Maidenhair-tree (Ginkgo biloba) just because it reminds me that world holds lots more secrets than we know about.
Favourite Tree?
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rowans for me i guess
always had a soft spot for them for no real reason
old lore says plant one in your garden to keep witches away from the house
pretty colours in autumn, berries for the birds
and in the winter something very beautiful about the shape against a winter sky
nice walking sticks, my present one is from a tree that telecom wanted to cut down for the phone lines, so i raided it before they got there
sometimes called mountain ash which is a name i like for them too
Tant
always had a soft spot for them for no real reason
old lore says plant one in your garden to keep witches away from the house
pretty colours in autumn, berries for the birds
and in the winter something very beautiful about the shape against a winter sky
nice walking sticks, my present one is from a tree that telecom wanted to cut down for the phone lines, so i raided it before they got there
sometimes called mountain ash which is a name i like for them too
Tant
This is a tough one.... Until recently, I would have said Elder, Rowan or Ash.
Elder gives berries, and a dead stem can give pith for making fishing floats, and if you remove the pith from a stem without breaking it, you get a nice blowpipe for blowing into the embers of a fire to get it going stronger (but some people might be allergic, and could get a rash round the mouth).
But now, my favourite is the Chestnut Tree. Last week, I got a good harvest of chestnuts with my wife and two kids. They loved scrabbling through the leaves, breaking open the spiky caseswith there shoes and picking up the big nuts.
Down in the south west of France, where we spend a lot of time, the chestnut was apparently nicknamed the bread tree ('abre à pain') due to the huge part it played in the diet of the locals. I've read that the Romans would plant large numbers of chestnut trees wherever the army was garrissoned, to provide food.
The wood is used for roof trusses and floorboards. Thinner wood for bentwood furniture and making shelters. grows fast and is a great wood for making charcoal. It will quickly throw up several long, straight poles if you cut down a tree.
If anybody knows a good, easy way of blanching chestnuts, please post!
Keith.
Elder gives berries, and a dead stem can give pith for making fishing floats, and if you remove the pith from a stem without breaking it, you get a nice blowpipe for blowing into the embers of a fire to get it going stronger (but some people might be allergic, and could get a rash round the mouth).
But now, my favourite is the Chestnut Tree. Last week, I got a good harvest of chestnuts with my wife and two kids. They loved scrabbling through the leaves, breaking open the spiky caseswith there shoes and picking up the big nuts.
Down in the south west of France, where we spend a lot of time, the chestnut was apparently nicknamed the bread tree ('abre à pain') due to the huge part it played in the diet of the locals. I've read that the Romans would plant large numbers of chestnut trees wherever the army was garrissoned, to provide food.
The wood is used for roof trusses and floorboards. Thinner wood for bentwood furniture and making shelters. grows fast and is a great wood for making charcoal. It will quickly throw up several long, straight poles if you cut down a tree.
If anybody knows a good, easy way of blanching chestnuts, please post!
Keith.
Keith_Beef said:
There isn't really an easy way of shelling/blanching chestnuts - however, these two alternatives have both worked for me in the past - but it was a good while ago...
1) Cut an X in the skin on the flat side of each chestnut. Put the chestnuts in a pan with some oil (about a tbsp of oil per cup nuts) and fry lightly for 5-10 minutes. Place the chestnuts in a roasting tray and put in the oven for 5-15 minutes on quite hot (200 degC) until the shell curls at the X mark. Remove, and shell - with any luck the nuts should shell easily and should be nicely blanched when shelled. rub in a kitchen towel to remove skins.
2) Cut an X in the skin on the flat side of each chestnut. Cover the nuts with warm water and soak for 15 minutes, then drain well. Put in a roasting tray and roast for 5-15 minutes, until shell curls away at X mark, about 15 minutes. Shell the nuts, then blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes and drain. Rub in a kitchen towel to remove skins.
Hope this helps!
Willow or cedar for me, medicine from the branches, other than that maple (sugar).
just a though
just a though
Juniper ! 
The bark is great tinder (the powdered inner bark will catch a spark and smoulder forever). The dry trunk is good enough to make fire by friction... IOW, if you find a standing dead, dry juniper you can start fire...
The bays are edible (well... mostly a condiment) and they also are good medicine to clean-up the liver and help digestion.
Juniper smoke, too, smells so perfectly good... I love that smell. Nothing beats juniper-smoked bannock IMO
Cheers,
David
The bark is great tinder (the powdered inner bark will catch a spark and smoulder forever). The dry trunk is good enough to make fire by friction... IOW, if you find a standing dead, dry juniper you can start fire...
The bays are edible (well... mostly a condiment) and they also are good medicine to clean-up the liver and help digestion.
Juniper smoke, too, smells so perfectly good... I love that smell. Nothing beats juniper-smoked bannock IMO
Cheers,
David
Well,
I'll think I'll cheat a bit and say which ever one I happen to be sitting under / in at the time!
Cheers
David
I'll think I'll cheat a bit and say which ever one I happen to be sitting under / in at the time!
Cheers
David
Apple.
Because there is nothing quite like sitting at the top of a tree watching the birds, sunset, feeling the wind, everything, whilst eating apples all evening. You even have ammo to scare next-door's cat away from the rabbit/ducklings/chicks.
Because there is nothing quite like sitting at the top of a tree watching the birds, sunset, feeling the wind, everything, whilst eating apples all evening. You even have ammo to scare next-door's cat away from the rabbit/ducklings/chicks.
bambodoggy
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
For me it's got to be birch....for all the reasons others have already said and also because it saves me using char-cloth...we have so many of them round here that tinder is always only a few peelings away :chill: and there's none of that annoying blow blow blow (damn it's gone out) blow blow blow etc as it lights to a flame straight off....
They also have a habit of dying and falling over nice and close to the edge of our woods so when I go logging for my woodburning stove there's always loads of trunks about for me to saw up without having to drag them miles.
I've made little bowls and a ladel out of the bark but if anyone can show me how to get it off the trunk in sheets larger than about a foot square I'd be grateful....? ? ?
They also have a habit of dying and falling over nice and close to the edge of our woods so when I go logging for my woodburning stove there's always loads of trunks about for me to saw up without having to drag them miles.
I've made little bowls and a ladel out of the bark but if anyone can show me how to get it off the trunk in sheets larger than about a foot square I'd be grateful....? ? ?
I have been pondering this one for ages. It's always been a choice between apple and rowan.
Rowan for all the reasons Tant wrote. It's just a beautiful little tree.
But it's got to be apple, fruit obviously but it's also a lovely wood for carving and knife handles (makes a good bow if you can get hold of a bit straight enough) the blossom is lovely too.
Rowan for all the reasons Tant wrote. It's just a beautiful little tree.
But it's got to be apple, fruit obviously but it's also a lovely wood for carving and knife handles (makes a good bow if you can get hold of a bit straight enough) the blossom is lovely too.
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