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Wednesday 31 July 2013

Soft Light Water Lantern

When we are out on our all too few overnighters there is a little trick to spread a soft light around the camp or latrine area,
 

 
shine a torch or headlamp through a 2 litre milk jug of water, it provides a lovely soft diffused light that is actually bright enough to see all around the camp area after your eyes have adjusted to the dark.
 

Sunday 28 July 2013

Fraughan Sunday

Traditionally the time to pick wild bilberries is on Fraughan sunday, the last sunday in July (today) it comes from the Irish "fraochán" the anglicised version of which is fraughan which bilberries are known as in Ireland. So early up before the other gatherers to find enough for a pancake or two..
 

It's been a good year for them, so it didn't take long to gather enough for a few pancakes
 
 
15 mins and plenty for a lunch
 
 
whip up a simple pancake batter and add half the berries, use the other half to make a coulis for the pancakes
 
 
looking good, nice and brown and ready for a short stack
 
 
stack on a plate, drizzle with bilberry coulis, add a little cream and tuck in, food fit for a king!

Wednesday 24 July 2013

The Easiest Knife Handle in the World

Putting a handle on a blade can be a chore, but not if you do it this way
 

  buy the ready made handle and blade, cut the tang if you need to
 
 
Tap the handle onto the blade with a hammer, it's self gripping so will not come loose.
easy eh?
 
 
build time, about 2 mins
 
bit of a cheat, but it's a superbly easy way to make a great scandi knife.
 

Monday 22 July 2013

Bush Tea's... Linden Tea

A little late this year but the lime blossoms are in full bloom and it's a good time to pick them for one of the most common Tisanes consumed in Europe - Linden Tea
 
 
pick enough flowers to see you through the winter as it's also a great remedy for cold's and flu's
Dry them for a few days
 

 
I like to brew it rather than infuse it to get a slightly stronger flavour and to make sure I get all the goodness from the blossoms
 
 
save the rest in a sealed jar and put it out of direct sunlight
 
 
after a few minutes boiling I poured a glass of the Tea, a lovely pale yellow and slightly floral mild tasting tea, it was a little too hot so I added some cold water and...
 
 
after a minute or two it turned orange!
Haven't had this happen before but it was quite a pleasant party trick!
 
It's a good tea for the winter time but it excels at relaxing you after a stressful day, also good for nervous disorders!

Wednesday 17 July 2013

Baby Bird

About 10 days ago early one morning there was an almighty rucus between magpies and a Male Blackbird, apparently the magpie had snatched a fledgling from the blackbirds nest and after being harrassed by the daddy bird had dropped the youngster in our garden! I took a close look at him and he was cut around the beak and seemed to be stunned from the fall, but after a day or two he'd healed up well.
So there was no option for it but to protect the little one from dogs, cats and birds until he was ready to fly, daddy bird was extremely diligent in feeding the wee one and today I'm happy to say he took flight after daddy bird..but he did leave us one cheeky picture!
 
 
cute, isn't he?
 

Monday 15 July 2013

Flint Nodule ..... or not?

I went to my favourite place to find jasper looking for some pieces when I found this, it's a flint nodule, or is it?
 
 
Now anytime I've found nodules like this they have always been flint but there was just something about this piece that had me suspecting that it could be jasper..really? I've never found any this big before so it would be a first, only one way to find out and that's break it open! So lets just do it!!
 
 
and guess what, deep, dark and red and we all know what stone that is..YEAHHHHH!!!

Sunday 7 July 2013

Lauri Camping and Lauri Laplander

 
I had a nice piece of figured walnut and a couple of spare Lauri blades, namely the Lauri Camping (stainless) and the Lauri Laplander (carbon) both blades are around 6 inches long.
 
 
This is the Camping blade and the walnut handle I put on it, the chatoyence of the wood is incredible and much better than the pic would have you believe
 

and in full shot
 
 
and the Lauri Laplander above with a beech handle and a moose bone pommel, they are both very comfortable and will be well used.

Wednesday 3 July 2013

Horses Hoof Fungus?

 
No, it's not...
 
 
 
..but I can see why some people have mistaken this particular fungus for horses hoof before!!