On our trip to the ruins of Xunantunich we had to cross a river on a ferry

   

 We were asked to get out, Reuben loaded the van, Bear checked things out and off we went

   

   

We stopped for lunch in the Orangery, an al fresco café with the most amazing gift shop, retail therapy for Moth – tick

After lunch we all wandered through the shop and saw an enormous rosewood burl. Mmm Bear with a burl

The term burl (US – Burr UK)as used in wood terminology describes the presence of a dormant bud. No one really knows why they are created by the tree and remain dormant. Burls can be in a tree in the roots, the trunk or branches. The grain in a burl is not linear as most wood is. Instead it is a mass of round circles. For many centuries burl wood has been considered a prized possession. Rosewood burl must indeed be one of the rarest displays of nature’s wonders. Something completely new to us, just amazing.

Wiki says: A burl (American English) or bur or burr (used in all non-US English speaking countries) is a tree growth in which the grain has grown in a deformed manner. It is commonly found in the form of a rounded outgrowth on a tree trunk or branch that is filled with small knots from dormant buds.

Description: A burl results from a tree undergoing some form of stress. It may be caused by an injury, virus or fungus. Most burls grow beneath the ground, attached to the roots as a type of malignancy that is generally not discovered until the tree dies or falls over. Such burls sometimes appear as groups of bulbous protrusions connected by a system of rope-like roots. Almost all burl wood is covered by bark, even if it is underground. Insect infestation and certain types of mold infestation are the most common causes of this condition.

In some tree species, burls can grow to great size. The largest, at 26 feet occur in Coast Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) and can encircle the entire trunk; when moisture is present, these burls can grow new redwood trees. The world's second-largest burls can be found in Port McNeill, British Columbia. One of the largest burls known was found around 1984 in the small town of Tamworth, New South Wales. It stands 6.4 feet tall, with an odd shape resembling a trombone. In January 2009, this burl was controversially removed from its original location, and relocated to a public school in the central New South Wales city of Dubbo.

Use: Burls yield a very peculiar and highly figured wood, prized for its beauty by many; its rarity also adds to its expense. It is sought after by furniture makers, artists, and wood sculptors. There are a number of well-known types of burls (each from a particular species); these are highly valued and sliced into veneers for furniture, inlay in doors, picture frames, household objects, automobile interior paneling and trim, and woodturning. The famous birdseye maple of the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) superficially resembles the wood of a burl but is something else entirely. Burl wood is very hard to work with hand tools or on a lathe because its grain is twisted and interlocked, causing it to chip and chatter unpredictably. This "wild grain" makes burl wood extremely dense and resistant to splitting, which made it valued for bowls, mallets, mauls and "beetles" or "beadles" for hammering chisels and driving wooden pegs.

Some burls are more highly prized than others, including ones from rural areas in central Massachusetts, northeast Connecticut, and as far south as Philadelphia. Some resemble an explosion in which the grain grows erratically, and it is these burls that the artist prizes over all other types. These spectacular patterns enhance the beauty of wood sculptures, furniture, and other artistic productions.

Burls are harvested with saws or axes for smaller specimens and timber felling chainsaws and tractors for massive ones.

Redwood burls: Burls are common among redwood trees, but harvesting them can be difficult due to their sometimes great size, and can also harm the tree.

Amboyna burls: Amboyna burl is a particularly expensive type of burl, costing $18.00 per board foot to $22.00 per pound, much more than bigleaf maple burl, for example. It comes from Padauk trees (Pterocarpus spp.) of Southeast Asia. Padauk trees are quite common but the burl is extremely rare. The amboyna is usually a deep red, although the more rare moudui burl is the same species but the color is from golden yellow to yellow-orange. The sapwood is creamy white with brown streaks. The common use for amboyna is interiors for luxury vehicles, turnery, cabinets, veneer, and furniture.

En route it was nice to go over the Hawksworth Bridge (San Ignacio) once again

Back at the villa it was Baileys o’clock and time for a game of Mexican Train Dominoes. The quote of the week has got to be the real pearl from Moth.

Asst. Moth wanted to hurry her to put a domino down.

“I’m not being slow, I’m just taking my time”.........

Another inch of Baileys anyone ???

ALL IN ALL A FUN DAY OUT