Wonders of Man and Nature

 Today WHS and I walked down along the creek, back to where an old hat factory (of all things) operated in the 1860s.  Even with the muted winter colors we still found many awe inspiring sights. 

These loblolly pines have grown entwined almost in a true-love knot. I've never seen adult trees that twisted on their own to such an extent.

Timbers and a few assorted metal remnants still lie under the waters of the creek, most only  visible in summer's drought.  Some of the timbers we saw today show the mortise-and-tenon joints used by woodworkers for hundreds if not thousands of years.  The 'mortise' was a square or rectangular hole chiseled or gouged into one  beam which would then hold the trimmed-to-fit end or 'tenon' of another beam.  Once the tenon end was inserted in the mortise hole, another hole would be drilled from the outside and a wooden peg inserted like a cotter pin to lock the joint together.  The picture below and left shows a tenon end with the hole for the pin to further lock it in to place. 

Part of the boiler

This ancient beam still in place on the creek bed shows the rectangular mortise holes that once anchored the tenons of vertical supports.

On the way back I was fully in "Claire Fraser" mode and the scent of a patch of wild ginger had me mentally brewing some for a restorative tea.  I've never even tried a ginger tea,  but  I've read much about its stomach-settling properties, and I know ginger essence works wonders for carsick dogs.