Surprise!

You never know what you'll find when you cut into a log, especially with Texas Mesquite.  This one was a fun surprise.  As we were cutting 1" slabs off of it, it gave us a great look at the small branch that cuts through the trunk.  We sliced through it at least 6 different times, from near-pith all the way to the bark.  In several of them, it formed a nearly perfect human eye (boards M-1019 and M-1020).  I think it's fascinating to see how the branch itself eroded away, leaving its bark in place.  The "eyebrow" appears to be a separate bark inclusion that perhaps was compressed and deformed by growth of the branch.  

Opening a fresh log of Texas Mesquite reminds me of cracking into a geode.  You never know what surprises nature has stored inside.  Texas mesquite is often a gnarly, contorted tree, and they grow under some pretty extreme circumstances when you consider the long-term effects of heat, drought, and an occasional hurricane.   Their interiors reveal a lot about their history, and it's fascinating to consider what the tree's gone through to produce the grain patterns we see in the wood.