Trip Out With The Boys - Pics

[Kepis]

The boys and i had day trip to our woods today, had a great time, decided we would have a fire today as well.

Youngest getting some fuel wood ready, using the two Oak branches like a brake and the power of a lever to snap the hazel rods down a bit

Eldest bringing in some fuel wood

yep, that should do to begin with

Perfect

we wanted to make some charcoal today, or really i wanted to add another skill to the boys ever growing list of skills, so we took an old sweetie tin with us, of course being Valentines day it had be a Roses tin, youngest bringing over some seasoned hazel to saw up for the tin

Tin full and ready to go

put the lid on and on to the fire with it

while the wood was cooking, we had a bit of a wander round, loads of Bluebells and Primroses coming up, the Wood spurge is already evident as well, back to the fire and the charcoal is cooking well

I wanted to collect some green Ash for a couple of projects, all of the timber we took today came from a small stand of Ash that had been crushed by a fallen sweet chestnut and the bottom of the trunks on all of them were splintered and shattered, so no harm done by us, in fact it's probably helped the Ash as it will regrow from the now coppiced stump.

Youngest doing a bit of forestry, yes the saw is upside down as he could see the Ash was under compression from the top, so he is under cutting it, prior to making the severing cut on top

walking back with some of the haul

meanwhile, eldest has been keeping an eye on the charcoal, upon inspection we could see that no smoke was coming out of the hole in the lid, so we took it off the fire and sealed the hole with some wet earth and let it cool down

time for a bit play - and why not, the boys being, well, the boys

after a rough and tumble, eldest set to splitting down some of the waste Ash, bits that were to knotty to be any use, these went on the fire

while he was doing this, i made a start on a new serving spoon, again from some the green Ash

we then checked the tin, all was cold, so we removed the lid and hey presto - perfect charcoal

We bought some of this home with us, the rest we left up the woods in a sealed container so we have a good source of easy light fuel and should we decide to, we can also use some of it in a water filter.

Boys having a play with some of the charcoal

shortly after this we tidied up the site and headed for home, tired, stinking of wood smoke but happy, all being well we are going back up there on Friday or Saturday for another fun filled day.

 

[johnboy]

Nice photos... Is it half term??

 

[Ivan...]

Great account and photos as ever Kepis , it's time like this i wish i had boys ! and not girls , which only one shows an interest , reminds me of all the knowledge i gained from my dad , lucky lads and dad !!

Thanks for sharing as usual .

Ivan...

( oh and sorry for not replying to your pm, you and the lads are welcome anytime )

 

[Kepis]

cheers guys, thanks for the invite Ivan, we will take you up on that offer, proably in the sumer holidays though when eldest has a break from his exams and course work.

@johnboy - yep it's half term here - a break that eldest most deffo needs.

 

[Crowe]

Nice one, Quality time
Crowe

 

[cbr6fs]

Fantastic pics, thanks for sharing.

Lucky lads to have a Dad with such knowledge and a want to pass it down, and a lucky Dad for having some great sons that are interested in getting out.

 

[drewdunnrespect]

Love it and Ausome picks

 

[Bigrich]

Great Pictures Mark, looks like a great day out! Inspired to get the kids out now today myself,

Thanks for sharing

Rich

 

[Kepis]

cheers guys, appreciate the comments

@ cbr6fs - just a doing what my dad and granddad's did for me, all that time spent in the woods, up the hills, on the beach etc playing and really you were learning, it was just that you didnt realise it at the time, it is a nice feeling though to be able to pass what i have learnt on and know at least some of the old skills, will survive into the next generation and hopefully into the next one as well.

 

[Hugo]

Looks like you all had a great time Kepis mate.
I see the sweet tin soon got emptied after Christmas.
That charcoal looks like a good tent warmer to me do you take orders. ha ha.

 

[Kepis]

certainly was a laugh Hugo, re the sweet tin, we have two or three left upstairs from Christmas that have not been opened yet, including a tin of Mingles, mmmmmm might have to go and grab those later.

How many sacks of Charcoal do you need then?

 

[cbr6fs]

cbr6fs - just a doing what my dad and granddad's did for me, all that time spent in the woods, up the hills, on the beach etc playing and really you were learning, it was just that you didnt realise it at the time, it is a nice feeling though to be able to pass what i have learnt on and know at least some of the old skills, will survive into the next generation and hopefully into the next one as well.

Sad thing is, there are very very few that don't.
A lot of folks blame the kids in reality though it's the parents that can't be bothered so they throw the kids in front of the TV/playstation etc.

Funny thing is though if the parents make the effort and the kids stop whinning for 5 mins then both sides really enjoy it outdoors.

 

[Man of Tanith]

Thanks for another great post
i fully intend to do the same for jake when he is bigger

 

[Kepis]

cheers Sam, it's great fun as you get to re-live the fun of finding things out all over again

 

[Man of Tanith]

i got told by lisa i wasn't allowed to refer to jake as the project a couple of weeks ago because i was describing all the things i want him to learn.
i've been lucky enough to relearn things with shannon (step daughter) so i get to relive and relearn twice now

 

[geordienemisis]

Excellent as ever Kepis, This looks like good time had all round. I like the way you are teaching the kids new stuff to expand their knowledge. I also learned something too, think I will be making some charcoal soon. Thanks for this post.....

 

[Kepis]

Excellent as ever Kepis, This looks like good time had all round. I like the way you are teaching the kids new stuff to expand their knowledge. I also learned something too, think I will be making some charcoal soon. Thanks for this post.....

cheers mate, you know what i learnt something as well from this trip, always do, the boys tend have a different slant on things and often question why im doing something in a particular way and sometimes their way is better.

 

[Passer]

Great to see the next generation coming through....and enjoying themselves.

Well done.

 

[R3XXY]

You know it's a good day when you stink of wood smoke

 

[Kepis]

You know it's a good day when you stink of wood smoke

Exactly .