Fire by hand drill

Fire by hand drill

Saturday 28 August 2010

A quick plant walk in the woods.

Wood sorrel. A lovely tangy apple peel taste. Dont eat to much though.
primrose. A nice salad herb and boil up the older leaves too.
Eyebright. lots of medical uses.
Knapweed. seed heads are Good tinder and other uses too.
vetch!
a bit of a fire with pine cones and resin. The ground was very wet and it was raining heavily
a big dandilion root roasted up on the fire. Quite bitter even after and hour of roasting.
all washed down with a nice cup of tea.

Harpoon point update

I have added a few cactus spines to my harpoon point. and constructed a fishing hook from a peice of juniper and a catus spike.

the cactus spines are very strong and flexible. It is all bound up with hemp.

Wednesday 25 August 2010

Deer Stalking

a cheeky little frog which watched me the whole time I was getting ready. He is lucky I didnt have a harpoon on me.
the deer in the distance.
Nice shot of some of them resting up.
Time to freeze and make like a tree. I think they heard my camera shutter.
they finally have enough and run for it.

Primitive tools

Hi,

I have been working on a number of primitive tools. The first picture shows a seasoned Yew Harpoon point, bound onto a Box shaft with hemp fibres, which are excellent and very strong. I am going to add a number of bone spines on the back with pitch glue.

The second picture shows a Hoko knife with a juniper branch, which is a direct result of my recent flint knapping practise. The entire knife is constructed with the help of stone tools only.

When i was binding it I caught my thumb on the blade and opened a very deep cut so am in no doubt of its effectivness for the likes of game prep or general light cutting duties.



Cheers

Thursday 19 August 2010

Test
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Tuesday 17 August 2010

A Plant walk around Lough neagh

Quite Choppy at the NorthEast shore.

A couple of tiny islands with Willow.
Rosebay Willowherb.
I went for a walk around Logh Neagh yesterday. It was raining quite heavily but there were plenty of people about.
Burrdock. A 1st year plant. The root can be harvested and roasted, which is delicious.
Plantain or Ribwort. A fantastic medical plant and edible too. It can be chewed up and put directly on a wound as a poultice among other uses. The young leaves can be used as spinach type pot herb. This one looks a bit slug eaten though.
Yarrow. A very powerfull herb that can stop bleeding among other uses.
Alder. The bark can be used for stomach aches. This wood burns quite poorly unless dried for years. It loves the damp.
Nettles. Cordage and food.
Wound wort. Another medical herb
Meadow sweet. A bush antiseptic.
Oxeye Daisy. Food and medicine.
Japanese Knot weed. the bane of many gardeners and conservationists.
Comfrey herb for wounds, sprains, bruises, and even broken bones and food.

Butterburr.

Sunday 15 August 2010

A walk in Peatlands park outside Dungannon.

A nice Aspen.
Norway Maple.
Cattails. An incredibly usefull food plant.
Pheasant berry.
Herb Robert
red clover.
Enchanters nightshade
Rowan or mountain Ash
A pair of ducks tend their nest.
A crafty Herron patrolling the shallows.