summer

well my computer broke,ive been off line for ages,but now im sitting here with it in bits but working........./
Well what have i been up to..Ive spent alot of the summer tracking and stalking roe deer.i managed to identify families and spent alot of time very near them,i witness bucks chasing bucks out of territories,and was also threatened by a buck early one morning,he was really fired up.good fun..now its all died down and they have all faded...
ive been practicing stalking with a small yew bow,and practiced firing it from sitting kneeling etc,this way seems more realistic to me...ive been foriging,and making acorn coffees,ive also been collecting nettles and willow herb for cordage,something to work on in the winter months...Ive geared down now that the days are shorter,following the way our ancestors showed us...

yew bow again...

i finally managed to get some footage of the yew bow,i filmed this during a tuning session.

update

well my camera finally died.
With the weather so hot im out much more..
my main project at home is my yew bow...ive tillered it to 28inches but cannot weigh it...
This bow so far is the best ive ever done,the quality of yew for bow wood is great,ive even managed to put slight recurves in the ears,ive built up a nice handle,and now im in the process of fine tuning it,i shot some arrows off,but its power was still too much so ive had to thin the limbs more........
The area that i roam is full of life now,butterflies mainly hegde browns and purple hair streaks carpet the grasses,these grass areas hide the deer,i managed to stalk up to a good buck yesterday..
it will be the rut soon,i hope the sound of it will lead me to them...well off now to tune the bow.................

carp fishing photos.

i finally managed to get the carp fishing trip photos sorted out,here included is my son jake with his two bream...

yew 2 ,cows and saxon burial mounds.

Ive been working on my yew stave outlining the rough shape,the grain is good and the blend of sapwood and heartwood could make a very striking bow.
ive started walking along the downs,this area isvery different to what im used to,the weather is felt much more,there is no shelter exept for a few trees here and there.i can visulise plains indians living on exposed areas and what they must have endured...the area i am walking has ancient saxon burial mounds,these have been excavated anda large 6ft 5 saxon chieftan grave was uncovered,these are hard to spot as they just appear as mounds.
parts of the downs have herds of cows roaming freely.
im using a map and compass to navigate around i hope to plot out a good route that i can walk regularly,and hope to see deer,and maybe some good prey birds, and flora and fauna..

wolfbushcraft: yew stave

wolfbushcraft: yew stave

yew stave

here is some pics of the yew stave,i split it using my leuku,and two hazle gluts,the stave itself is 5ft 4inches..