Best things in bushcraft?!/What Element of Bushcraft appeals to you the most?

[BorderReiver]

I agree with Kath,it's the woods.

There is always something different to see and hear.

All the seasons have their own attractions,as have all the different weather conditions.

 

[Viking]

When reading the posts here you realise, bushcraft is not a hobby it´s a way of life...or maybe even a religion for some.

 

[stuart f]

What appeals to me is the way Mother nature allows me to taste ,touch and see things all for free, i feel priviledged that she asks nothing in return.
CHEERS STUART F.

 

[Ed]

Very thought provoking gary.... where did the poem come from?

Ed

 

[Gary]

Ed the poem is Robert Service - an excellent poet very pertinent to our subject.

And though provoking is what it should have been.

 

[Womble]

It was; I loved it.

 

[jamesdevine]

Yes I loved it to. It's one of those zen like poems that opens doors every time you read it.

Is this from a book of his poems. If so can you tell us what it's called.

Also Gary thanks for correcting the spelling mistake i only noticed it this morning when i re read the thread.

James

 

[Stuart]

Well done Gary!!!!!

the best expresion of the meaning bushcraft i have ever heard.

 

[george]

My response will have to include a poem too:

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Some times we're just so full of other stresses that we don't hear the woods calling. At other times the call's so loud we can't ignore it.

Just stopping every now and then and listening to the same call that our ancestors heard is good for the soul. But it's at it's loudest and its purest when instead of passing by on the way to somewhere else we stop for a while and sing with it.

George

 

[Womble]

If thats' the full version, it's the first time I've seen the "TELEFON" poem in full. Wow.

 

[Gary]

Glad I hit the right note with the poem.

Ok Robert Service has several books in print his best are

The best of Robert Service isbn 0 7136 4464 8

or my favourite

The shooting of Dan McGrew and other poems (dover thrift edition)
isbn 0 486 27556 6

Read and enjoy.

 

[Roving Rich]

Well said Gary. I think you have about covered it.
I find my pace shifts down a few gears and i relax, meaning that i can concentrate alot better, giving better results with the task in hand.
I can't put my finger on which part i enjoy most. It starts with the surrounding sounds, bird sond, the breeze in the trees.. but raises my awareness as a whole, then theres that dancing dappled green light...
I wish i was out there

Thanks for the Poem George - its one of my favorates, along with another of his (Robert Frost) - The Road NotTaken :
http://www.ketzle.com/frost/roadnot.htm

Cheers
Rich

 

[Hoodoo]

There is a good selection of Robert Service poems (50) in a book by Clayton Klein called "Campfire Poems."

There's a race of men that don't fit in,
a race that can't stay still;
So they break the hearts of kith and kin,
And they roam the world at will.

Robert W. Service

 

[Gary]

Really HOODOO - do you know the ISBN number? Are there of poets in there? Which ones?

And yes thats another good one, the men who dont fit in and the call of the wild and my personal all time favourite THE Quitter could all have been written for us lot.

 

[maddave]

I think its the relaxing effects of spending time outdoors, learning and practicing skills. Reaching and growing beyond yourself and gaining an enormous sense of self confidence and well being.

Christ! Did I say that! :rolmao:

Dave

Errrr...... What he said !! :super:

 

[JimFSC]

For me the magic is in having a place where I truly fit, an environment where I can understand and 'read' it's mood. The awesome feeling that you can live out there almost indefinately with the bare minimum of equipment. Last summer I spent the better part of 6 weeks on one site in the North York Moors and it really began to feel like home, a wonderful experience. ack:

Blue Sky, Jim.

 

[Doc]

Interesting reading, all this. I can't help feeling most folk on the forum would be rather more at home in late 19th century Yukon/Alaska than the here and now. I know I would.

Agree with Gary on Robert Service. The Dover edition contains a big chunk of his works and is dirt cheap on Amazon.

As to the best thing about bushcraft....well.......you know that feeling when you set out, with a rucksack with tent/basha, food, knife, stove, waterproofs, sleeping bag, etc, and head for the hills or the woods? You're not worried about time, or where you go, or the weather (within reason!) because you know you can sleep out comfortably, and look after yourself 'out there'.

Bushcraft is feeling like that, only without needing the rucksack.

 

[Hoodoo]

The book was published in 1995. the isbn is 0-912382-33-3

Other poets include Lawrence Abrams, Eliza Cook, Trish Iwanski, Hal Meili, Ralph Space, Darrell Klein, Hamlin Garland, Joyce Stone, Kensinger Jones, Alban Wall Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and more.

 

[TheViking]

Hi...

Off course all elements of bushcraft is important, but don't we all have some subjects that we like more than others?? Which 'elements' do you like most? Or do you like all elements the same?
Be it navigation, FA, shelter, fire, water, living off the land, cordage making etc. etc. -??

What I like best: shelter, fire and living off the land is my 3 favourites... I practice all elements of bushcraft, but like these three the best!

 

[Douglas]

Already been done very recently

http://www.bushcraftuk.net/community/showthread.php?t=2256

For me it's the fire, and the general atmosphere outdoors.