Autumn is upon us, bring cooler temperatures and vibrant colors to Northwest Ohio. I only have a month or so of "good" weather before it will be time to pack up the garage for the winter, so I am trying to make the most of it. Being completely preoccupied with putting an Amateur Radio antenna tower in last weekend, and shorter daylight hours has cut back on the amount of time I've spent woodworking. Today was all mine though. From left to right, the first is a set or pens I am donating to the "Turn for the Troops" project. I have a set of five pens to donate this year, which is a small token of thanks for the efforts our armed services put forth. The pens are both slimline ballpoint twist mechanisms with Gunmetal plating and dressed in Padauk. The next image is of a ballpoint pen and pencil set in Kingwood. The plating is black enamel matte finish. The pen is a twist mechanism while the pencil is a click style. The stlye is called "comfort" since the body is slightly wider then the typical slimline, and features a rubber grip near the nib. The last image is a set of holiday ornaments I've been working on. If you can't tell, the are acorn style mini bird houses. Never intended to be used for that purpose though as they are only around 4 inches high and 1-2 inches in diameter. The body is actually hollowed out to reduce the weight, and all three are made of applewood. I know, nothing quite says the holidays like a acorn shaped birdhouse ornament, but it was a fun project which used up some very small chunks of applewood I couldn't do a whole lot else with.