I've been carving birds since shortly after we moved here ten years ago. Right after the last stroke I thought I wouldn't be able to do it anymore -- working with just the left hand (not my dominant hand) didn't seem possible; but what with the healing process, the help of several family members, and the unflagging support of my wife, Kitty, I'm beginning to make real progress again. It is a great hobby and pastime, and I am thrilled to be back in the shed and at work again.
The tool shed is in the backyard and we have remodeled it in a way that lets me around on my wheelchair. Most of my larger and heavier tools have been given away or sold, and the hand tools I now have are mostly in drawers. Perhaps the biggest problems with it have been access on rainy or snowy days, and heating - but those have been taken care of, for the most part, and it now should be good for three-season use. The only other issue is the deck - Kitty and I just seem to naturally end up there, drinking coffee and munching cookies, when I should be carving!
As might be expected, not all the carving projects I work on are ever finished. Sometimes a fatal error dooms the bird, and once in awhile I just run out of interest; one way or the other the piece ends up in a box I keep under the carving bench. The "Broken Bird Box" it's called, and I may be adding a bird to it soon. I've been working on a Water Ouzel, one of my favorite species and it is about half finished; but am running out of interest in the piece of wood involved. Its a block of Basswood that seems particularly featureless. Basswood like this is ideal for birds that will be painted, but I am considering abandoning the piece anyway. I have a blank for a Steller's Jay that I cut out on the jig-saw not long ago, and I'm anxious to make that my first carving project of the summer. I'm hopping the I can get it fastened to the suet feeder in the side yard by winter time.
The Steller's jays have become a big part of the enjoyment out there. They usually come the shed a couple times a day and raise a ruckus until I shut them up with unshelled peanuts. They aren't yet as tame as they'll probably get, so they usually don't get real close. I feed with peanuts that are raw and still in the shells. They love them.