History of Some Woods

    It is a commonly agreed that sinker cypress is in the neighborhood of 150 years old, left over from the first logging that was done in Louisiana in the 1800’s. The axe cut pieces that we use on our driftwood art that says “ axe cut “ is cypress from this era.  Most are from small cuts that were chipped out of the logs to stop them from splitting or roofing shakes. This we all know to be true, however,
it is our belief that the red and black wood is much, much older than this. Because of the turbulent weather in this area, wood has been buried for longer than a century in the deep regions of the swamps. The black, red and even some cypress are nearly petrified. We all agree here at Shelby Stanga Treasures that this is very similar to Irish Bogwood, and has been under water and mineral filled soil for closer to 4,000 or more years.
Whether you are buying a sculpture or a single piece of wood, you are buying a piece of history and geologic dendrochronology.  So treasure your treasures, not just for their beauty but also for their link to the past.  

Pecky Cypress and wormwood

Most everyone calls all the cypress wood that has holes in "pecky cypress".  The cypress that has round holes has been created by a small clam, not actually a worm at all!!!
The elongated holes are the only true pecky. No major difference for most of us but I thought it should be noted here. 

Bromeliad Planters

 None of the cypress listed under bromeliad planters have any type of coating, they are totally natural and have been left with rough spots for the plants to take hold. 

Red gum roots

Red gum roots that have lain and mineralized for hundreds to thousands of years. This wood can be extremely workable or as hard as iron. If you plan to cut your wood, you won't know until you do so.

Ancient Oyster Shells

Shelby found these shells DEEP!!! They have been analysed by Louisiana state university and we are told they are from the Pleistocene Era. That's ICE AGE !!! Amazing colors in these shells, they  are almost opalized. 

Fossilized Oyster Shells