.LynEve

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Two old macrocarpa trees needed to be felled at the childrens playground near our local harbour. They have been given new life by a talented carver, Pita Lagan who is 70 years old. These stumps are very high so it is an amazing feat. He has been carving for 55 years and he says ''There is no stopping - in the Maori language there is no word for retirement. Retirement means you want to die, so you keep going until you can't go anymore.''
What a wonderful outlook !
He often carves details such as feathers with his chainsaws, but used grinders and chisels for the final touches atop the scaffolding here, because when the sea breeze blew it" rocks 'n rolls up there" he said.

This stump is now populated by native birds and lizards. The other one has marine life. I hope to get some shots of that one soon. The trees are now treated with a preservative and should last another 100 years. Some saw the trunks as standing firewood. How great that someone had the vision to transform them into something beautiful.