I’m still redecorating the outside of the house and in need of some “green” healing. The forecast was poor which meant I couldn’t paint anyway, so I decided even a wet day at the woods would be good as I have a usable shelter now. I also decided it was going to be a day of “playing” – practising bushcraft and just taking in nature, rather than working hard. As forecast it was raining when I arrived so I quickly headed to the shelter with my gear. I was puzzled as to why it was so wet at the back, then noticed the plastic tarp on the roof had flipped back on itself, exposing part of the shelter to the rain. I had it tied down with hemp type string so why? Inspection revealed that all the ties had been severed, some missing completely. Some type of small furry creature has bitten through them and presumably taken it for nesting material. Squirrel or mice? In this case I am guessing mice. This has thrown me completely on the shelter build becuase all the posts and poles are lashed with string or thin rope. So if the culprits continue cutting them, the shelter could collapse! I had avoided using nails to keep it more natural looking but at the end of the day it has to be functional and resilient.

One of my plans was to try an idea I saw for keeping flying insects at bay (and mosquitoes tend to congregate in my shelter). It involves a cramp ball fungus (also known as King Alfred’s cake) which grow on dead ash trees. They are black and smooth and hard. Inside them they look liked charred wood and they are prized by bushcrafters for use as a firestarter as they glow when lit, just like charcoal. You light a large one, wrap a ball of damp sphagnum moss around it, mount it on a stick in the ground and it will gently smoke and deter the insects. It worked pretty well and lasted about an hour. The photo is a bit dark but you can get the gist of it.

I have placed a couple of log stumps in the shelter to use as stools and tables. I have seen a guy talking about something he calls “stump anvils”. Basically they are logs like these with two nothces cut into them, one a simple V shape and the other a modified 7 shape. Think of the shape of the number seven but instead of a sharp angle, a wider flatter one. The purpose is that you can lie the stump down and the notched can be used to grip small round logs in for sawing. A handy yet simple idea. So I cut these notches which you can see on the stump on the left.

Next activity was to try to make a small basket from bramble vines. I watched a guy on Youtube making one and thought it woud be cool and seeing as I have masses of them, why not. Obviously you need to remove the prickles which I did by scraping with the bak of the knife. You place two lots of three sticks at right angles, then weave another in and out of them. They turned out to be too stiff and brittle to bend so it was quickly abandoned and I tried again with thin hazel rods (which I thought would be nore flexible and stronger. Same problem. So basket making was consigned to room 101 for now. Here’s my pathetic attempt.

I’ve had a go at making nettle cordage and it has been a success, so my next activity was to process more to take home. after lunch it dried and brightened so I did a bit more log splitting and stacking and pulled some bramble. During the day I had plenty of time just to wander around and explore. Some areas I hardly ever visit so it was nice just to have that luxury. It’s the time of year now when fungi start to show. I found two patches of very different ones. I haven’t identified them yet. The larger ones were growing under oak trees. The other ones wer so tiny and delicate, they looked like something out of a fairy story. So the wet and gloomy day turned out to be quite an interesting and satisfying one but I need to brush up my basket making skills.

Finally I raided some molehills of clay. I have this idea for an ongoing project. To see what I can make just using raw, natural materials and only tools that I can make. Sort of like a Stone Age experiment. The woodland has clay just below the surface. I haven’t made a digging tool yet so I figured I’d let the moles be the tool for now and I’d just scoo up some of the dirt they leave, which looks like it has a high clay content. I am researching how to refine it using water and at some stage I’ll have a go at making a simple pot.