post oak

This morning I hauled three post oak logs to the mill and in addition, ordered a 12/4 x 8 in. keel for a boat I intend to build in the barn. Wish me luck. This has been in planning stage for months, but when I delivered the logs to the mill, the mill owner looked at me like he'd seen it all before.

In fact, he was a neighbor of an old friend of mine that carried the nickname, Plumb Bob. Bob had built a few boats between bouts with the bottle, and was overall, a fine person to know. But that was nearly 35 years ago, and both the mill owner and I were pleased to be reminded of an old friend. The mill operator cleared up a rumor I had heard that Bob's death was the result of a gunshot wound when he had been accidentally shot by a friend. While the gunshot incident was real, it was not the cause of death.

The logs I delivered were post oak, Quercus Stellata, and my Trees of Arkansas book describes its uses as follows:

Crossties, fence posts, and for furniture and other purposes along with others of the white oak class.

In reference to white oak, Quercus Alba, the book mentions shipbuilding as one of its many uses. In any case, the plans call for white oak, it's white oak I've got (as post and white are sold and used interchangeably), and with white oak, my small vessel will last a very long time.

Make, fix, create, and extend to others the likelihood of learning likewise.