song, that is to say I think that he only charged me a token amount as one woodworker to another. We had spent some time talking wood projects and his 79 year old wisdom was as awe inspiring as his wit was sharp. While I do consider myself a fairly good woodworker Lyle is clearly an artist and I consider him to be in a league of his own. In addition to this cane, he gave me a blank slate, an un-carved and almost untouched branch that he had found that has the vague shape and size of a mans cane. He has set the bar pretty high, but it might be an interesting project to tackle sometime soon.