Pablo’s Woodlife: Wildlife, Tracking and Bushcraft

This is the conversation that took place between Pablo and his team of eminent physicians at the hospital last Monday.

Dr - So, it’s been 4 weeks now in a cast.

Pablo - It’s been 6 weeks.

Dr - Oh, right. Let me see (consults notes). Ah, yes - 6 weeks. So we’re going to put on another cast after repositioning the foot.

Pablo - No, we’re taking off the cast and we’re putting a heel raise in my shoe.

Dr - Well, it’s a bit soon.

Pablo - I was told 2 weeks ago by the plaster technician to bring my other shoe and a heel raise.

Dr - It seems there’s been a mix up on the dates.

Pablo - Really?

Dr - Yes.

Pablo - Perhaps that accounts for me attending here in week two and being told I need not have come.

Dr - Well, it does appear that there’s been a mix up on the dates.

Pablo - I would suggest you never work in the Cardiology department.

No response.

[Pablo then hobbles to see the plaster technician]

PT - OK, we’re leaving this cast on for another two weeks.

Pablo - No, we’re taking this cast off and repositioning the foot to the normal position and putting on a new cast.

PT - Oh… right. I’d better check with the doctor.

Pablo - Yes. You’d better check with the doctor.

[Plaster technician returns after 5 minutes]

PT - Right. We’re taking this cast off and repositioning the foot to the normal position and putting on a new cast.

Pablo - Excellent. I thought you might. By the way, what shall I do with the heel raise you told me to bring last time.

PT - Well, it does seem you’ve had a bit of bad luck with the dates.

Pablo - Yes. Bad luck really does follow me around in this hospital. I’m not too sure why.

PT - There we go. All done. See you in two weeks with the heel raise.

Pablo - Are you sure?

Despite yet another set back and a couple of day’s pain after repositioning the foot, I took advantage of today’s fine weather and walked further than I have in the last 7 weeks - but of course, keeping to the solid paths of the Forestry Commission’s Broaks Wood.

Bill (who’s staying with us for a while) and Mrs P. had great fun galloping ahead then doubling back while I advanced slowly to catch them up. I really must get Billy a camo jacket.

My new “tracking shoe” helped me keep my foot level to the ground and stopped the cast getting wet and muddy. Hiking socks kept the cold air off my delicate toes.

It felt great walking some distance even if I did have to rely heavily on my walking stick - the crutches were thankfully discarded on this occasion. There appeared to be no painful after effects from the exercise.

On this day of the winter solstice I took in the quiet, sleeping woods and looked forward to the time when they would awake. With any luck, I’d be there when they did.

Thanks for the visit.

Pablo.

 

I could only manage a few hours in the woods this weekend. I decided on the spur of the moment to have a go at making a fork. If you’ve ever tried this you’ll know that it’s not easy. I gouged away carefully at the gap between the prongs, but still managed to split the wood slightly. I’ll probably also have to harden the ends of the prongs over a fire or they’ll break too easily. Although it doesn’t look too bad, I don’t think it will last very long under constant use. I think I need more practice!

 

I spent the rest of the time looking at the plants growing on some waste ground. This is a good time to identify these plants as there’s a lot in bloom.

Cinnibar Moth catapillar on Ragwort - Ragwort is poisoness to most mammals

[edit] Burnet moth (possibly six-pot Burnet) on Common centaury

Tall melilot

Great willowherb

Birds-foot trefoil

Scarlet pimpernel

Vetch

Field bindweed

Cinqfoil

Common mallow

Small tortoishell on thistle

Self-heal

Thanks for the visit.

Pablo.

 

Although there has been quite a bit of rain, there wasn’t enough to keep “the swamp” full and many of the shallower puddles had dried out. There’s usually a bit of dragonfly activity, but even they seemed to be elsewhere.

It was very difficult to capture on camera and the best I could do was the pic below. If you look closely to the right and above the diamond caused by the sun on the lens, you might be able to see what looks like a swirling orb type shape.

 I wandered out of the woods with spirits a little low, feeling disappointed at the lack of activity.

This morning, my mate Paul W and I went for a wander in Lowt’s wood. The air was humid and we were soon sweating in an attempt to battle through the overgrown footpath. I can’t believe that so few people walk along the long public footpath and into the wonderful woods.

On the walk in we caught a fleeting glimpse of a fox and tracked it back to its earth a few yards away on a bankside and caught sight of some fallow deer at a distance. They had already spotted us and we could only get a blurred long range shot. A shame we couln’t get closer for at least two had magnificent antlers.

We made it to the clearing at the top and settled down for a coffee. Only the occasional aircraft spoilt the silence and we chatted sparingly - as old friends do.

On the way back, we stopped to listen to the wheat growing. Well it seemed like it. The phenomenon, a popping sound almost like popcorn, is probably caused by the seed expanding in the sudden warmth of the sun.

Pablo.

Sunny intervals with outbursts of rain. Max Temp: 20°C (68°F), Min Temp: 12°C (53°F), Wind Direction: SSW, Wind Speed: 22mph, Visibility: good, Pressure: 1002mb, Humidity: 68%, Pollution: low, Sunrise: 04:42BST, Sunset: 21:21BST

I was working away last week. How I hate being away from home and the woods! I couldn’t wait to get back. Despite the rain, I was up and running in the woods for a few hours yesterday and today.

I’ve really been getting into wildflowers lately. A couple of weeks ago I found a scarce Sulphur clover in the area. Big pats on the back from Essex wildlife trust and even English nature have been informed. Still all subject to confirmation of course. Unfortunately there was only one single plant in the area and I ate it! ONLY JOKING! Our local wildlife group have cut away the area hoping more will grow.

Spurred on by this success, I decided to scour the local area, make a list of plants and try and see what value they are to the Bushcrafter. I’m actually trying to do another video (my first ‘talkie’-how I hate the sound of my voice) based on wildflower use around my area and this should be ready soon.

While doing a bit of research I came across this theory. You might have heard it, but I certainly haven’t until now. It’s called the Doctrine of Signatures. It goes something like this (in simple terms):

“…every plant bears an outward sign that of its value to mankind…”

It’s difficult to tell where this originates from as there is conflicting information. It possibly stems from the ancient Chinese who were great herbalists but there are also references to Native Americans. In the Christian version, it’s said the Creator had so set his mark upon Creation. In Europe the greatest exponent was a bloke who kindly changed his name from Philippus Theophrastus Aureolus Bombastus von Hohenheim to Paracelsus.

I’ve been quite fascinated with this and set out to look at a couple of plants on today’s excursion (despite the rain). St John’s wort and Selfheal, both of which are abundant just outside of my woods at the moment, were the subject of my study.

The top petal of the Selfheal from side on looks similar to the shape of a bill hook, which of course was, and still is, popular in England for trimming hedgerows and making wooden fences. This was the main cause of wounds in the medieval farming community and hence the plant gained a reputation as the healer of wounds.

Perforate St John’s-wort on the other hand bears no resemblance to any instrument, tool or part of the body; however the medieval herbalists noted that the leaves had tiny perforations in the leaves. These perforations were said to be puncture wounds caused in battle, thus they were used to cure wounds of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem in the Crusades.

Do they work in a medicinal sense? Well, Selheal’s Latin name is Prunella vulagaris; prunella eminating from the German, Brunella, which means sore throat and an infusion is sometimes made into a gargle or mouthwash for laryngytis. A lot of proprietary drugs are made from St John’s-wort. Long-term use relieves depression and migraine (sounds dodgy!) and as lint, the plant is indeed often used to heal cuts and bruises (source: Launert’s Edible and Medicinal plants of Britain and Northen Europe). So there we have it. One pretty accurate, and one not so far off. Good old Paracelsus.

For the record, other flowers in the area I noted were:
Tufted vetch, Thistle, Teasel, White clover, Tormentil, Cinqfoil, Scarlet pimpernel, Bee orchid, Selfheal, Perforate St John’s-wort, White and Red Campion, Common comfrey, Arum lily (green berries at the moment), Ragwort (with Cinnabar moth caterpillars feeding voraciously), Cramp-ball fungus, Unknown umbellifers, Restharrow and even some ripe blackberries.

Thanks for the visit and see you next time.

Pablo.

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 prohibted 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.