I am not a carpenter, but in recent weeks I have had to teach myself how to do things that I have never done. Looking back, I realize that I have self-taught much of what I know, beginning as an adolescent girl when I taught myself how to cook because my mother worked long hours at her job outside the home. A few weeks ago, after a great struggle, I was able to erect perches in the chicken coop. I have been toiling at placing an edge in front of the nest boxes so that the eggs, when laid, will not roll out onto the concrete below. I also had to make a ramp with rungs so that the chickens will be able to climb to their nest boxes. As a finishing touch, I added a curtain rod for the curtains that I had sewn from bandanas, to provide them privacy. I am certain that a handyman could have accomplished all of this in under thirty minutes. It took me the better part of two days. I have never been able to measure anything accurately, so I was having trouble lining things up. There was almost nothing to which I could attach support braces for mounting the perches. The wood often splintered, or there would be a knot wherever I was trying to sink a screw. I do not have a saw, so I used my pruning saw when I needed to cut pieces to size. I have a power screwdriver, but it is a cheap, not very powerful model. I still had to make starter holes by hand because I do not own a drill. Fortunately, I was able to find plenty of scrap wood lying around so I did not have to incur extra expense for the project.
Several months ago, I had made a platform outside of the cat door that I installed in the kitchen window. I only had to cut one 4X4 (with my pruning saw) and my measurements, naturally, were a bit off, but only by ΒΌ inch. It is sturdy at least, so my cat can move in and out easily. In spite of the fact that I am carpentry challenged, I want to add an additional step up to the platform because it is too high for my cat to jump from the porch. (I have temporarily provided boxes for him to jump onto.) I also hope to build a shelter for the beautiful, black stray cat that I have been feeding, so that it has a place to get out of the wind and the cold.
What I have come to appreciate from my hard work is the amazing strength of wood. I marvel that it was once a living tree and still, many years after its death, it continues to be of service. The fact that it takes a serrated saw with very sharp teeth to cut it, is incredible. I love the smell of wood nearly as much as I love the smell of soil and of rain. I am awed by the beautiful patterns in the wood. Our ancestors built homes and boats and furniture – often intricately carved – without the aid of power tools. My hands, which already have extensive damage from the gardening I have done, are hurting; but I think of the people in those generations before mine. They were hard working people who rarely complained. I am grateful to them for passing along to me the virtue of tenacity.
