Managed a few hours up my permission yesterday afternoon, tried out some new toys, tested a new brew system i have worked on, and few other bits i shall blither on about
got there about half eleven
broke out a new folding buck saw i got this week and dug out a piece of punk wood British Red is after
the punk wood didn't really put up much of a fight
however it was a nice easy starter to try out the saw, well impressed just need to make a carry case for it now to prevent the blade snagging against stuff
took a wander round the woods hunting for cramp balls for dartmoor navigator (no joy sorry)
spotted this as a likely new area within the wood to try out once the nettles have died back a bit
It is further in than my usual spot so less likely to get harassed by the elderly dog walker for bacon and eggs in the morning
found some interesting Fungi growing near the new spot neither looked in tip top condition and my fungi id is rubbish
wandered a bit more and came back out at the road so walked back along the footpath and spotted some thistle's going to seed, a good woodsman always collects tinder when they find it so I filled my tinder pouch
There are berries all along the side of my permission the trees are literally dripping with them, I seem to recall a folk tale saying if there is a lot of berries the winter will be harsh methinks it is time to dig out the snow shoes based on this lot
Haws
need to make/get a berry picker and get plenty for some fruit leather
some barely visible sloes
I shall wait for a frost and nip back to gather plenty of these for the annual sloe brandy/spiced rum/vodka making
I've also heard that if you put them near the fire it breaks down the natural sugars in them and makes them more palatable so I may try that next time
and a few blackberries but i suspect dog walkers have had a go at these
once back inside the woods I realised the log heap made the place look untidy
so I proceeded to move it into a neater pile, separating the types of wood whilst I was at it
about half way along I realised I hadn't had a brew for a while and decided to resolve this
above is the new brew set, the zebra billy, water bottle,click stand, mug and cutlery all fit in the M.O.L.L.E pouch so I only need a bottle of meths or a fire and I am laughing
Or so I thought
the billy can is too small to sit on the click stand instead it is the perfect size to rest inside the click stand and put the meths burner out-d'oh I'm going to sacrifice a coat hanger to make some pot rests that will balance on the click stand for future use, however i couldn't find the coat hanger tree so I improvised a pot holder
drank my tea and finished off the log pile
about five minutes later Alex turned up (I think he was waiting for me to finish moving the logs....)
with more fire wood and wild boar meat
so with a motivation like that I cracked on with some fire wood prep
which also gave me a chance to try out my latest knife a Condor Kephart
Alex had a birthday present to try out a Zippo emergency fire lighting kit
it works.....
obviously I couldn't let a good fire go to waste so I got the billy on for another brew
whilst the fire did its thing we tried a new rig up of poncho and space blanket tarp.
and one with me in for scale
whilst this was only a tester and i can see where i would/will improve it it definitely looks like a winner and I'm looking forward to trying it out when it gets colder
Alex then made some wild boar kebabs
and we cooked them over the fire
nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom
sorry no photo's of the final cooked kebabs we got caught up munching on them, i can understand why Asterix's mate Obelisk liked wild boar so much now its really really nice
after that we doused the fire, packed up and headed home
nice afternoon d back in time to give wee man his tea and put him to bed
thanks for coming along
got there about half eleven
broke out a new folding buck saw i got this week and dug out a piece of punk wood British Red is after
the punk wood didn't really put up much of a fight
however it was a nice easy starter to try out the saw, well impressed just need to make a carry case for it now to prevent the blade snagging against stuff
took a wander round the woods hunting for cramp balls for dartmoor navigator (no joy sorry)
spotted this as a likely new area within the wood to try out once the nettles have died back a bit
It is further in than my usual spot so less likely to get harassed by the elderly dog walker for bacon and eggs in the morning
found some interesting Fungi growing near the new spot neither looked in tip top condition and my fungi id is rubbish
wandered a bit more and came back out at the road so walked back along the footpath and spotted some thistle's going to seed, a good woodsman always collects tinder when they find it so I filled my tinder pouch
There are berries all along the side of my permission the trees are literally dripping with them, I seem to recall a folk tale saying if there is a lot of berries the winter will be harsh methinks it is time to dig out the snow shoes based on this lot
Haws
need to make/get a berry picker and get plenty for some fruit leather
some barely visible sloes
I shall wait for a frost and nip back to gather plenty of these for the annual sloe brandy/spiced rum/vodka making
I've also heard that if you put them near the fire it breaks down the natural sugars in them and makes them more palatable so I may try that next time
and a few blackberries but i suspect dog walkers have had a go at these
once back inside the woods I realised the log heap made the place look untidy
so I proceeded to move it into a neater pile, separating the types of wood whilst I was at it
about half way along I realised I hadn't had a brew for a while and decided to resolve this
above is the new brew set, the zebra billy, water bottle,click stand, mug and cutlery all fit in the M.O.L.L.E pouch so I only need a bottle of meths or a fire and I am laughing
Or so I thought
the billy can is too small to sit on the click stand instead it is the perfect size to rest inside the click stand and put the meths burner out-d'oh I'm going to sacrifice a coat hanger to make some pot rests that will balance on the click stand for future use, however i couldn't find the coat hanger tree so I improvised a pot holder
drank my tea and finished off the log pile
about five minutes later Alex turned up (I think he was waiting for me to finish moving the logs....)
with more fire wood and wild boar meat
so with a motivation like that I cracked on with some fire wood prep
which also gave me a chance to try out my latest knife a Condor Kephart
Alex had a birthday present to try out a Zippo emergency fire lighting kit
it works.....
obviously I couldn't let a good fire go to waste so I got the billy on for another brew
whilst the fire did its thing we tried a new rig up of poncho and space blanket tarp.
and one with me in for scale
whilst this was only a tester and i can see where i would/will improve it it definitely looks like a winner and I'm looking forward to trying it out when it gets colder
Alex then made some wild boar kebabs
and we cooked them over the fire
nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom
sorry no photo's of the final cooked kebabs we got caught up munching on them, i can understand why Asterix's mate Obelisk liked wild boar so much now its really really nice
after that we doused the fire, packed up and headed home
nice afternoon d back in time to give wee man his tea and put him to bed
thanks for coming along
