- DIY flint knapping continued

Antler and flint 

Well, I tried flint knapping, which is the process of shaping rock into arrowheads with a series of sharp blows. I've since concluded that the art of making arrowheads isn't my gift ... not without a lot of practice anyway. But I do have a great story about how I got the antler I needed.

I was coming home from work one day and saw a yearling deer chewing on something that looked for all the world like a bone. So I stopped the van in the middle of the driveway, got out, and chased after the deer ... which promptly ran away (smart deer), but not before dropping what was in its mouth. The bone turned out to be a small antler. Why the deer was chewing on it is beyond me, but I picked it up and put it on the front porch, where it sat until my ill-fated go at making something out of flint.

Fortunately, Don has had a little more success in the DIY department lately. He added a second bird bath to the front garden bed and created a tripod from cedar limbs to hold a bird feeder. The birds don't seem particularly interested, but I'm impressed.

The birds will come around eventually, I'm sure. It's just that they seem to have other things on their minds right now. For instance, our local turkey harem has been joined by a strutting tom who fluffs up his feathers every few steps to impress the ladies. Quite a show ...