Sunday 12 October 2008

Autumn in Lapland 21st September 2008

Overcast with sun later, but cool southerly wind.

I spent this morning fishing and chopping wood. Those of you have read Bushcraft by Mors Kochanski will be aware of the amazing property of Black Spruce Picea mariana to be split into evenly thick boards with a variety of uses. Here I have made a netting shuttle for making fishing nets.

I was splitting a piece of Birch with my knife and got my finger trapped between the Birch and my knife blade.

There is lots of Yarrow Achillea millefolium (Achillea referring to Achilles who is said to have used this plant to treat his soldiers during the Trojan war and millefolium meaning thousand leaves referring to the "feathery" leaves). The crushed leaves are very good for treating bleeding and it is also said to be very good for treating nose bleeds.

I used some bricks to make a simple grill to cook some sausages.

I collected three different types of rock to experiment with for abrading and working the reindeer antler and for creating sparks with a piece of carbon steel file..

It has been very quiet for birds; 50+ Waxwings this afternoon feeding in the Rowan tree, Bramblings, Siberian Jays and a couple of Ravens.

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