Woodlife

Even though I’m envious of the vast wild expanses of North America and Canada – both places I’d love to visit for bushcrafting purposes – I can’t help thinking that for diversity in a woodland, you can’t beat an English wood, especially our ancient woodland. They might be small, but there is an intimacy that you can’t resist. I’ve been frequenting my particular wood now for 9 months and have nearly come full circle in its life cycle.

Although I’ve not seen anything spectacular in the way of wildlife, I’ve become more aware of the inhabitants and I’m beginning to know where to find them, what they will be doing and how to watch them. The woods themselves never cease to amaze me. Two months ago, I couldn’t see any tracks because of the high undergrowth. Now, the woods are again giving up secrets that I didn’t know existed, even for a tiny wood.

It was one of these secrets I stumbled on today. I wandered deep into the wood where I don’t normally go. I was in search of some cramp ball fungus that grows abundantly in the area. I suddenly came across a small clearing on the north side. How I’d not seen it before was a mystery even though I don’t frequent the area that often. Unlike the rest of the wood, it was quite grassy and being in the north edge, it was quite open to the sky. It was an ideal spot for a bushcraft site. I set to work immediately, seeing if the hammock would fit between the trees and foraging for wood. I’m not sure what the drainage would be like when it really rains hard as the north side does tend to get quite waterlogged, but for now, it makes a fine site.

After a quick lunch, I turned my attention to the kit I’d brought on this excursion. I’m getting a bit paranoid of late, not so much about what I take, but what I take it in. I have to have my usual bushcraft tools i.e. knife, folding saw, string, tinder, binoculars, sandpaper, neck scarf, gloves, heat gel, 1/2 litre of water, camera and my mobile phone. These would go in a shoulder bag which is normally my Raider bag. It’s a great little bag as it has back straps as well as a shoulder strap, but I can’t really get any more kit in it. If I take a trangia, tarp and hammock, I have to resort to a day bag rucksack.

Today I took my all the contents of the Raider bag and what I consider my day kit (trangia, tarp, hammock ration bag) in my 15-20 litre rucksack and was pleased with the result. It was much more comfortable to wear. I even managed to hang my axe on the side. I think from now on I’ll save the Raider bag for very short excursions. As I said in a previous post, the day bag has the additional advantage of ‘piggy backing’ on my main rucksack with a slight modification.

I finished off the day visiting my old friends the red dragonflies. They were still there, and still making last ditch attempts to oviposit in any greenery they can find. I’m amazed that at the end of the first week in October, they’re still about. It is very mild still although the evenings are getting colder. Time to think of a few winter projects. I think I’ve got a couple in mind. More about that later.