Talk about Touching the Past...

The bowl you are looking it has a name. And an history. Not to mention a "WOW!" factor.

The name? In Ojibway, Mikwum Shingwauk. It translates to "Ice Pine."

Why does a bowl turned from an old burl on a tree merit a name? Because it dates from 6631 BC.

Yep, you read that right.

The tree was found in 2005 at the old Beaumont Farm in Bracebridge. They were digging a pond at the time, and 16' down, they came across this white pine. Now the Beaumont family settled that piece of land -- nobody has put a shovel into that ground to that depth to bury a tree that size. Max Beaumont called in Don Thur, who's artistic expertise is in creating fantastic works of art from burls and sections of woods. His gallery, Knots and Burls to Bowls, is in Utterson. Don got as excited as Max about this tree, and they decided to get it properly dated. A forestry expert determined that it was a white pine, 261 years old when it fell. Which was fine, but how long had it lain fallen? The folks at the IsoTrace radiocarbon lab were initially a bit 'ho hum', but that was before the results came back. That's when everybody snapped to attention.

It's life cycle ended in 6370 BC, during a cataclysmic event during the recession of the Glacial Lake Algonquin -- that's the lake that once upon a time covered all of Toronto, and held all the Great Lakes merged as one. (you can go look it up) There were traces of limestone on the tree that link to the Kingston area, indicating a huge back-flush of water at some distant time.

In fact, to get that distant time, experts take the 261 years the tree grew, the date it fell (6370 BC) and the year it was found and dated, AD 2006. Ice Pine first held up its proud branches 8637 years ago. That's the Wow Factor.

Don Thur was commissioned by Ann Rachan of Toronto to create this gorgeous bowl for presentation to the Township of Lake of Bays. It is on view in the lobby of the Muncipal Office, if you are passing through. It's more than worth a look.