As The Seasons Change – Winter Prep And Making An Awesome Discovery…

Summer is coming to an end.  For us, summer has flown by at warp speed this year!

Of late, in fact, our attention seems to have suddenly turned to preparing for winter, almost abruptly.

As the evenings cool and the mornings greet us with a little crisper, fresher mountain air lately, we’re reminded that there are still “tasks” to be completed before old man winter arrives in our area.

For the past few weeks it seems the days have been rapidly passing by marching full steam ahead towards fall and (sooner than we’d like) on to winter.  It’s time to get prepared!

Splitting Firewood… The Easy Way

Last week, in preparation for winter, Jesse split some firewood… a pile that he had cut earlier this spring and piled to dry or season throughout the summer months.  This time he had a bit of fun splitting wood, though, as you’ll see in the video below.

Jesse’s told me, for a few months now, that he planned to use the excavator to split the wood he had cut and piled to season.  But I had no idea how easy it would make this normally laborious task until I watched him do it.

Okay, I know I’m bias… but I have to say that I couldn’t help marveling at the amount of skill this must take, as I watched him maneuver the blocks of wood… standing them up and splitting them almost seamlessly in one motion at times.  And doing so with such a massive piece of equipment.

Anyway, after seeing how fast and easy the firewood got split this year, I’m thinking that the old splitting mall may get to retire now.  Well, at least semi-retire…

An Exciting Discovery – The Natural “Gem” I Found In The Woods!

After videoing Jesse as he split firewood with the excavator for a while, I decided to take a short walk in the woods while he finished up.

I had only walked a few hundred yards, though, when I discovered a natural “gem” hidden in the shadows of the trees and the thick brush.

A single ray of sunshine had found its way through the trees; glimmering in the dark, making the bright yellow and orange of “something” a short distance away from me seem to glow… especially in contrast to the dark shadows of the surrounding forest.

The vivid, beautiful natural colors shining brightly in the shadows immediately caught my eye drawing me in like a magnet.

As I got closer, I felt just like a gambler who had just hit the jackpot!

After gasping out loud, doing a little “victory dance” to celebrate my good fortune and circling the stump a few times to assess this awesome find, I instantly wondered to myself “what natural masterpiece can I create with this?”

I have a few ideas, of course, but I must admit that I am a little “stumped”.  The first question that came to mind when I discovered this gem was “How can I preserve it?  Or can I?”  Will it rot eventually or do these harden with time and remain solid?  I don’t know.

I also wondered if I should keep it completely natural and create a standalone centerpiece?  Or use it in a wall arrangement along with other natural elements?  Or something else…?

What I do know is that I will have to decide soon.  And I’ve already chosen just the right piece of slate rock to use as a base or a backing.

But, beyond that, I’m definitely open to suggestions and advice!

Copyright © 2011 Slate-Rock.com   All Rights Reserved World Wide

Our New Eagle Mountain Slate Quarry Photographer

We’ve just “hired” a brand new “quarry photographer” at Blue Slate, Inc.!  He’s a bit inexperienced, kind of short in height and he tends to have a short attention span… sometimes… as well.

But he’s awfully cute and he works for “bonus time” for playing WII games!  And, well, that fits our photography budget just fine…

So, how did this “new hire” come about?  Actually, it happened because of three prior events.

The First Event

First, last Christmas a camera was listed on our son’s “wish list” so we bought him one… from Santa, of course.  After playing around and taking a thousand photos of everything under the sun, Eli soon forgot about his camera, though, in favor of playing with other toys and games.

After that, his camera was pretty much forgotten and ended up taking up space in the bottom of a drawer for several months… until the other day.

The Second Event

What happened the other day?  Someone asked me if we had photos of our slate rock on our Blue Slate Rocks website.  Basically he wanted to get an idea of what our Eagle Mtn Slate flagstone looks like – color, size, thickness, etc.

Of course we do have photos on the website… but shortly after I hung up the phone my first thought was “I really need to take (and post) some more “recent” photos of the slate.  And I also need new photos to create a page for each of the landscape rock product categories that we produce” for the website.

The Third Event

Several weeks ago now, another customer named Joe visited our column quarry.  He had a very expensive camera with him that he handed over to our son, Eli, who is eight…

I about died on the spot!  As “nervous sweat” beaded on my temples, I wondered immediately what a camera (with a zoom lens a mile long that would zoom a fly a mile away in so close that you could see the fine hair on his little legs… like this one obviously would) would cost to replace…

Well, over my protests, Joe and Eli won out and Joe assured me that everything was fine.  He wasn’t a bit worried about Eli dropping his camera.

I, on the other hand, fought back the heartburn attack I suddenly had, pleasantly but sternly instructed Eli to be super careful with the camera… and then crossed my fingers and prayed for all I was worth!

While Eli was busy playing photographer, though, Joe told me a story.  He said that he had often handed his camera over to his grandkids and other children and let them “shoot away”, as he called the jr. photography sessions.

He said the first time he did it he was just hoping to keep one of his grandkids entertained for the time being until his daughter returned home to “take over”.

However, afterwards… when he looked through the dozens of photos that the child had taken… he discovered a few “gems” among the hundreds of snap shots.

He continued on to explain that, in his mind, it was well worth chancing a child dropping the obviously expensive camera to have the reward of the special “shots” he often discovers after they’ve finished playing photographer.

So, for about an hour we talked about photography, rock, the economy, religion, politics… you name it we talked about it… while Eli took one photo after another and had a ball.

Well, Joe’s reassurance… and the distraction of conversation… helped a bit to calm my nerves. But I still felt a tsunami of relief flood over me from head to toe the instant Eli finally handed Joe’s expensive camera back to him… all safe and sound!  Yay!

Our Quarry Photography Session

So, fast forward to a few days ago again… The other day when I thought about taking new photos of the rock, I thought of Joe and decided to hand over Eli’s whooping $100.00 Christmas present camera and let him “do his photography thing” once again.

After all, I was curious now (after the discussion with Joe) and wanted to see what Eli would come up with.

So we jumped on the four-wheeler and went down to the quarry where we took photos together (and had a whole lot of fun!) while his dad was busy loading flagstone and patio rock onto a semi-truck to be shipped to Smith Rock over on the West Coast.

The End Result?

Among the pictures of the weeds along the road, trees on the hillside, bugs, the sky and the old trucks parked where we were standing, I found a few “gems” taken of the rock that I can’t wait to use on the website when I have a chance to update it!

Joe was right…

Copyright © 2011 Slate-Rock.com   All Rights Reserved World Wide

Spokane, Washington KHQ News Video – Flooding At Cusick, WA

In the KHQ News video below, Jesse Schacher from Blue Slate, Inc., helps to shore up the banks of the River Road near Cusick, WA today where the rising waters of the Pend Oreille River have undercut and eroded the bank of the river and underneath the shoulder of the road.

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1.  It’s “Look”

WoodStone Decorative Rock creates a very pleasing, uncommon, aesthetically appealing “look” in the landscape, similar to landscape bark yet very unique.

What WoodStone doesn’t have is that dreaded “driveway gravel look” you often end up with when using other stone mulch products in your landscape!

2.  It’s Soooo Versatile

WoodStone has many versatile uses in the landscape such as in landscape borders, flowerbeds, around trees, in pathways, driveways, creekbeds, dry creekbeds, in and around ponds, on hard to manage banks or slopes and in many, many more landscape applications.

3.  It’s Unique Shape

It’s unique thin, flat and oblong shape helps to keep it in place on banks or in sloping areas.

4.  It’s Natural Earthtone Color Palette

Because of it’s earthtone color scheme, it’s the ideal complementary groundcover product for Eagle Mtn Slate landscape rock such as flagstone, patio stone, building stone and stepping stones, as well as, numerous other natural stone and artificial stone products.

WoodStone Decorative Rock enhances other landscape elements, as well, whether natural or man-made…  such as masonry products or wood landscape products.

5.  It’s “Perfect Harmony”

WoodStone Decorative Rock harmonizes naturally with endless plants, flowers, shrubs, trees and… all things ‘natural’!  And WoodStone has a unique, stunning and beautiful over-all visual effect that is striking on its own as well.

6.  It’s Ability To Blend In

It blends well with just about any landscape or home color scheme making the possibilities almost limitless.

7.  It NEVER Needs To Be Replaced!

Drum roll please!  It never needs to be replaced to maintain its beautiful appearance which means YOU get the “look” YOU want permanently… and YOU save big over the long haul while you’re at it!

Bonus… Over time, it actually develops an even more attractive deep and natural patina when exposed to the natural elements so it looks better with age rather than worse!

8.  It’s The Best Of All World’s Wrapped Up Into One…

WoodStone won’t rot into the landscape like bark groundcovers do and it doesn’t have the drab “plain old gravel look” that other stone mulches tend to have.  Plus it’s flat instead of round like other stone groundcovers are so it goes farther and it behaves itself much better in the landscape… Yep, the best of all worlds!

9.  It’s Stone – Weed’s Worst Enemy!

Because WoodStone is a slate decorative “rock” product that doesn’t deteriorate or rot like bark does, weeds have a really hard time germinating or establishing themselves where WoodStone Decorative Rock is installed, providing it’s installed properly over a quality, undamaged weed barrier.

10.  It Won’t Burn

WoodStone Decorative Rock won’t burn and is ideally suited for use in wildfire defense spaces, especially around homes and buildings in timbered or brushy areas that could potentially be threatened by wildfires.

11.  It Really Covers The Ground

Due to it’s thin, flat, oblong shape, it covers more square footage than coarse bark and most stone groundcover products available.

12.  It’s Lightweight… Well, For Being A Rock, That Is…

Compared to most other stone groundcovers, WoodStone is a very lightweight groundcover or decorative rock.  Why is this important?

Transportation companies charge for hauling and delivering rock products by the ton.  Most aggregates or decorative rock products weigh in the range of 1.5 tons per yard.

Comparatively, WoodStone Decorative Rock weighs in at just under 1.1 tons per yard which means that more “yards” of WoodStone can be hauled on each delivery truck (dumptruck) for the very same delivery charge.

In other words, a dumptruck load of WoodStone will cover quite a bit more ground than a dumptruck load of another average, heavier stone mulch product… for the same delivery price.

13.  It’s Shipped And Used Just The Way Mother Nature Made It

WoodStone Decorative Rock  isn’t a crushed or man-made product.  It’s shape is natural.  In fact, everything about it is natural.  It’s simply screened into consistent sizes and shipped to the customer just the way Mother Nature made it.

14.  It Saves Time, Work And Money

WoodStone is very competitively priced and it saves you time, work and money in more ways than I have room to list here.

15.  It Can Increase The Value Of Your Home

An attractive WoodStone Decorative Rock landscape or rockscape can increase the value of your home by many times what it costs to purchase and install it.

More importantly, if you were to decide to sell your home, it may make the difference between your house selling over the other comparable homes for sale in your area…..homes that are competing for the same prospective buyers.  Everything else being equal, a beautiful landscape can mean the difference between your home selling or sitting.

Not only can it increase the value of your home, it can help preserve it’s value when used along the immediate exterior of your home or business as it provides a buffer zone that discourages cockroaches, termites and other destructive insects from invading your home.

In contrast, using landscape bark next to your home creates or provides the perfect conditions for these destructive insects to not only survive but thrive… and to invade your home at will.

16.  It Creates A High-End Natural Look… Even On A Budget

WoodStone has the highly desired new and innovative high-end natural look…..at an affordable price!

17.  It Reduces The Consumption Of Natural Resources

WoodStone is a permanent groundcover solution.  Therefore, WoodStone Decorative Rock reduces the overall consumption of our natural resources because it doesn’t have to be replaced yearly or bi-yearly… or ever!

18.  It Saves Water!

WoodStone also reduces water consumption, usage and irrigation costs by retaining moisture and prolonging evaporation time.

19.  It Prevents The Use Of Your Landscape Borders As “Kitty Litters”

WoodStone Decorative Rock is stone.  Cats look for nice, soft soil or deteriorating landscape bark in your landscape borders and flowerbeds to dig in.  Purrrrfect!  This is actually a big deal to me but… enough said.

20.  It’s Toxin-Free!

Unlike man-made products, such as rubber mulches, and dyed landscape bark products, WoodStone Decorative Rock is an all-natural decorative mulch that does not contain toxins that are harmful to the environment.

Copyright © 2011 Slate-Rock.com   All Rights Reserved World Wide

WoodStone Decorative Rock’s $$$$$ Saving Benefits!  The Amount Of Money You Could Save May Just Surprise You… Once You Add It Up!

Are you searching for a groundcover product that’s both attractive, functional and economical?  Using WoodStone Decorative Rock in your landscape is sure to make your landscape the envy of the neighborhood.

However, in addition to creating an awesome looking landscape, WoodStone also stretches the landscape budget in numerous ways, including:

Finally… A Lightweight Decorative Rock Groundcover That Saves You $$$ On Freight Or Hauling

Being lightweight is a money saving benefit that allows you to save on freight costs.  WoodStone Decorative Rock is comparatively lightweight which means that the same weight of WoodStone groundcover (vs. heavier stone groundcovers) hauled translates into more yards of WoodStone being delivered per truckload.

Not to just bore you with a bunch of stats and figures… but sometimes the $$$ saving benefits of a product aren’t always readily apparent and can be hidden in the details. 

Here’s what I mean:  Typically a normal freight truck hauls approximately 48,000 lbs. of product. 48,000 lbs. of most of our competitors aggregate groundcover products translates into the delivery of approximately 17.14 yards of their groundcover.

On the other hand, 48,000 lbs. of WoodStone hauled translates into the delivery of approximately 22.22 yards of WoodStone per truckload.  That means that approximately 5.08 yards (or enough WoodStone to cover another 800 sq. ft. at a 2″ depth) of additional decorative rock groundcover will be delivered per truckload if you choose to use WoodStone.

Taking that a step further:  Four truckloads of most of our competitors aggregate groundcover products would equal approximately 68.56 yards of their groundcover while four truckloads of WoodStone groundcover products equals approximately 88.88 yards of WoodStone groundcover delivered for the same cost in freight.  That’s approximately 20.32 yards more WoodStone groundcover delivered for the same cost in freight.

And one more step further:  As I mentioned above, four truckloads of most of our comparable competitors groundcover products would equal approximately 68.56 yards of groundcover, whereas three truckloads of WoodStone equals approximately 66.67 yards.

That’s comparable and almost equivalent to having a full fourth truckload of WoodStone Decorative Rock delivered freight-free!

As you can see from this example, WoodStone will save on freight and delivery costs considerably over heavier, bulkier stone groundcovers… especially in larger landscape projects.

And, even if you’re just hauling it to your project in the back of your pickup or in your pickup and trailer, you’ll be able to haul more WoodStone in one trip than other heavier groundcover products… it may even save you a trip or two (including the time and gas) depending on the size of your landscape project!

It’s Characteristic Thin, Oblong Shape Covers More Ground

Never Replace Bark Again ~ You Save Money Season After Season!

Wouldn’t it be really nice to purchase and install a groundcover product that has an attractive “look” similar to landscape bark once without ever having to spend the time, work or money required to do it again and again, year after year… like you have to with landscape bark?

You can now!  Homeowners, businesses and government or public agencies enjoy saving even more time, work and money by installing WoodStone Decorative Rock just once… for years of almost maintenance free beautiful landscape borders!

You can save repeatedly year after year on the costs of purchasing bark to replace the faded and decayed bark from the previous season… as well as the repeated expense of rising freight costs to deliver the replacement bark to the site, repeated expense of labor to re-install the bark and the costs of labor to maintain the bark throughout the year.

In addition to saving time, work and $$$ repeatedly, though, by using WoodStone (which really adds up) you’ll also be helping to reduce the consumption of natural resources.  WoodStone reduces the consumption of natural resources because it’s a permanent solution that only has to be installed once for years of enjoyment rather than seasonly or yearly.

And it retains moisture, slowing the evaporation rate of water used to irrigate trees, shrubs, grasses and plants in landscape borders, reducing water consumption and costs.

Create a low-maintenance landscape by iInstalling WoodStone in your next landscape project…

Then go do something that you really enjoy during the time when you would normally be replacing bark again….. next year and the year after and the year after that…..

In an economy where every dollar counts, as you can see, WoodStone’s unique combination of natural characteristics allow it to be an excellent way to reduce landscaping cost, stretching every landscape dollar and saving you $$$…

without sacrificing beauty and functionality!

…

From BlueSlateRocks.com – Click here to read the original article, WoodStone Decorative Rock’s $$$$$ Saving Benefits!  The Amount Of Money You Could Save May Just Surprise You… Once You Add It Up!, at BlueSlateRocks.com.

Copyright © 2011 Slate-Rock.com   All Rights Reserved World Wide