Live edge, freshly kilned “blue” Fir, recently reclaimed from dock pilings in South Lake Washington. This lumber was salvaged by the same green-building heavyweight that brings in the famed Teredo fir. The logs that these particular boards originate from were driven deep into the bottom of the lake for 60-100 years. The exact origins of the 'blue' coloration remain a mystery, but our working theory is that this is the handiwork of some mysterious anaerobic life form, which works its way into the log via open knots, situates in the heartwood, and goes to work. The changes are harmless to the structural integrity of the wood, and the coloration doesn’t even occur until after it’s milled and oxygen hits it! The process that leads to this change takes decades; even left in the water for fifty years, there will be little effect. There’s no substitute for time in nature.