February is harvest time for Holly timber.  It must be cut in the cold and processed in the cold.  Like all trees, Holly has a symbiotic relationship with fungus.  The fungus breaks down minerals in the soil for the tree and the tree supplies sugar to feed the fungus.  Without the fungus, the tree would not be possible.  This fungus is in the wood and for some reason unknown to me, if the wood sits around for any time wet and warm the fungus stains the once white holly wood.  The wood takes on black or grey streaks which experienced people have called “blue”.   I have tried various methods of handling the holly with mixed results.  I have some nice blocks of it that are riddled with black streaks from the fungus.  I tried an old legend I heard that if you stand the holly on end to dry it will not stain.  My experience did not prove this.  By mistake I even let two pieces sit touching and the fungus grew an actual flower between the pieces.

I do get some nice pieces to dry white-white.  I have some safe in the deep freeze.  In February I got a shipment from NCWood of Holly just felled and sawn in the cold and immediately cut it into thin boards and stickered it up out in the cold entryway to my shop.  This micro lumber is destined for the inlays I do on the segmented bracelets.

The sawdust from the Holly is like a snowdrift on the bandsaw table.  Results were pretty good but not perfect.  It warmed up for a few days before the wood was dry.  I will try some different ideas next winter if I am again so fortunate.