Spiritual Side of Salvage

I spent two weeks traveling in August 2023 visiting State Parks in Pennsylvania.  I recommend travel to everyone.  It is truly good for the soul, and reminds us why we do what we do, which from time to time is so important.

For me, I became and environmentalist, because I love the outdoors.  I am an environmentalist that believes the natural environment should exist in its own right, without any need for humans to appreciate it.  But luckily, state parks have been created all over this Country for people to go to and enjoy the natural environment.

One such park that provided particular inspiration was Cook Forest State Park, in Pennsylvania. Here, in the 1800's, a forest baron, Anthony Cook, decided that the trees were so beautiful, so majestic, such a gift from God, that they should be preserved, and not cut down.  Now this guy was a forester.  He had mills.  That's the way he made a living, cutting down trees.   BUT he recognized something bigger than himself, and said, "I'm not going to cut these down."   And in the 1920's it became a park, and in 2023, my daughter and I, and dozens of other guests, were able to wander through acres of old growth primeval forest.

It was energizing to see this great world of nature.  It took me back to my roots, as a young environmentalist, trying to figure out what to do with my life.  I wanted to save natural habitat, conserve resources, and tread more lightly on the earth.  Sarasota Salvage was born out of this passion.

So fast forward to the end of this trip and my return home, to news that a large Hurricane threatened the west coast of Florida.  I stepped out of the house to start hurricane preparations and found this amazing Hawk on my lawn.  

Hawks represent changes, clarity, pursuing your goals and dreams, protection, and honoring your inner wisdom.  So I immediately felt that the storm would pass by, and that I should spend some time thinking about my life path.  

For me Sarasota Salvage is not just a business.  It is a fulfilment of my dreams and an expression of my environmentalism.  Here's a real example:

We offer reclaimed heart pine beams from houses built in, say, the 1920s.  How extraordinary is that?  For 100 years, that building housed families, or businesses, or churches, and it literally supported this way of life.  If that beam could talk!  

The beam is probably really beautiful wood, because old growth wood is just better quality.  It may have been used in a purely utilitarian way, as a joist, but it has intrinsic value and asthetic beauty as well.

Now, think past it's use as a beam, it was a tree.  Maybe it was born of a pine cone that dropped in the Revolutionary war in the 1700's.  It grew in a forest and was nurtured for a hundred years or more. Drinking up carbon, stabilizing soils, providing shelter and habitat for creatures of the forest.

Then it was lumbered, hauled by mule or ox to the river, floated to the nearest mill, then transported to the house that where it lived for the last 100 years.  

So all that embodied energy, and all that embodied history, is right there ready to be salvaged, and a new chapter of its life emerges when we harvest it from that home being torn down, and offer it for sale at Sarasota Salvage.

My hope is that by doing this, there is a little less pressure on harvesting trees today; a little less pressure on ecosystems; a little more local labor expended that keeps the economics in our community; and a little more quality of materials for people to utilize in their beautiful spaces. 

So that Hawk inspired this story, and I hope you like it.   Now I invite you to find your path, to use your knowledge to make conscious decisions for the better, and maybe share these thoughts with others, so we may all benefit.