Last year I was contacted by an architect in Cincinnati, Ohio, who was looking for bamboo to build a privacy fence.

Once we figured out all the details, I had to wait for a window of opportunity to harvest the poles. I needed a spell of fair weather to get the harvest complete, as the poles are only part of it, and since the 30+ feet above the poles, was being harvested for smaller poles, leaves, twigs, and mulch, I needed some time to get it all done. I wanted to get these poles harvested before the warmer spring weather of late March and Early April gets the bamboo juices flowing again, increasing the starch loads that attract insect damage during curing.

Once the timing was right I headed out to the bamboo grove. It took two full days to get all the poles cut from the grove, then to size, laid out, counted, and measurements double-checked before loading the poles, locking them down, and heading the 150 miles to Cincinnati.

The bamboo I harvested was destined to become a privacy fence in a lovely courtyard in the historic neighborhood of Mount Adams. The architect had lived in this house for over 30 years, and we piled his poles in the courtyard, I marveled at the visual texture of the houses exterior, we chatted a bit and off I went.

After pulling away, i made the first right, which happened to be a dead end. One like i had never seen before, overlooking downtown Cincinnati, the top of the The Great American Tower, framed right in the middle!