Fire and Ice

 I absolutely love fire, there is something warming, comforting and encouraging about it, I could stare into the flames all day and not get bored, 

At the same time I love Ice, and there's nothing I love more than being in the woods overnight as it freezes, waking up in the morning with a cold nose, my breath visible in the air and ice all over the tent

Nature gives us beauty at both ends of the spectrum and which ever way you lean towards, hot or cold, there is always an appreciation for the opposite end that keeps all of creation in balance.

PS, whomever has kept the Buzzard base camp tidy recently has done a grand job, it really is appreciated. Thankyou. 

Happy Christmas 2024

 To all our beloved Buzzard Buddies out there can I just wish you all a very merry Christmas. This has been a wonderful and fulfilling year for us and I hope there's more to come. May you all be blessed in your outdoors adventures be they on high mountains, wide oceans or deep forests, allow them to show you the majesty of God's handiwork, and as one of our bushcraft forefathers, Horace Kephart said, "I love the unimproved works of God". Amen

Wood Blewit mushroom

 As most of my Buzzard Buddies know, I'm not a great fan of mushrooms, I think they're over rated, they steal the limelight from other more worthy forageable contenders and they all taste like feet. 

I do however like finding them but I'm not as good at identifying them as I would be with plants and seaweeds.

This one however I'm pretty sure is a wood blewit, the colour, smell and cap shape are pretty obvious give aways.

I do love the bluey purpley colour of it and they were quite numerous in this new wee forest we found.

Quite a distinct fungi amd although I know they're edible I also know they can cause allergic reactions in some people, so personally I'll bring them home for a friend who does like a nibble on them but me, I'll be happy with a nice plump pheasant!! 

 

 

Reindeer moss

 This is one of those special lichens that you find at this time of year in certain areas of coniferous forest.

We found this patch quite recently when out for the weekend and exploring. 

It's quite distinctive from a distance and quite easy to spot once you get your eye in.

Its one of those rare plants that has a wide range from Arctic tundra to quite southern latitudes. The interesting thing for the bushcrafter is that it's edible to humans, not just reindeer.

I've read that it's both bitter and acidic so it needs to be boiled in 2 changes of water. However I've also read it can be eaten raw and even was used as a cure for kidney stones in some localities.

I did try some of this patch raw and I could taste the acidity from it, though the texture and taste was quite pleasant.

I think I need to look into this excellent find a little more and see just what I can do with it.

What must I do to be saved?

 

Woodpigeon jamaican curry

 A Buzzard buddy made us a pot of delicious curry, this was one with a twist, it was Jamaican curry which I'd never tried before. Apparently its common to use goat in this recipe but as none was available he added a couple of wood pigeons and I have to say it was sublime, without doubt the best curry I have ever had, I now just have to get the recipe off him !!

Water pepper - persecaria hydropiper

 It's getting near the end of the season for water pepper so while out recently we decided to pick some for a little culinary experiment 

The banks are still full of this spicy plant but it is starting to wilt and the taste to fade, so we picked some to dry it out to see if we could use it as a hot herb.

A few good handfulls picked and brought home with us to dry out.

 Nibbling at it raw produces a real spicy punch, some say like wasabi but I think it's more burn like a chilli, this sensation is caused by a compound called Polygodial. 

A few hours in the dehydrator and we cut it up into a fine herb and tried it out

... and there was nothing !! The whole hot burny taste had gone, drying this herb is of no use and if you want that kick it's best to eat it raw. Cooking with it can reduce the potency of the burn also but not to the same extent as drying.

The best thing to do with it is cut it up finely when raw, let it marinade in soy sauce for a day then sprinkle it over fried rice, it gives a fantastic spicy pungency to any exotic rice dish.