Ward Of The Wood

While it was very difficult to make a Dallas Cowboy Shut the Box, the response from the person who owns it now makes it all worthwhile.

'Alan I am so pleased with my Shut the 📦 Box! Workmanship is stellar and I will keep in my family for years to come and can’t thank you enough for your hard work! Absolutely 👍 love ❤️ it!!!!!'

Fresh from the workshop… check out our latest offering on Etsy!

[email protected]

A long, long time ago, well not that long ago, like four weeks ago, a great fair took place in Old Town Fairfax. The weather was a gift - sunny skies and three warm days. Homemade goods were on display, arranged neatly on vendor’s tables. At the Ward Ofthe Wood table, Cindy and I had our projects displayed too. Birdhouses, snowflakes, hideaway boxes, cutting boards and of course, Knotheads.
Let me introduce myself, my name is Alan Woodward a relic from the 70’s who has been woodworking since, well I can’t remember that far back. All that time was spent manufacturing Shut the Box games, vanities, cabinets, and stairs. Now with Cindy and I back together after 40 years, it’s time to give back to the forests what I have taken.

The Knothead campaign is my idea for doing just that. Forests are filled with fallen trees, broken limbs and spindly tree branches that had once supported a forest’s habitat. Now the discarded branches lay on the ground while parasites and larvae feed on the soft fibers within. All along these branches are the bulges that once were the birthplace of smaller branches. Cut these bulges out and you’ll see distinctive, swirling grain, and often evidence of larvae – lengthy black holes with fat, wiggly, white worms inside. Gross. Each knot cut from the branch is then baked at 250oF to remove all the Gross.

Now it’s Frank Smith’s turn. Frank is an amazing artist friend with a truly creative touch. Sometimes he’ll paint a face on the knot. The lovely Carbon Miranda is testament to that. Sometimes he wood-burns (pyrography) a face on the knot, like the nameless characters below. In any case, he creates remarkably funny faces utilizing the grain in the knot and his technique. It’s scary how good he is.

The completed Knotheads sell for a whopping $8. We use the proceeds to purchase trees and plant them. Yesterday we purchased 170 seedlings to plant this Spring. Diana, Cindy and I have planted 175 trees in New York State with the help of the US Department of Forestry, the Department of Environmental Conservation and Shaker Ridge Country Club.

Now here’s another twist; at the Fairfax Holiday Market, we asked Knothead purchasers to give their
Knothead a name – something associated with a tree. Names like Donald Stump, Leaf Ericksen, Twiggy, or Root Bader Ginsberg come to mind and there are so many more. Once you come up with a name, write a short story, one page that’s all. Bring your character to life. Cindy and I are looking for creative stories from everyone. A story you don’t mind sharing with others. If we get enough stories, we can let the readers pick their favorite and I’ll have something special prepared to give to the winner.

Please email your story to: [email protected]
and I will post them on my Ward Ofthe Wood page for readers to review. Provide your Knothead Name along with your story. A picture would be great too. Let’s see if we can get a few stories posted. Bring it!

Thank you,
Alan Woodward
Ward Ofthe Wood

Ward Of The Wood updated their website address.

Storytellers, there has never been a better time than now to get those creative juices flowing. The Knotheads are out there, attached to the refrigerator, sitting atop your clothes dresser or maybe in the bottom of your pants pocket with pennies and gravel. Name your knot, it's not a knothead without a name. It's Knot!!!

Thanks to everyone for visiting us at the Fairfax Holiday Market this past weekend! We had a blast introducing the Knotheads to you all! We are taking a much needed vacation this week but when we return, Santa will be firing up the saws and making more gifts. Check back here next week to see what Santa’s been up to! 🎅

Piney here,
"We had a great time a the Holiday Market over the weekend. Many of my Knothead colleagues now have new owners and new homes. Unfortunately, my home here was sold and there's this guy, Woody, who keeps whining about all the trees he has to plant.

If you came to this FB page to submit a story, this is the correct location. I would like to use the next few weeks to allow interested storytellers to create their stories over the holidays. After New Years, we'll start posting all the story entries, allow some time to read them, then pick a winner.

I'll continue to add more information on this page but right now my Piney brain is empty. Later Storytellers."

We will be selling all of the beautiful handmade wooden crafts pictured - birdhouses, stash boxes, cutting boards, and more - this weekend at the Holiday Market in the City of Fairfax Old Town Square, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, December 3-5. Come pick up a gift for someone you love this holiday season and support local businesses and artists.

Ward Of The Wood updated their address.

Many great KnotHeads available like Carbon Miranda! Each time a KnotHead is purchased, we plant a tree to save the environment

Growing brand new trees at Shaker Ridge.
Someday these trees will be on the course

KnotHeads are everywhere enjoying the spring flowers. Have a happy and safe Memorial Day

Well, it might be windy 🌬 and cold 🥶 outside today but it’s a GREAT day to stop by and pick up some KnotHeads!!

Every day KnotHead you buy means a tree 🌳 will be planted

Our Earth 🌏 needs more trees 🌳. Buying KnotHeads helps preserve our planet as we will plant a tree for every KnotHead sold. Message us for details.

If we treated every day like Earth Day (and by the way this 50th anniversary), plant a tree.

Easiest way is to buy a KnotHead like Carbon Miranda. We will plant a tree for each KnotHead sold.

Radio KnotHead

KnotHeads make great gifts for Easter 🐣 $8 or 3 for $22! Message us for details!

Here are two maps. One shows our carbon footprint (from 2014). The second map shows the virus spread across the world. Can't tell the difference except there's something missing in China. Maybe it's the truth. Plant tree folks. Come visit the Ward Ofthe Wood and Frank Smith's Funny Faces. Breathe Easy.

Our Kick Off "Knot-ice"
by Alan Woodward
Ward Of the Wood, WoW
Man-made fires, fossil fuel burning, landfill gases are a blight on nature. They result in the release of Carbon Dioxide (CO2), increasing the Greenhouse Effect, slowly warming the planet and creating catastrophic events. By focusing on the CO2 in the atmosphere we can begin turning this around. Plant Trees! Trees, nature’s sentinels, protect us by removing atmospheric CO2 through the photosynthesis process and releasing Oxygen (O). This takes time. Plant trees in your lawn, plant them at your office, plant them in the middle of your favorite traffic circle or let us plant them for you. Start now.
We’ve put together a program with the Department of Environment Conservation in Saratoga Springs, the US Department of Forestry, and the Environmental Sustainability Organization at SUNY Albany. The Saratoga DEC has donated 48 small trees selected by our Forestry Department. They’re scheduled to be planted at a New York State National Forest near Seneca Lake where Ash Boring Beetles have devasted several campsites. Students from SUNY Albany will be planting once the Stay-In-Place Mandate is lifted. Fortunately, time is on our side with April and May being the best months for planting trees. Our small trees will grow and support the future well-being of your children or your children’s children. Help us beyond this first program to plant even more trees.
A grass/tree roots campaign has begun -The KnotHead Campaign.
Nurses, doctors, farmers, wait staff, golfers, the young and old are all supporting this initiative. How can you support it? By purchasing a knot that starts at $8.00 (sales tax included) a tree gets planted. Some knots are priced at $15 and some knots can even be customized, but for every knot, a tree gets planted.
Climate change is real. It’s the result of growth, fossil fuel dependence and deforestation. We can start today to reverse our carbon footprint. Do your part and plant at tree. Breathe easy and remember

Have you noticed all the faces on Facebook lately? Don't let a virus hold you hostage. I want to share something important. The Knothead Campaign is a group of us old farts trying to make an impact on our NYS climate. Stop farting is not the answer. We want to plant trees and someday a lot of trees. Stay tuned! Here they come, just breathe easy.

This is how woodworkers feel about this f'n virus.

The KnotHead Campaign - Breathe Easy

Carbon Sequestering, Climate Change, Photosynthesis and those unattractive rotting branches laying all around. What do these have in common?

We all have concern regarding climate change and need a grassroots/treeroots campaign combat this crisis since our leaders are focused on the virus. Let’s plant some trees! In NY State we only have two months in Spring to start planting (April/May). Fortunately, our connection with SUNY Albany’s Environmental Sustainability Progress, the US Department of Forestry and Department of Environmental Conservation makes planting trees possible.

Knots are found in the dead branches on the ground. The knots, that once supported a tree through its life, now watch trees disappear. Disease, fires and crushing winds have taking their toll. These knot fighters use to transport water and nutrients up to the tree canopy while taking down simple sugars to support the tree’s growth. Now, many trees lay scattered across forests and fields. These knots now fight the advancing decay. They remain strong putting forth resistance to the changing climate. Let’s support these fighters. A grassroots, no treeroots campaign must begin to fight a war against the changing climate. We need to start another generation of trees to protect the future from these ravages. We need to get humans involved. We need to look to build a healthier earth for all.

The KnotHead campaign has begun. Knots from fallen branches are coming. Many knots have found a face but need a place, a place to remind us why we need healthier forests, wildlife and more oxygen for the air we breathe. Wait who said wildlife? Yes, even the KnotHeads available for multiple KnotHead purchases. Donations have come in and are welcome too. Help our Forest Rangers in national and state forests keep NY State Forests strong. When a KnotHead is purchased a tree will be planted in your name for future generations to enjoy. Simple huh? We all must take on this initiative and soon. April and May will soon be calling us, ”It’s springtime, let the planting begin.” Something BIG is starting now. You won’t need to hold your breath.

Photosynthesis
6CO2 + 6H2O --Sunlight ->C6H12O6 energy + 6O2

Carbon Sequestering
A 10-year-old Grevillia robusta, 45 feet tall with a trunk 6 inches in diameter. The amount of CO2 sequestered calculates to 64.6 lbs. per year . A newly-planted Acacia angustissima, 2.5 years old, 15 feet tall with a trunk 3 inches in diameter: 21.5 lbs. of CO2 sequestered per year. Or an Albizzia Lebbek, 15 years old, 30 feet tall, with a 12 inch trunk: 68.9 lbs. of CO2 sequestered per year.