Ivy Berries, and an Ivy Staff

Late in the season, ivy is one of the last plants to bloom and provide food for butterflies like the red admirals (Vanessa atalanta) before they set off to the south.

Next up are the berries. They only grow on older ivy. These older branches of ivy are easily recognised by the simpler shape of the leaves:

^{Olympus Stylus 1s, 300mm, ISO200, f5.6, 1/250s}

These berries provide food for birds all through the winter:

^{Olympus Stylus 1s, 300mm, ISO200, f5.6, 1/100s}

Now, as I mentioned earlier, I have been working on carving a staff from ivy wood.

Ivy has a very nice, strong, and fine-grained wood, but it is hard to find pieces large enough to work with. Still, after the storm we had in The Netherlands I managed to find a few. This is what I made out of one of them:

It is about 180cm (5'11") tall, and carved from a single piece of ivy, originally two branches of ivy that had merged into one solid piece. Here are some details:

The ingredients are ivy wood and beeswax. Tools used are saw, knife, file, and sandpaper. I didn't do much to the shape; I mainly followed the natural lines of the wood.

It looks like a staff fit for a warlock or witch (are you listening, @katharsisdrill? 8-), or somebody who needs to divide waters, or anybody with a Merlin Complex, and I am very happy with the result.

It is also a rare object; you don't see many ivy staffs or canes. I'm not really sure about the demand side of the equation, though.

Here's a photo of a cane I made earlier for my father, also out of ivy wood:

It is, of course, much smaller than the staff I just finished.

Thanks for watching!