“The best time to plant a tree…”
 
This two-person bench is made from birch that was milled by a friend from his woods just south of Birch Lake.  The slabs have some beautiful spalting along with the normal coloration.    A Chinese proverb  “The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago, the second-best time is now” is burned into the back.  It is fastened together with screws and capped with plugs cut from the same birch.  It is quite heavy due to the density of birch.  Birch trees can also be tapped for sap in the spring, after maple trees are done, starting about the time that frogs begin croaking.  The sap is quite good and has about half as much sugar content as maples. Finished with oil-based polyurethane.