Stonehead - More Weekend Reading

I've been reading a few smallholding blogs this afternoon and a couple of them are certainly worth a visit. First up is:

Musings from a Stonehead: The trials and tribulations of a modern crofter

A transplant from down under living in the frozen north or Insch, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland as it's more commonly known. He lives on a croft (Scottish for very small farm) and tries to live the lifestyle my friend MCP (middle class peasant) is always espousing.
"We’re trying to lead a more traditional lifestyle while also minimising our impact on the environment around us. Our life is hard, but it’s ours and it’s a lot more fun than being a wage slave tied to the consumerist treadmill. So while the croft once supported four families and their livestock and is not likely to do that again, it’s a real pleasure to have one foot in the past and another in the future."
He has a great 'how to' section of neat tutorials. The one showing how he skins the rabbits he shoots, is linked here.

I enjoyed the tutorial and thought some interesting blogs might be found by perusing the comments left by other readers. What a world of delights awaited me! Some of the people who write in are like me interested in wild food, some smallholding, and some just small minded.

Funny chap, have a read of this discourse from his comments page

Chanel writes in to say "Eating rabbit is pointless. They are generally such a small animal that hardly enough mean to justify a killing is consumed. It really sickens me that you would post pictures like this. I have two rabbits as pets and I love them more than my annoying pomeranian. They are peaceful and quiet animals. Please, if anything, state your response in an intelligent manner unlike the mocking manner in which you replied to Jenna and Cayla."

Stonehead doesn't take any prisoners "You choose to exploit animals by keeping them as pets to satisfy your emotional needs. I choose to exploit rabbits by killing and eating them to satisfy my dietary needs. The rabbits I exploit roam free until the moment they’re killed, the ones you exploit are kept in some sort of confinement. Don’t pretend you’re somehow morally better simply because you choose a different form of exploitation.This is my blog and I choose to share some of what I do with like-minded or interested people. If what I post sickens you, then go somewhere else. (Did you not read the disclaimer?) I shall also choose to state my reply in whatever manner I choose, in this case pointing out that it is not possible to mock without possessing a reasonable degree of intelligence. On the other hand, it does not require a reasonable degree of intelligence to come out with an unintended oxymoron such as yours."

Do read his linked disclaimer it's hilarious!

If you stay home and read his site this weekend you'll be consuming less, learning a thing or two and the laughs'll make you feel better.

Well that's my plan anyway
As ever your pal
The bushwacker

MyCo Diesel

No not an interview with Renzo Rosso founder of the clothing brand of the same name but some astounding news.

Professor Gary Strobel has been studying rotten tree stumps in the patagonian rainforests and has found a fungi that turns rotting wood into diesel fuel.

"We were trying to discover totally novel fungi in this tree by exposing its tissues to the volatile antibiotics of the fungus Muscodor albus. Quite unexpectedly, G. roseum grew in the presence of these gases when almost all other fungi were killed. It was also making volatile antibiotics. Then when we examined the gas composition of G. roseum, we were totally surprised to learn that it was making a plethora of hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon derivatives. The results were totally unexpected and very exciting and almost every hair on my arms stood on end!"

How cool is that?!! What a Fun-guy. Sorry
SBW

Another Door Opens

One door closes:
I'm a bit gutted to be reporting this but Outdoors Magazine is no more. Over the last few years I've read a fair amount of it -but sadly not all of it - and its always been the best Bushcraft resource on the web. No cliques of sniping armchair experts and LOADS of great content.
This post on British Blades has most of the details.


Fortunately a quick search for Bushcraft had revealed that a great new Bushcraft forum has opened its doors:

I dispatched Dixon of Dockgreen to investigate

Superintendent bushwacker: Well well well what 'ave we got 'ere then?

Dixon of Dockgreen: It looks like a new bushcraft forum 'as sprung up on the interweb sah!

Superintendent bushwacker: 'Ave we any idea who is responsible?

Dixon of Dockgreen: Foal play is suspected sah!

OK OK puns aside. A blogger called Foal has started the site for all those people who feel that hunting, survival/preparedness, and even a little politics are suitable topics of discussion for adults interested in bushcraft. So far the site has blazed a slightly different trail to the sites that have come before it, and while it's early days, I'm really enjoying the chance to hear a few different viewpoints.

Forums are a bit like pubs really, although we don't own them (or have to put up with any of the hassle of managing them) we make an emotional investment in them, and feel they should be as comfortable and familiar as our daily newspaper; a place where opinions are reassuringly similar to the ones we already hold. In reality forums are much more like family's - your thrown together with people you only enjoy a passing agreement with, people fall in and fall out, feuds and sulks are acted out, and in amongst that we grow from the process of learning to get along while being exposed to the strange beliefs of others.

I'll be there reading, posting, and hopefully being provoked. I look forward to meeting you down there.

Is your current forum high in pomposity and low in geniality?
Try new ..... Bushcraftusa.com

Your pal
SBW

Happy Blog Day Nor Cal Cazadora!

Norcal Casadora - She’s another late convert to hunting and wild food and I’ve always felt an affinity with the trails and tribulations of her journey from foodie to cazadora (huntress). I remember when she only had a couple of posts up and I’ve really enjoyed watching her blog and its reputation grow. Her writing and analysis are both first rate. This is how the professionals do it. Where most bloggers do something else for a living she is a professional word smith, teaches writing, and frankly it shows. My prediction for the next year is that she’ll be asked to take over the Field and Stream huntress blog.

Happy Blog Day To You NorCal!!

And The Winner Is.....

Just a quick post this afternoon as I'm out of town for a few days.

It seems amazing but its actually three weeks since i posted the Great Jam Competition of 08

And in fairness I would have hoped that a few more of you would have gone head-to-head like rutting stags fighting for the honour of spreading MOB's (mother of bushwacker) finest on your toast.

But ya didn't. So first prize has to go to

Pablo - for the most practical answer

with a runner up prize to Alistair to give him the energy he'll need for all that DIY.

Email me your postal addresses chaps, and the sticky stuff'll be in the post.

Your pal
The Bushwacker

C'Mon You Redz!

Carm-ern-yoo-redzz!

Went to the football to watch Charlton play some bunch of no hopers from the west country.
That was a mistake, Charlton were the no hopers. Two- effing -Nil!

Though at last there is some good news for beleaguered Blighty, those cheeky chappies the native British Red Squirrels, if not bouncing back, are at least no longer circling the drain. Over the last few years Red Squirrel populations in England and Wales have been declining rapidly as grey squirrels spread squirrel pox virus, which does not appear to affect the greys.

Happily Steve Connor, science guy at the Independent reports Wild red squirrels have developed an apparent immunity to the squirrel pox virus, which was killing off the last their remaining communities in England and Wales, as well as threatening the much larger native squirrel population in Scotland.
Although it's not practical to count them all, a common guess would have it that there are about 140,007 red squirrels left in Britain. With about three quarters of them north of the border with Andy Richardson and our Caledonian cousins. Across the country there are about 2.5 million delicious grey squirrels, (a convenience food introduced from the Americas in the 1800s). So as you can imagine things are in a perilous state and the British Reds need all the help we can give them.
Meanwhile well-meaning numpties are doing their muddleheaded best to make the natural world more like it looks on TV. Lindsey Maguire, who runs a squirrel rescue centre with his wife, is reported to have said:
"We are involved with animal rescue and if someone brings you a [grey] squirrel what can you do? You can’t just throw it in the bin."

No Lindsey, you numpty not in the bin, in the pot!

I'm calling on Patriots, Nature Lovers, Gun Owners, and People who are just Peckish, to help bring about a 'culinary solution' to these pesky (yet delicious) interlopers and in doing so, save our British Reds.

Even on his days off James has been doing his bit, with delicious consequences.

As they are originally from the USA here's a few pointers on how to organise a squirrel camp from Rex and his Dad at the Christmas Place Hunting Club, and a report on how this years proceedings went.
Scoutin' life has also been hard at it, read squirrel-sniping here.


Fight back and Tuck In!

SBW

UnBoxing - Mikro Canadian II

Here in the UK due to the recent hysteria about young lads stabbing each other with kitchen knives filched from their mums kitchens, carrying any kind of knife in town is becoming 'contentious' to say the least. I've scaled right down to the smallest SAK (Swiss Army Knife) on my keys as my EDC and I've been pleasantly surprised just how handy it’s been for all those little jobs. The kit collector within stirs and sniffs the wind. The search for the perfect micro knife is on. I'm thinking of a 'Field Scalpel'.

In the same shipment as my lunch boxes came just such a knife. The Mikro Canadian (II), by the Bark River Knife and Tool Co. BRTK seem to feature in a lot of peoples collections, and their wares have received glowing reviews from a few other bloggers so I told myself there was a convenient hole in my tool kit for an inconspicuous neck knife, convinced myself it was a bargain, and clicked the 'order now' button.

Since it's arrived I've made a few visits to The Old Operating Theatre, a real life Victorian operating theatre left untouched from the 1850s. The museum has an amazing collection of period instruments; handmade sharps and saws from the days when speed was the thing most likely to limit the risk of infection. One surgeon had the claim to fame of being able to take a leg off in twenty eight seconds. The blade shapes were interesting; saws with hinged spines designed to give rigidity during the first part on the cut, then as the blade was deep into the bone, the spine would lift up to allow the blade to pass through. I also saw a set of scalpels where the blade shape was almost exactly a Mikro Canadian.

These little slicers seem to have been a big seller for BRKT and I can see why. They’re small enough to be unobtrusive, whilst having just enough handle to feel solid in your hand. I've been reaching for it as my EDC for a few weeks now and, yeah, it's a handy little thing. The original model was made from A-2 Tool Steel, where as the MCII is 12C27, which seems an easy stainless steel to maintain a hair popping edge on.

If I'd really looked closely at the picture I ordered from, I would have noticed the mosaic pins (which are really nice) aren't even slightly aligned.

When you consider how easy a job it is to stick a piece of tape with a line drawn down it on to the handle (so you can line them up before the glue sets) it’s a bit of a disappointment. The maple burl (what could be more Canadian?) is easily the nicest wood of any of the knives I've got.

The fit of the scales isn’t neatest of work either, there's a visible gap between one of the scales and the blades tang, making the ideal place for gunk to fester, which kind of rules out using the knife for boning out, which is a shame as it feels as if it would be ideal. I'd intended to buy one handled in orange Micarta or G10, which would probably been a better shout for use as a field scalpel but the wood is good looking.

My knife’s is etched with the words First Production Run which is kind of surprising as I would have thought the collector market would be somewhat more discerning than someone like me who just wants to sharpen pencils, slice salami and open the mail.

No knife review would be complete without the 'I made feather sticks, cut notches for a 'number4' and shaved a tomato' bit. I'm not sure if I really want to eat city fox as their diet of abandoned takeaways isn't ideal, so I missed out the number 4 trap, made some melt-on-the-tongue tomato wafers, and feathered some lailandi branches. While the blade gave ultra fine shavings a couple of deeper cuts left a tiny dink in the edge so maybe 12C27 isn't such a strong steel after all or the temper isn’t quite right.

Despite its flawed build quality I've really come to like the Mikro Canadian’s design.

So I’m giving BRK&T the right to reply to this review, let’s see what they do with it.

Thanks for stopping by, Leave a comment, I'd love to know who's reading.
SBW

Before We Laugh - Bushcraft Divorce

Before we laugh we should spare a thought for brave Nicole



This is a salutary lesson in how far a man's obbsessions will take him.
It's a brave man who'll admit his mistakes.
It's a daft man who'd take his girlfriend on an experimental snow camping trip!
Or as Nelson Muntz would say Ha Ha!

I feel so uncharitble, but I can't stop laughing.
SBW
PS thanks to Andy at upnorthica who found this one.

British Blades

There is a resource
It's on the web of course

About the gathering of blades
And the ways that they are made

Guys who'll sell you a blade on its own
Folk who have devised a new hone

Handles in Wood, G10 and Micarta
It's extensive, they'll have what your after

Steel matrix seen under a 'scope
Neck knives, handled with some rope

Sheaths in vegetable dyed leather
Finishes to withstand the weather

Rigid camp choppers, fish knives with some flex
Tutorials, make Damascus, sheath in Kydex

The merits of each kind of temper and quench
Exclusive output from a master makers bench

Thorough, long standing user review
Granddads folder to draw queens brand new

Edges; convex, scandi, and full flat
It's all there, from superb! To what is that?

A great resource, maybe I'm showing my ignorance here, but I've never had a question about blade making that I've not seen already answered somewhere on British Blades.

If you're in the market for a new knife this thread is an amazing list of makers from all over the world.

If you're looking for something usable but affordable, I've seen some shocking bargains on the site too.

Cheers
SBW

Survival Topics

As you might imagine I've read one or two books about surviving in the wilderness and to be fair most of them are much of a muchness. Just because you can survive doesn't mean you can write.

There is one notable exception - Ron Fontaine who writes Survival Topics; the BEST survival site on the web and far far better than most of the books.

The most common ways to die outdoors may not be what usually comes to mind. Many people worry about bears and other mean creatures. Fact is, the most common outdoor deaths are attributable to one and only one living thing: YOU. By far, hands down, what bumps you off in the wilderness are the decisions you make. Getting just a little to close to the edge. Taking on the next higher class of whitewater. Climbing a mountain when you are out of shape. Refusing to turn back when the weather turns bad.

Many people think food will be the priority when lost in the woods - survival topics puts that myth to bed.

STOP: Sit Think Observe Plan

If there is one piece of advice that will carry you through life this is it, it works in the woods, it works in meetings, and it works in that most fraught of suburban survival situations - the children's party! When you've survived being over-run by wild eyed tykes, high on sugar and adrenalin you can tell yourself you'd survive anything.

The Dakota Fire (pictured above)
This wasn't the first time I'd seen this, but it's easily the best explanation of its benefits.
I've been to South Dakota and if there is one environment where the wind will increase fuel consumption it's the plains. So it's not surprising that a technique for using less fuel would develop there. Works well in Yorkshire too!
[For readers from other parts of the world, Yorkshire is the Texas of England (the biggest and most opinionated ;-) ) and home to my pal The Northern Monkey]

Survival Topics is also a web shop where Ron sells that outdoor essential the Swedish firesteel.
I still have a stash of firesteels so I haven't ordered any of his myself, but he's got the widest choice of sizes, and his pricing is way cheaper than a lot of sites. Including the one I bought mine from. grrr.

As with the best teachers Ron has peppered his writing with moments of comedy

Although the odds are certainly against it, personally I think predation is the manliest way to go. There is something to be said for going down fighting as opposed to in an old folks home.

Thanks for reading - be sure to check out more of Ron's site.
your pal
The bushwacker

Looking And Seeing

Well-who-duh-thunk-it!!

Maybe I was a little pessimistic about my suburban smallholding skills?
Maybe I 'looked' without 'seeing'?
Maybe cucumbers just grow very very quickly?

There are two more fat qukes!!!!

Cucumber sandwiches for tea.

Yours delightedly
SBW
PS In between writing this post and taking the picture, two more have appeared. One of them is already half the size of these. It proves something - I'm just not sure what?

Jammyness? Do You Measure Up?

Here's one for the Catch-and-Release crowd, I saw it on wired.com and I thought we'd make it the subject of a little competition. My mum (mom) has just delivered a shipment of her kick-ass jam (jelly) and I'll ship a jars worth of it to the reader who sends in the best use for a tattooed tape measure. Here's what its owner/wearer (Dave Selden) uses it for

"As a woodworker-graphic designer, I use a tape measure or ruler almost every day. Now I have one always within arm's reach. I use it for my work, but also my play. I measured some trout for length with it on a fishing trip to Mount Hood this weekend."

I look forward to hearing from you
SBW

Pride Of The Sarf

I was at the end of the garden wondering whether it was time to give up my 'fruitless' gardening and start using the space for fires again when I was shocked, surprised and delighted to see that I had actually grown more than slug food this summer. Yes! A real life actual cucumber! Well who'd-a-thought-it!

On the other side of the hill the trees are heaving with unripe Chestnuts, so maybe I'm more a forager than a farmer.

Cheers
SBW

PS No Rex, I haven't forgotten, they're just aren't any worthy examples to send you yet.

Horse Drawn Blogging

I know a few of you read James' blog, but for those of you how haven't been reading it lately or are living under a stone it's well worth a visit. Due to his coverage of what are known here as 'country pursuits' he comes into contact with all kinds of colourful characters who most of the year shun political correctness and the modern world, choosing instead to base themselves beyond the reach of 'health and safety'. Only breaking cover to attend rural pow-wows such as horse fairs, game fairs and county shows. The kind of places where Ferrets are 'legged', food has taste and texture, and you can buy everything from home made jam to 8 bore wildfowling guns. They're great!

The reason I mention all this is to set the scene for a blogger James has just introduced.
Simon Mulholland writes Saddle chariot, a blog about horses, buggys that you tow from horses, his run-ins with the establishment and cooking meat.

His advice is forthright and he has a great turn of phrase.

Cooking
"When I used to cook Venison and Wild Boar round the County Show circuit, I was always being asked how to cook Game. "Count the legs!" I used to say. "Then think of something you can already cook with approximately the same number of legs, and do the same thing.""

Horses, the Saddle Chariot and the elite horse breeding establishment
Some of the more perceptive may have picked up a hint of frustation with the British Horse Establishment. My opinion hasn't changed. If they were horses, I would say they must have been cruelly mistreated as youngsters, because no horse is naturally devious, vicious or deceitful. And no horse is naturally snobbish, racist or in favour of incest, all characteristics that appear throughout the British Horse establishment.

Could he be the new Albert Rasch?

Thanks for dropping in-let me know your thoughts-leave a comment or two
Your pal
The bushwacker

Fly Guy ? It Must Be Tuesday

After the debarcle of Laughing Trout and Chortling Elk mocking my efforts, at last there's some good news from project fly caster. I can now cast a strait line. Not very far, but its actually going where I'm flicking it!

It is not difficult to learn how to cast; but it is difficult to learn not to snap the flies off at every throw.

Charles Dudley Warner, 1862

Doh! Still a way to go then.

But, remember the back cast is the foundation, and that unless it is solid the superstructure will be rickety. Remember also that the motion of the rod through the air should be almost, or quite noiseless. Nothing offends the angler's ear more than the "swish" of a fly-rod. It is like a false note to an educated musical ear. It indicates a degree of force about as appropriate to the end in view, as a burglar's jimmy to opening a watch. This should never be, except possibly when casting directly against the wind or for distance only.

Henry P. Wells, "Fly-Rods and Fly-Tackle", 1885

Hmm maybe I should get some lessons?

Calling Fly Fishing a hobby is like calling Brain Surgery a job.

Paul Schullery

Perhaps if I just dropped a little more cash on a new rod?

Thanks for reading
SBW.
PS Dog Lady was at the pond again this morning, she put a lot of effort into not looking at me!

Forks and Roasting - Online!

I've been a fan of, and occasional poster on, the bushcraftuk.com site for a couple of years now, and while it's full of really useful information, it's much like human nature itself; a mix of the good the bad and the ugly. It's also not short of moments of high comedy

There are some people who can't seem to think about bushcraft without buying yet more tat to drag around with them.

(sound of glass house resident throwing stones)

As a wise man once said 'there's a seeker born every minute, two to teach him, and another two to sell him 'must have' accessories on the internet'

The Swedish company Light My Fire sells some really cool stuff, but sometimes people get a bit carried way and 'it's a really cool idea' gets confused with 'it's going to be a really cool product'. You know what sales and marketing people are like.

(another stone flies past)

This toasting fork is a case in point. You get some wire and you bend it, it becomes a really sweet way of keeping the bread, sausage, or marshmallow stable on the end of your stick while you're toasting it over the fire. It's not rocket science - but it is the kind of cool idea that the internet is so good for sharing. Barry Crump would be proud of you.

A chap whose forum name on bushcraftuk is Cobweb has gone to the trouble of posting a straightforward tutorial showing exactly how to make one in 12 photos. Nice one mate.

Then follow 3 pages of sad, angry men telling each other how each of them believes they know best. After a while the guy who started the site asks them to play nice, they don't listen!
It's hilarious! Boys and their toys! What can you say?

thanks for reading
SBW

PS the toasting forks absolutely rock - and are very very easy to make
PPS have a look at the silly poll I posted about an English TV show and the responses it got!

Thanks For Stopping By

One year ago I decided to check whether or not BoB (Brother of Bushwacker) had visited my blog. So I installed Cluster Maps and sat back to see if a little red dot would appear over New Zealand's south island.

As of this morning 16,320 visits have been logged, which either means some of you are coming back for more of the same or there is another site with a similar name that a lot of you miss spell as you type its name into your browsers!

During the next year lots of new avenues will be explored and if all goes according to plan some more actual hunting will take place.

Thanks for your support, I started the blog for my own entertainment and I'm delighted that I've managed to entertain you too.

Cheers
SBW

UnBoxing - Light My Fire Lunchbox

The days have dragged by but my new designer lunch boxes have finally made their way to me. I was going to get us all the same colour, then I found the Dan from JRE industries had a whole mix of colours, but not enough for eight of one colour, he also told me he had one set in pink.
TLB (my daughter The Littlest Bushwacker) has already been asking for a pink Spork so knowing how important 'style' is to any trip outside, I had to order it for her.

First thoughts
They look bigger in the pictures, but I've anecdotal evidence that having bigger plates makes people (OK me) have bigger dinners, so maybe that's no bad thing.

The design is way cool - after you've scarfed your lunch all the bits disappear back into the big box so you've less clutter to take home

The main box is a reasonable size and depth for eating wet foods, and its lid has quite a lip to it so it will make a practical outdoor plate.

The little pot is a little pot.

The chopping board-colander hybrid is a really good innovation, with just kettle water i can now prepare noodles at work! Afield it means i can rinse blackberries and other gatherings. Best of all i now have somewhere safe to slice things, slicing has been the death of many a plastic plate and the lid of the occasional Tupperware box.

The plastic cup with lid - is, well, a plastic cup with a lid. Handy.

The Spork - despite Pablos Spork anxiety inducing comments the Spork is still a convenient way to cuttle whilst out and about


The true test of any lunchbox - does an oil and vinegar dressing leak out of it?

Is it really 'dishwasher proof' as Light My Fire claim?

This has been an UnBoxing review, only time will tell..........

Thanks for reading
SBW

Bushwackin' vs Glamping?

I've got a foot in at least two camps here; I'd really like to follow in Gary from Bearclaws Bushcraft's tracks and take to the woods with only a blade, a pot and a blanket. As that's so much more in the spirit of Ishi and Pope who are a big part of my inspiration for this blog. It would do me good and take me further towards being able to travel lightly across the wilderness, dulled senses awakened, to my moment with Mr Elk.

However.

Mrs SBW is more on the 'Glamping' side of things, where she takes hair straighteners with her and chooses her wellie boots not on the grounds of design or build quality but because "those are what Kate Moss wears to Glastonbury". If she knew you could buy a portable microwave she'd have one already!

Tom from Trout Underground is sure that any form of comfort afield is weakening the gene pool to an intolerable degree
'Glamping is the fast-growing segment of the travel industry where people pretend to interface with nature while a staff of servile lackeys hover in the background, keeping the food coming, the heated tents clean, the private bathrooms in tip-top condition, and (presumably) the animals at a nice, safe distance.'

Go on Tom, don't sit on the fence tell us how you really feel!!

“forget checking for numbered birthmarks. Look to glamping for a sign the Cloven Hooved Deceiver is on the way.”

But (and it's a perfectly formed butt) Mrs SBW looks a lot like Ms Moss, and if a little luxury is the price a purist like myself must indure to snuggle up next to her in tent, then (sigh) so be it.

So what is a suburban dad to do? Sometimes it's going to be 'dump camping' by the side of the car, one day it'll be just me and you Mr Elk.

Sigh! Such is suburban life
Thanks for reading
SBW

You Look Delicious, And You Don't Run Too Fast

Another of his pix, from where we're SO not the top of the food chain
More news as it happens
SBW