Horse Chestnut vs Sweet Chestnut

Good afternoon guys,

It's a common problem. People seem to ask the question about the difference as the name is similar.

Here is a short video about how to tell them apart.

Horse Chestnut vs Sweet Chestnut

Enjoy.

Please subscribe and comment.

Thanks,

Andy

Bilberries

One of the joys of late summer and autumn for me is picking Bilberries a relative of the Blueberry

I often visit this area in particular which is located in the South of Northern Ireland.

The pictures show typical habitat and what the bilberry flowers look like in late April before they become berrys.  The crop yield this year looks great!

MSR TrailShot Microfilter Water Purifier review

I do love a gadget!

When I saw this advertised online and watched a few videos about it on youtube I had to have one.

Techno mouse

Up until now I have been using an MSR Mini works filter for water purification. Now don't get me wrong the Mini works is absolutely fantastic and I have filtered hundreds of liters of water with it from some very questionable sources, most recently the Bann River on a canoe trip where i produced drinking water for about 6 guys. The water was then boiled to remove viruses.

Making drinking water on the River Bann with MSR Miniworks.

So i got a hold of a MSR trailshot and took it with me on a trip to Kilbroney Forest Park in County Down.( cost me £45) I had my wife and two daughters with me and the mission was to provide our water for the day. It was very hot during our adventure and it went up to 22C which for Northern Ireland is a heat wave!

Walking the mountain trails

Anyway when our shop bought bottle of water ran out (1 Litre) I went about finding a source of water to try out the MSR Trailshot. The source I found was a mountain stream running off a mountain that I could see the summit of from where I was standing. For a first test it was not much of a challenge as the water was cold, crystal clear and I would probably have had a go at drinking it straight from the stream if my family was not involved.

Anyway I found a nice pool of water and went about the task of using the little device to fill my water bottle. Msr claims a flow rate of 1 litre every minute and my experience is that this is accurate. The water tasted great to .

The filter will treat 2000L before needing replacement parts but the main thing which attracted me to it is the weight which is a very light 115g according to the manufacturer- I would not dispute it either.

This thing fits in your pocket and is so light you don't notice it.

The long tube can be placed in difficult to reach water for pumping to which is a bonus.

An overall brilliant little device.

Click the link below to buy one off Amazon. ( I get a very small commission if you do which helps the blog)

Msr Trailshot Water Filter

A few recent carvings. All done with a small pocket knife.

A very relaxing pursuit