Sunny intervals. Max Temp: 19°C (66°F), Min Temp: 13°C (55°F), Wind Direction: SW, Wind Speed: 10mph, Pressure: 1006mb, Humidity: 59% low, Sunrise: 04:38 BST, Sunset: 21:19 BST

Eager to get out after torrential rain prohibited an overnighter, I was up with the proverbial larks this morning. I packed up the day sack and on the spur of the moment, reached for the pocket cooker to cook breakfast on. I also took the small frying pan from the civilian trangia unit to make things easier.

The woods were very damp and the humidity seemed high as I set up the hammock to sit on. I had trouble selecting enough dry wood to start off the cooker. Little did I know this was the start of my problems. I seemingly forgot everything I’d learnt about properly preparing a fire, thinking that the pocket cooker was somehow easier to light and maintain.

I selected some bark which was still damp and tried to light some maya stick shavings with the firesteel. No luck here. After a good 5 minutes, the hungry side of my brain started to send signals to my hand telling it to reach for the Primus lighter. The bushcraft side of the brain told me to rest, think, find another solution and persevere. I shaved some finer slivers of maya stick and after a few more strikes the shavings at last caught. I gingerly fed the small flame into the burner and…it went out. I started over again, this time reorganising the wood in the burner. This time I was in business and bacon and egg was on the way.

After eagerly scoffing the breakfast, I tried to stoke the fire for a brew. I’m not completely to blame here and I felt that the burner was hard work. The trouble is that when you have something on top of the cooker, you can’t tell how well the fire’s burning or not as the case may be. Needless to say that on a couple of occasions, it petered out. To speed up the boiling process, I put the frying pan on top of the Crusader cup. Not the brightest thing to do as the bottom was covered with fire residue, which dropped into the cup. The was turning into a right royal mess up! At least I’d had my breakfast. The pocket cooker was slowly dropping down the league table of the Premiership Cooker League.

After what seemed a lifetime making breakfast, I fell back exhausted into the hammock. The damp of the woods and lack of sunlight soon made things a little chilly and I was soon seeking the more open, sunlit north side of the wood. I was soon engrossed in photographing and trying to identify some new plants emerging from the ground. I found another Bee orchid, Perforate St John’s wort, Biting stone crop, Black medick (this was a first for me), Ox-eye daisies and Self-heal. I also managed to get a shot of a Cinnabar moth.

I wandered home about 4 o’clock to a surprise Father’s Day welcome. I’d completely forgotten and the clan had gathered in my honour, complete with huge bar of chocolate, and a bottle of brandy. Best of all was the Sunday roast, which made the breakfast fiasco a distant memory.

By the way, I’ve posted a short video of the Barn owl here.

See you later.

Pablo.