I sometimes worry about being the "weird neighbour". After all, I am perfectly aware that I have more than a few oddities about me. Just last night, I pulled over the car on the side of the road to hop out and grab a twig off the sidewalk (in the pouring rain!!). I'd spotted it and it was the perfect size and shape for whittling. (Yet another hobby.)
I want to do something, but worry it may be flat out weird.
I live in a neighbourhood with LOTS of trees. There are 3 halves of the neighbourhood. My section is the newest. Directly next to my section, starting about 10 houses down, is a *very* established section that was built between the 50s and the 70s. Beside that is a quasi-newish section that was built between the late 80s and early 90s. As the neighbourhood has been built up, every house was given a tree, starting in the 50s. They are maples and oaks. The 50s-70s houses now have these huge and beautiful oaks and maples in the front yards. So every spring, many houses have bundles of branches for "yard waste pickup".
How weird would it be to collect some of these branches? I don't want to mess up people's tied up bundles (city won't collect a bundle that isn't properly tied up).
Would it be very strange to go around on a Saturday afternoon and knock people's doors with very large trees (with obvious falled branches) and ask to collect some from their yard (I'd explain why I'd want the wood). Or do you think it would be better to find a park with lots of big trees and try stalk the park for fallen branches or keep an eye out for city workers cutting down stray branches.
The thing is, any old twig won't do. It should be a nice wood that is good for carving and isn't too flexible when dry. Maple and Oak are ideal for natural wood carving, as they cure easily in a home oven and look so lovely when finished.
I would appreciate thoughts and direction from other ehellions, crafters and non-crafters alike.
edited to let newcomers to the conversation know that I've decided to limit my interactions to those neighbours who are already outside doing yardwork on a sunny day, but would still appreciate input on the overall etiquette of approaching people in your neighbourhood.
