Woodlife

I eventually climbed out of the Vaude tent about 9 o’clock, which was late for me. I normally wake just after dawn whenever I’m in the woods (no matter what the season). Perhaps the interrupted sleep due to the cold had something to do with it (or maybe the mulled wine). I even missed the hard frost that apparently covered everything in white. The sun was now streaming through the trees promising at least a fine morning. I hadn’t checked the temperature during the night, but at the moment it was about 4 degrees C. Cold enough to numb the fingers and toes.

I certainly reaped the benefit from base-layer clothing and fleece material outers. An ideal combination for dry, cold conditions. After the usual breakfast (the obligatory tin of ‘All Day Breakfast’) and sweet tea with a drop of rum, we went for another wander in the woods, purely to warm up.

This time we were a little more aware of our surroundings and managed to identify a few more trees that Swyn was talking about around the fire the night before. We also saw the indentations of the stray stick of bombs dropped by a German WW2 aircraft.

The communal fire was going full throttle on our return. George challenged us to figure out how the Wimmie Diddle worked (no, I couldn’t find it on Google either). It’s apparently based on a Native American toy. The photo shows the propeller spinning and the idea is to change its direction without stopping the scraping action that caused it to spin in the first place. Confused…we were! Anyone with more information on this, I’d be glad to hear it.

All too soon it was time to pack away. The clouds were coming in from the south west with the promise of forecasted afternoon rain. A few others had the same idea which was at least pack the gear away before any downpour occurred. Weather-wise, it had been perfect conditions for a moot. Cold, crisp and dry. The company had been excellent and the knowledge sharing beyond reproach. Another great moot.