BEGGS, Okla. (KFOR) – He might still be one of the lone voices in the wilderness, but Perry McDonald keeps singing the praises of Oklahoma trees a lot of other landowners think of as pests.

Walking through several piles of logs, he points out, “that’s a 25-foot cedar right there.”

“We’ve got good timber here,” he adds.

His yard at the Singing Wire Mill near town is full of logs that he’s planning to mill for table tops and all manner of finished products.

The red cedars, the twisted hickory, black walnut, and even partially rotted cypress may be ugly and rough on the outside.

“But on the inside it’s rock solid beautiful,” he grins.

He moved to Oklahoma from Idaho more than 20 years ago as a veteran sawyer and lumberjack, lured by Oklahoma forests.

“Are you a red cedar admirer,” we ask?

“I really do like red cedar,” he answers. “I moved here for the red cedar so, yeah, I’m a big advocate for it.”

Both saw and jaw have been singing ever since, extolling its virtues and showing them off.

On a tour of his place, Perry points out his 1,800 square foot cabin is truly Oklahoma built using 14 different types of state trees from support beams, to paneling, to cabinetry, and countertops.

“Normally, this piece of wood would be thrown in the fireplace,” he says pointing to a polished desktop.

So why aren’t more people out there selecting good trees to make great furniture or more cabins like this, we ask? Perry admits it calls for a little more work.

“It’s easier to go to Lowe’s or Home Depot,” he chuckles.

But he insists there’s red, white, and gold growing in just about every wooded lot.

“We’re sitting on a gold mine here in Oklahoma,” he states. “It’s a natural resource. Let’s use it.”

For more information about the Singing Wire Sawmill or Singing Wire Cedar Furniture, visit their Facebook page.