Man and his dog - Updated with Pics

[juliojordio1983]

Apologies, life delayed me updating this!

It was a beautiful day, I had no work the next day so i packed my gear and had a bimble down the estuary which is only a few minutes out of our front door. I took Lola our youngest Dalmation with me.

Took the opportunity to take some pics of my new Bushcrafter from Driftwood Walker A.k.a Lance Ockenden.

It's a beauty. O1 steel, 4mm thick, fits my hand like a glove. Battoned some logs.





Made some feather sticks.



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Some birch bark ready if I need it.
[URL=http://s1382.photobucket.com/user/jordanfranklin1/media/D18CAD7A-26D5-4B66-9D17-2C91A5D845A5_zpsatorognv.jpg.html]

Readily took a spark from a ferro rod.

Away we go...

First course...


Some views...







Myself and Lola had a lovely time, cooked some steak later on and sunk half a bottle of Kraken rum whilst listening to the birds on the estuary, gazed at some stars and fell asleep around 1am. Had a lovely night!

 

[Mack13]

Looks very nice there. Very open though, was it windy at all? I usually go for woodlands where there is limited wind and plenty of trees to hang my hammock from. This year I'l go for a few bivvy trips along the coast I reckon. Bet the dog enjoyed that nice fire. Cheers for the write up, has made me want to get off my **** and get out there =)

 

[crosslandkelly]

Lovely looking spot and a nice write up. Any Samphire along there?

 

[juliojordio1983]

Thanks Gents.

Mack, yes the wind can get up on this bit of coast, thats why I had the logs stacked up as an impromptu wind break, but the wind had died down to nothing by 9pm. The perrenial wind direction is from behind me, and there is a bank behind me which you cant see which helps alot. If the wind picks up properly there is usually something I can scavenge from the shoreline to use as a wind break, bit of chipboard or corrugated metal sheet from a roof.

I also much prefer to be in woodland, but I was surprised just how much good dry driftwood was lying around. It took me maybe an hour to gather all that wood and saw it into logs. We get a 10 meter tide here, so the driftwood gets topped up regularly just have to be careful, not be complacent and forget to check the tide, which I have done before and was woken up by my best mate with our feet submerged by the incoming tide at 3am, so we had to beat a hasty retreat!

Its a lovely spot, odd dog walker during the day, once its dark you wont see anyone, and its far enough out the way that no local kids bother coming down here. I camp down here at least once a month, sometimes every week.

Crosslandkelly; I'm slightly ashamed to say I honestly do not know. I have never been a forager, but, I have been looking at fishing on theis estuary, perhaps setting up a static line and allowing incoming/outgoing tide to cover and expose the lines, and this has led me to look at what other things I could forage to eat with the fish. So I do intend to start having a look around here a bit more. Is this the sort of place you would expect to find Samphire growing?

Lola loves the fire. Too much. I usually get a telling off from the Mrs because she comes back with no whiskers haha.

 

[crosslandkelly]

Looks like a good spot for it. June July August are the best months for Samphire.

 

[juliojordio1983]

I'll have a butchers the next few weeks mate, thanks for the heads up

 

[Nice65]

Very nice, Lola's a cutie too

I don't know if I've ever posted a pic of Mimi. She's a Jack Russell, with silly long legs and Dalmation spots.

 

[juliojordio1983]

Shes a little cutie mate You can see the Dal in her paws!

 

[Nice65]

Shes a little cutie mate You can see the Dal in her paws!

She's a nutty PITA really, not wired up correctly, but she's well loved. You know that Ikea stuff where there are a few screws, nuts and washers left over that get chucked. That's Mimi. Both parents are Jacks, BamBam was her dad, long legs and wirey coated, her mum was classic JR, but all white. Nobody wanted this one, I just loved her the minute we met.

Do your Dalmations spots move about? Mimi and Snippy are both white JRs, but Mimi looks nothing like this puppy shot anymore. Her spots, apart from head and tail, seem to shift about.

I was hoping she might learn stuff from another dog. Nope.

Apologies for going a bit off topic. I admire that collection of wood, it's a comfort knowing you can get warm and cook without having to go back out again. When we go out we shove a couple of big Pine logs up together to keep the fire alight and insulated all night. The damp ones are very good for this, and it's so easy to put a pan of bacon on in the morning where they've burned a hole in the middle.

Oh, and Lance does make a good knife, those feathers are beautiful.

 

[juliojordio1983]

Haha! That second pic, I have one of Lola doing the exact same thing! She goes crazy when other dogs are on the TV.

I haven't noticed her spots move but they do keep coming through as they get older. Lola is a similar sort of dog, she was the runt of the litter (she weighs 22kg, Alice my older Dal weighs 26kg and thats after shes been on a diet!) and she was the last bitch pup left. I knew she was meant for us when the breeder put her in my lap and she just licked my nose and snuggled in my arms. But, she is crazy, no doubt. I am on my third sofa in 18 months thanks to Lola lol! Thankfully shes stopped that now.

I like to do all the wood collecting before I even light a fire nowadays. That way once the fires going all the hard work is done, and the whole night can be about relaxing and enjoying myself without having to wander off a few times through the night. I also would rather have too much wood, than not enough, especially in winter. When i'm in the woods I like a Long Fire for winter camps. Essentially big fat logs (bigger the better) in a pyramid, pack in between the logs with kindling sized wood, light from the top and it burns down through the logs and usually lasts all night. Its really nice to not have add to the fire all night, and easy to pull some embers to the side to cook on. There's an old bloke on YT who looks like Gandalf from LORT who shows it well

The knife really is a lovely thing. I've gone through lots of different brands and models from Falkniven to Bark River looking for a camp/bushcraft knife that I cant find a fault with. This is that knife. The handle is so comfortable, you can use it for hours and feel no hot spots. I did find that the Scandi grind liked to roll, so I added a slight convex edge and I haven't had any rolling since, even If I batton with it. I like it that much I am squirrelling funds away for the Bare Bones model Lance does. Not that I need a Bare Bones! lol!

Did I mention Lola likes to smile?