Cypress is technically not a hardwood, but it comes through the shop once in a while. It is generally soft and light and fairly weather resistant, and suitable for exterior columns and such when budget is a guiding factor. There is also a unique form of this wood sometimes available. It is generally known as “Sinker Cypress” and comes from logs that have been excavated from deep in the mud in the swamps of the southern US. These logs may have laid in the oxygen deprived mud for a century or more and have absorbed minerals from the water. This discoloration is striking, often a gray and yellow blend. And because the wood that survives this process is generally near the center of the original tree, the grain pattern it quite tight and dense.