Driving toward the Cold Spring Lane exit on Interstate 83 North recently, I noticed something unusual: a pile of lumber that appeared to have something spelled out inside it.

The next day, I paid closer attention and thought it said “Snarski.” I wondered what the word could mean — and why it was so visible from the highway. I wasn’t the only one; people on social media started questioning the appearance earlier this week.

“Snarski,” as it turns out, is the name of a company and a last name. Vince Snarski started Snarski Landscaping in 2011, not long after he graduated from high school.

Snarski — the man, not the pile of lumber — told me the company just moved to an office next to the Union Collective in Medfield, near Hampden. A sign made of lumber seemed a fun way to grab attention, Snarski said.

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“We moved about a month ago, I think, the sign was one of the first things we did,” he said.

He said it was the first time he made a sign with this technique — using fresh-cut lumber in contrast with seasoned firewood — to write a message.

Snarski Landscaping moved into the city from a county location and decided to make its own, thematic sign. (Jerry Jackson / The Baltimore Banner)

Employees seared some of the firewood to increase the contrast between it and the lumber, and then sanded and sealed the fresh-cut logs.

It’s “not a temporary thing,” Snarski said.

Snarski started the business using just a push lawnmower. A mechanical push mower is part of the company’s logo, and one appears atop the new wood sign. Snarski clarified, though, that his work began with a gas push mower.

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The company has grown since its launch over a decade ago and offers everything from landscape design to leaf removal. Snarski said one of the reasons the company moved from a location in Lutherville to Baltimore City was to be closer to its work.

“It’s hard to find decently priced industrial land anywhere,” Snarski said. The company didn’t need a huge warehouse, “just need a piece of dirt, really.”

The sign is on the edge of the property line, he said, and it took some work to clear a space for the lumber pile. There were dead trees, “lots of weeds” and poison ivy that all had to be removed, Snarski said.

“Lots of random people have reached out to say they like the sign,” Snarski said. “I’m hoping it’ll help bring in some more business.”