A Christmas Miracle

Since I know some of you are waiting with baited breath to find out what Greg bought me for Christmas this year, I thought I would post an update. As a warning, this blog may be extra long because it will take me a while to explain exactly how wonderful and meaningful my Christmas gift was this year.


For about 200 years, two twin Bur Oaks stood at Severson Dells Forest Preserve at the corner of the southwestern parking lot. These Bur Oaks had seen centuries of our natural history...Native Americans, rolling tallgrass prairie, bison, the first white settlers, and eventually the establishment of the Severson Dells Education Foundation, which led to the preservation of the 400-acre woodlands and prairie and the Nature Center. Thanks to Severson Dells' mission to connect people to nature and educate the next generation on the importance of our natural environment and conservation, hundreds of children have passed under the shade of the twin Bur Oaks, including myself and Greg as children.


About a year ago, the larger of the twin Bur Oaks fell, due to natural causes (heartwood rot). After 200 years, it was tired. Enter my husband. Greg felt it was extremely important to preserve this invaluable piece of the Severson Dells landscape and natural history, so he petitioned the Winnebago County Forest Preserve to allow him and his friend Trevor Nicholson of Nicholson Lawn and Garden to cut "cookies" (circular cross-sections) from the giant tree and use them as an educational tool within the Nature Center (teach kids how to count tree rings, tree biology, natural history, etc.). Surprisingly, the Forest Preserve agreed to let him take 4 cookies - 1 for Severson Dells Nature Center, 1 for the Executive Director of Severson Dells, 1 for Trevor, and 1 for himself. We were so excited to learn that we got to keep a chunk of OUR history, since both of us have been going to Severson Dells since we were in our mothers' wombs. It is one of our most cherished places, which is why we are now on the Board of Directors and doing the best we can to make it available to generations to come.


With almost a year's worth of work, Greg, Trevor, and I finished the slabs. First they had to be waxed (to prevent moisture from escaping too quickly and cracking the slabs), then they had to be dried in a kiln for 4-5 months, then the wax had to be removed, then sanded, then rotted areas had to be hardened and preserved with special chemicals, then stained with Tung Oil, and finally, polyurethaned. We turned our cookie into a coffeetable by placing it on top of half an old whiskey barrel. Sometimes I still can't believe a piece of that tree is in our living room. When we finished the slab for Severson Dells and unveiled it at the Luminaria on December 13, the Rock River Times featured Greg and Trevor and the Bur Oak in a cover story.


After we finished our coffeetable, I remarked about how nice it would be if we had a piece of artwork I've seen only at the Severson Dells Nature Center. It is a large matted and framed series of 4 photographs of the twin Bur Oaks when they were still standing, one for each season. Being a very amateur photographer, I have a penchant for photo-art and art in general, which is why at 26 years-old, Greg and I have more artwork in our home than most people twice our age. I had asked about who had taken these pictures and found out it was Brad Nordlof, a very talented local photographer who owns Northern Leaf Imaging gallery, but realized that I would probably never be able to afford his artwork.


My husband, in his infinite ability to network, got in touch with Brad. He found out that the piece of art I wanted would cost approximately $2,000, obviously WAY outside our Christmas spending limit of $400. But instead of giving up, he bartered with Brad. He gave Brad $300 cash and told him about the log furniture we build. At first Brad was skeptical, but once he saw how talented Greg is at building log furniture, he commissioned Greg to build all of the outdoor furniture for the new house he is building this spring. In return, I have the Twin Bur Oaks in 4 Seasons in a beautiful barnwood frame, hanging on the wall above the actual oak slab coffeetable. Unreal. I cried when I opened it.


I was so proud of my normally Christmas-gift-inept husband. He jumped through all these hoops to get me one of the best gifts I could ever dream of, without my knowledge, kept the secret for months, and somehow got a business deal out of the whole thing as well. Since Brad belongs to a very elite group of local artists, having Greg's creations at his home will open Greg up to more business and exposure than he could have expected. And, even better, we will get to work together all summer and fall to collect the lumber and build and finish the furniture. He knocked it out of the park!


And in case you're wondering, I also got some of the "usual Greg" gifts - another giant clip for all my rock climbing, a mesh bag to hold rope (?), and a headlamp in case I need to run a heavy mining operation. :)