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Good work Rui! We need photographic evidence! ;) Cheers, Tom

Thank´s for posting Rui, I had never heard of this plant. Here are two other plants that were used for flint and steel firestarting: Ferula communis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferula) was used in ´the mediterranean´ and Staehelina dubia (http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staehelina_dubia)...

Not for looking up the average garden bird in britain or europe but this is the best site for sounds of the more obscure bird species from all over the world: http://www.xeno-canto.org/ Cheers, Tom

Beautiful pictures! Thanks for posting. It looks like you found what you were looking for. Maybe the holes in the hemlock are made by a sapsucker? Edit: I´m not quite sure, the wikipedia picture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapsucker) shows a more regular pattern. Your second fungus is...

They were used as monsters in one of the episodes of the TV-series Merlin, I recall 4 meter naked molerats devouring some helpless prisoner... Cheers, Tom

The weather was very fine last week and my two daughters (7 & 8 years old) had the afternoon off from school so I took them for a picknick to the 'heemtuin' (botanical garden) at my local park. Lunch was quickly gone and we set of to explore the botanical garden. While the girls where looking...

Hi Rui, the black balls to the right look like cramp balls (Daldinia concentrica). When dry enough these will take a spark from a ferocerium rod or (with some patience) even from iron pyrites or a traditional firesteel. Break them open and direct the sparks to the silvery concentric rings on...

Wow a horseshoe bat in the workshop! A few decades ago those still could be found in Holland, sadly not anymore. Great pics, cheers, Tom

I think you would have more luck/success if you try to collect naturally occurring methane ("swamp gas") out of marshy waters as an aid in spark-based firelighting with flint and steel (not a ferrocerium rod, for these can set virtually anything alight). Tinder for flint and steel is much more...

You can lighten your freckles with the tubers! :) http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Asphodelus+albus Cheers, Tom

I reckon it is this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphodelus_albus so it could be a native if you are based in Southwestern France. Cheers, Tom

In what kind of terrain did you hear these birds? The second bird might be this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Redstart They can make a weird noise that sounds like rubbing two little stones together. They prefer stony ground which here in Holland means industrial terrain...

Hi Rui, is that an indigenous plant on the azores or was it planted on the islands by humans? Cheers, Tom

Mmh interesting topic. Ishi the Indian and the Japanese soldier held it out for decades on their own but they both lived in more forgiving climates (California and a pacific island) where it was easier to collect calories. Ishi finally gave in, probably due to the lack of company. Cheers...

I´ve seen them in the book ´la grande aventure du feu` by Bertrand Roussel and Paul Boutie. It ´s a great French book on many different firestarting methods. The book says the cord is treated with saltpetre so the ´meche a amadou´ has nothing to do with real amadou made out of horse hoof fungus...

Hi Leezo, sorry to hear about your inconvenience. I've posted a kind of tutorial for making a fire piston out of DIY store material a while ago, maybe it's something for you? http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35523&highlight=galemys Cheers, Tom

Asturias is on my holiday destination wishlist! You are right, it is a pyrenean desman. I have done some mountainwalking in the pyrenees and the sierra de gredos but never found this amazing animal. Cheers, Tom

I don't know if it's available on DVD but I did watch the series & liked it al lot. I remember a team getting beaver for food and some firemen using the small lightbulb of a pocket torch for firelighting by gently smashing the glass so the hot glowing wire could be used. Cheers, Tom...

Welcome! Where exactly are you in Spain? As a north Iberian bushcrafter I am sure you will recognize the animal that's in my avatar picture! Cheers, Tom

They both perform fantastic for a natural tinder, capable of taking a spark from flint and steel and smouldering for a long time. Both are on the top of my list together with cramp balls (Daldinia concentrica, a blackish, hard fungus, according to internet these are found in the US as well but I...