A Hot and buggy summer…And exciting changes to come
It’s been a minute since I’ve written a blog for this site. Life happens and good intentions get set aside even with a business blog. Nevertheless, I am back to catch you up on Summer 2024. It is (almost) in the books here in Boise. School starts in 2 days, temperatures are finally under 100, and we are hoping for some smoke free days soon. If there is one word to describe this summer it would be HOT. Like extremely hot. It’s been hot outside, hot at the kiln, basically just hot. We honestly tried to stay away from the kiln as much as possible. It is no fun to be there when it is over 100 degrees outside and 90 degrees inside. Our only relief was the weekly hockey game at Idaho Ice World, where we had to make sure to bring our sweatshirts..hahaha!
Just because we weren’t at the kiln as much, doesn’t mean we weren’t busy. We had full loads to start the summer off for both professional woodworkers and DIYers. It was also the summer of the bug kill. We had several people contact us to sterilize their already made furniture. It is wild to me that bugs can come out of woodwork months, or even years, after the furniture has been made. As someone who is new to woodworking (Megan, not Bob), I am always surprised this happens. Definitely always ask your wood supplier if the wood has been killed dried properly—meaning over 134 degrees. That is the only way to kill these bugs and their larvae!
It wasn’t all bugs! We did have some fun too. The CNC machine was busy engraving designs on tables for local businesses. And we kicked off summer and the first over 100 degree day at the second annual Dandelion Fest put on by the City of Boise Parks and Recreation department. We provided the bumblebees and State of Idaho cutouts for the arts and craft activity. It was so fun to bike over to Sunset Park and see everyone’s creativity. I was excited to try some dandelion beer, but I forgot my ID (I’m pretty sure I look old enough but they were sticklers for the rules!) and went for a tasty non-alcoholic version instead :)
It’s been a good summer and it slowed down a bit at the end to give us some to think about new ideas and how best we can serve our customers. We’ll be making some changes to our website—updated design and easier navigation; more blogs and (hopefully) more newsletters with more tips and offerings. We are also excited to have some more product-based offerings coming this fall. Beyond the kiln and CNC services we offer, one thing this hot summer has shown us is that our tree canopy in the Treasure Valley is critical to staying cool. Kiln and CNC work will still be our main focus, as they are the key to reusing urban trees, but we want to celebrate trees in every phase of their life cycle. Stay tuned because there are some exciting things happening!
And if you are still reading this and you’re thinking you need to plant a tree this a fall to help you stay cool, if you are a Boise resident, you can are eligible to get a free tree through the Elaine Clegg City of Trees Challenge. Each household in Boise can sign up for a free tree—quantities are limited so act fast!. Sign up here.
