Was the “Chimp” scared last night? Did he run riot with nightmares? No he fell fast asleep. I reassured him there was nothing to be scared of and drugged him with alcohol. Well a can of beer and a nip or two of whiskey does help him relax. As predicted I was awake early. In fact just as daylight started around 3.30am. I tossed and turned for an hour but sleep evaded me so up I got, rekindled the fire and made coffee.
I love this time of day when camping. There’s a relaxed, contentedness about it. Partly because after a hard days work at the woods and only a few hours sleep, my head feels somewhat “out of it” but also there’s another reason. Day one is usually laced with a little nervous excitement. The buzz of the mini adventure and the slight apprehension. Have I remembered to bring all essentials? Will my meal be a success? Will the evening spent alone in the woods be a pleasant one? And lastly, will night-time be peaceful or will the chimp run riot worried that intruders might enter my camp? An unlikely but not impossible occurrence. So day two means you are over the slight worries you might have had. You let go of apprehension and just look forward to another full day in your semi-wild haven.
After coffee and watching the birds on the feeders, I took a slow walk around the outer woods hoping to see some deer activity. Nope but it was a good feeling to be there among the birds and trees and plants so early in the morning and knowing you are probably the only human there. Here we have a young nuthatches that fledged recently from one of my nest boxes. The parents visited my feeders constantly, taking food to their young that were hiding from predators in nearby trees. Photo a bit fuzzy though.
Back to camp and time for brekkie. Another experiment form the little book on wilderness cooking. The idea is to take a slice of bread, cut a hole in the middle, pop it into your frypan and break an egg into the hole. When it starts to solidify, flip it over and cook the other side. Toasted bread with an egg in the middle. I added to that idea – fried potatoes, veggie sausage and baked beans to make a belly-busting cooked breakfast. I fried up the sausages and potatoes in the skillet first, then put them to one side on a brick to keep warm while I cooked the bread-egg. When I accidentally knocked the plate off the brick I was glad the contents landed on some grass and not in the fire! Was the egg-in bread idea worth repeating? Nah. Partly my fault, I took an end piece crust from a loaf, thinking it would be more substantial to hold the egg but it didn’t cook well enough and was rubbery. To be honest, why bother? Just fry the egg as normal. Anyway it’s all part of the fun of trying new things out.
One new thing I was trying was a plastic box I bought to hold all my cooking utensils and food. Previously I had been using an old ex-army rucksack for the utensils and a cool box for food. The rucksack was awkward to access and box was way too big for the small amount of food and a waste of space. I wanted to combine food and utensils into one container that worked well in a woodland setting. I’d looked at designs of wannigans – a purpose built wooden box that fits in the hull of a canoe for this purpose and thought about making one for camping. Being wooden, it would have been heavy, difficult to keep clean and I wanted it to be waterproof and reasonably critter-proof. I found this box on the internet. It’s called a Plano small military trunk. Not cheap for a plastic box but it’s well built and strong (you can sit or stand on it). It’s just an empty box in a subdued colour, with a good fitting lid and clasps to secure it but I’ve added a couple of cheap baskets to separate the food from the utensils. I’m pleased to say this experiment was a success. This is the smallest size but plenty big enough for me.
My other projects were to chop and stack some more logs and build a small brash hedge to screen the front area where I pitch my tent. The felled hawthorn branches would be ideal for starting the hedge, I can add more material to it later. Here it is so far. As well as disguising the tent when it’s up, it will add more habitat for wildlife and another visual feature.
A successful and rewarding camping trip but I was exhausted. I headed home smelling of woodsmoke and sweat (sounds like a good title for a book) and looking forward to a shower and a decent night’s sleep!
