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..

longbow

its been a dream of mine to make a long bow,ive tried once but failed,here in the uk yew wood is no longer great for making longbows as most of the good yews were used in the past..i found a good tree,growing in the dark,tall and straight,it had shed most of its side branches,so its knots are small,i hoping it works out,if not i will have a large flat self bow...more to follow..........

hernes challice...

pagan roe deer antler handled burr bowl ladle on eBay, also, Woodworking, Crafts (end time 25-Jun-09 18:35:32 BST)

bow stings

i previously mentioned about badger raids on bees nests,well ive found this going on alot ,this time i took pics,notice the bee..
im currently working on a new bow,im still fine tuning it so im not ready to show it yet..ive been working on the plains native american system of carrying the bow together with the quiver...

cattails,flint and steel.

Ash burl bowl

ive decided to put my bowl up for sale...
Rustic Ash Burl bowl on eBay, also, Woodworking, Crafts (end time 09-Jun-09 18:26:46 BST)

sap and fire carrying...

There i was happily walking along my trials when i decided to stop for my ciggy and tea break,what happens my lighter broke,i always travel light so only had my steel flint and char on me to light fires(my preferrred method),so i looked around for a way to light my roll ups..Its not rained for a while so i was lucky..i salvaged a birch poly pore an old net,king alfred cake,and some burdock leaves,and a couple of elastic bands..i lit my char,blew it onto the polypore and hey presto a smouldering ciggarette lighter,wrapped up in green leaves to stop it burning too quickly ,put in the net and tucked under my belt,and i was off.So there you have a woodsmans ciggy lighter..luckly no one asked me for a light.he.he..


I always see cherry birch sap oozing out from damaged trees,ive experimented with it to see if i could light it etc,but no luck.Any way asking around i found it has wound healing properties and has been used for many years..i got some and put it on a cut and it actually dries like second skin,forming a natural salve to protect an open wound..I also can see it being used to fletch an arrow,just run the sticky sap down the shaft and it would hold/not stick the feathers on while you tie them..its worth grabbing some and put it in your kit/medicine bag.It dries hard and non sticky,just put it in hot water when you want to use it..

A day out carp fishing...

pagan alter

i love nature,and i also have a special relationship with it.,i blend my nature with the intention of respect and honour to all living things,and of our ancestors long ago...i rebuild things and change them alot,change is a good thing..today i rebuilt my alter,its nice to have one of these in a special place,you dont have to be a new ager etc,its just a nice symbolismn of nature,put on it what you want,make it special,every new or full moon light a candle on it,make it yours,its a good way to give back what we take...

another week

Its been a busy week,lots happening out there,yesterday i heard a cuckoo twice,but the foilage was to dense to see it,I went onto a golf course and saw alot of steam rising from a paticuliar area,i thought it may have been deer,but on stalking down to it a doe roe deer appeared on the far edge andstarted feeding,the sun was right in my eyes and my attempt to film it was thwarted..one day i will get a good camera,she got wind of me a few times but the german flectarn worked well..the deer have been moving around alot more since the weather has improved,but ive not seen any srapes latelty...on the flint side of things im curently roaming a farmers field and im finding bits and pieces..im not sure of the tools id,but they may be primative farm tools,one being a hoe.
and another being a sickle blade used for cutting wheat etc..ive been trying to put my mind set into the ancient people who roamed and must have settled into this area,i find a good way to do this is to leave metal tools at home and take only stone and antler,i made a series of videos covering my tools and talk about this more.I also managed to make a small functional knife,i based it on otzi the ice mans shape...traffic was terrible i waited ages for this snail to cross the road...these are roman snails,they go whiter due to the high chalk levels...
i came across a badger raid on an underground bees nest,this was easy to work out as the trail of dead bees on the ground as the stung the badgers thick hide and died..
im getting better at pressure flaking and have produced a point,my new antler flaker works very well although roe antler will not last as long as red deer etc..
here are my videos enjoy..

flint,bird point,dog rose arrow..

made a nice light arrow....not been posting much as im out alot more and find sitting at a computer harder when the weathers nice..but im still doing my journal,i found a good worked flint scraper on a farm field.....The roe deer are moving around less ,im still waiting to stumble upon young...our weather although warmer is still a bit overcast and rain always threatens,but the birds get up every morning to sing,they dont complain so why should I?...The beech woods are cold,the lack of light is quiet depressing so im not staying around the campsite much now,anyway there is more to see and forage now,so being static is quiet boring..im still working on my percussion strikes on flint,ive found a few bits of jasper which shattter well,but the flake i produced had too large a bulbous edge,visited a pond which ive not been near for nearly a year,its been managed by conservationists,it look ok more light around it,so newgrowth will take place,i was actually searching for cattails but thier not there....more later....

bone awl/needle

the awl is often overlooked in bushcraft,its a useful multi purpose tool,it can be use for hole punching,sewing,a tooth pick,removing splinters,fishing,an arrow head and a small weapon...
i cut this out of a huge marrow bone,and abraded it down quite thinly so i can so with it...

work of art??

i cannot produce a work of art stone knife etc,but do you need to?around me is alot of flint,i can smash into a piece with my hammer stone and if im lucky i can get a decent razor sharp blade,when im finished with it i can give it back.

pouches and fommes

ive finished soaking my fommes tinder fungi,now im waiting for it to dry out,..
trapped a squirrel the other day,the meats so bland without seasoning..made a pouch from its fur..

chicken of the woos

part of my wild food/herbs series...

large ash burl bowl

my shillelagh

this is what i carry with me most times as a sense of security,its a shame really that in this day an age such things have to be considered...

fire carrying method 2

carrying fire

horse chestnut soap

ash bowl 2

finished working on my second ash burl bowl...

my journal

i thought id do a video on how i keep my journal,hopefully it may inspire others to do the same...

herbal

i decided this year to really get back into my herbs,ive been experimenting with insect repellent,and also garlics etc,i know people in the usa follow this blog and i thought i would do a series of videos on uk or english herbs and useful plants in my area,these are the main ones i use..enjoy the videos and please respond with some of your own..

antler arrow straightner

made a straightner today,its handy to get out the little kinks in the arrow,just heat the arrow, gently spit on it and slide into the hole,by using the antler as a lever you bend gently,then hold until cool..

true horse shoe tinder fungi.

amadou fungi,and i know this interests alot of people,there always seems alot of questions about it...to find it look on birch or oak trees,but dont confuse it with raor strop,you will know if you have the right stuff as the layer you need will be like leather not wood,if all you can find is wood then its the wrong fungi..the best specimens ive seen are in scotland..if you have any in your area let me know..
the process i use is to soak the fungi firstly to soften it,the outer layer is hard and difficuilt to remove,i then cut the layer away and get to the layer i need...assaid ths looks and feels like leather..i then soak the layers in urine,this contains nitrates needed to attract a good spark,there are other less nasty methods but i beleve our ancient ancestors did it this way...i sometimes boil it in urine,this does smell alot...the layers can also be charred as in charcloth this also works well,also really good bits can catch sparks if bone dry and powdered

new tarp/new set up

messing about with my new tarp today...ive hit on a theory that the roe deer dont feed every day,some days there are alot of slots and signs,other times there are none,i believe they feed alot then lie up for a few days...this is probarly to help them not get detected by the numerous dog walkers etc..is there a pattern in the moon tide etc?,next question........................

possibility filter

in todays times i see so much rubbish lying around some things i see i wonder how it gets there,my wierdiest being a bath in the middle of nowhere..but rubbish can be usefu so i salvaged bits and pieces and came up with a water filter,it works very well,even the charcoal i found in an old campfire,..

ive been toying with pouches to use as a possible pouch,ive been using one but its not that strong nor that rigid..so im using my old buckskin pouch again,its not massive and will hold the things i use out there,(not a survival pouch) i dont need one...its contants are as follows...firesteel,char cloth, flint,piriton,paracetamols,salve,hand fishing line with large hooks,and smaller hooks with trace,a piece of polypore birch tinder that i can cut up for plasters,and a tampon if i get a nasty cut..