Crafts and gifts

Before leaving I visited the house of a Saami couple who make traditional clothing and crafts. Ake opened up there shop and workshop for me to look around. There were so many beautiful items including knives and kuksa's but unfortunately they were out of my price range. I bought a few small items to take home as gifts including this reindeer leather pouch and kuksa.

While in Gallivare a friend gave me a piece of curly Birch, Reindeer antler, sheath leather and a carbon steel blade to make a new knife.

I have just completed the knife handle using Rein and Roe deer antler, pieces of curley Birch and Birch bark.

Spring in Lapland - 2nd June

During my day in Gallivare I visited a reconstructed Saami summer camp.

This is a meat store to protect the contents from animals and insects.

This platform was used to store other items. The framework was covered with skins to keep the contents cool and dry. It is called a "luouve".


The construction of this dwelling is based on the framework above and is called a "puogge"

and here is a picture from inside.

This dwelling is called a "båstångskåta"

and finally a "skums kåta".

For all three buildings, a framework is covered with Birch bark and then turfs laid over for insulation.

Spring in Lapland - 1st June

Cloudy with sunny periods today and rain this evening.

6 Crossbills flews over calling this morning as I was waiting for the taxi to arrive.

I left the cabin at 11am and the taxi took me to Gallivare.

My final list of bird species for the cabin is as follows;

Wood Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, Teal, Smew, Goldenye,
White Wagtail, Great Tit, Whooper Swan, Restart, Mallard, Meadow Pipit,
Raven, Redwing, Whimbrel, Chaffinch, Pied Flycatcher, Brambling, Song Thrush,
Mistle Thrush, Common Crane, Ruff, Lapland Bunting, Waxwing, Golden Plover,
Curlew, Greenfinch, Black Grouse, Willow Warbler, Yellow Wagtail, Siskin,
House Martin, Little Bunting, Goldcrest, Tree Pipit, Goosander, Black-throated Diver,
Siberian Jay, Spotted Flycatcher, Great Spotted woodpecker, Common Sandpiper,
Cuckoo, Hazel Grouse, Willow Tit, Redpoll sp. ,Common Gull, Wheatear, Wryneck,
Long-tailed Duck, Capercallie, Rustic Bunting, Blue Tit, Osprey, Hooded Crow,
Reed Bunting, Crossbill,

Birds in Gallivare;

Fieldfare, Magpie, Yellowhammer, Wigeon, Red-breasted Merganser, Robin,

Here are a series of pictures to show a changing view during my two week stay;

Spring in Lapland - 31st May

Clear, sunny and 27 degrees today!!!!

I caught 3 Perch and 1 22 inch Pike in the trap today.

It is a sad day for me today as I will be leaving tomorrow.

This morning I had problems lighting the stove (the chimney may be blocked), so I made a fire outside to cook on.

For breakfast I had fried bannock and the remainder of my dried fruit and sun flower seeds.

I walked to the marsh but it was very quiet, though there were many Green Hairstreaks around and 1 Holy Blue.


I spent the afternoon cleaning and tidying in and around the cabin and spent the evening rowing around the lake, with the beaver as a companion.

Spring in Lapland - 30th May

Sunny today, with a maximum temperature of 17 degrees.

1 Blue Tit around the cabin this morning, 2 Black-throated Divers on the lake, an Osprey flying around over the lake, 2 Hooded Crows flew over, 1 male Reed Bunting and 1 Common Lizard.

4 Perch in the fish trap this morning.

I washed my clothes this morning and then completed all the painting I wanted to do. I spent the rest of the day making items with the Birch bark.

I cut some of the bark into thin strips

I weaved the strips together to make a reasonable sized basket

I also made a large container, carved another cup

With the remaining pieces of bark, I made a sheath for my knife.

Spring in Lapland - 29th May

Sunny with some cloud today and temperature up to 16 degrees.

It is very quiet for birds today. Only 2 Waxwings and a pair of Long-tailed Ducks on the lake.

I was pleased to find three Perch in the trap this morning

After filleting, I fried them in oil with salt and pepper.

Before Anki and Ingvar headed home, they took me to the south end of the lake to show me the location of a fresh water spring.

They have installed a walkway and a pipe to make it easier to collect the spring water.

As we walked to the spring we passed the remains of a Willow Grouse (Dalripa in Swedish) which had probably been eaten by a fox

I walked back through the forest and found a really nice, large Birch tree with reasonably clean bark. I made a bark chisel and set about removing a piece of bark from the tree.

The bark was not easy to remove because there is still very little sap rising,

but I managed to get a large sheet of bark from the tree, so it was well worth the effort.

I spent the afternoon painting more windows and then this evening I have cut up the bark for a couple of projects I have in mind.

Spring in Lapland - 28th May

Hazy sunshine today with a cold north wind.

1 Rustic Bunting singing in the forest at the north end of the marsh this morning and I managed to get some very nice views. There was also one Green Hairstreak butterfly flying around as well.

Only 1 Greenshank and 1 Wood Sandpiper on the marsh today.

Now that the lake is clear of ice

I have been able to get my boat out of the boat house and row around the lake.

I also put my fish trap into the lake, just off the end of the jetty in the hope of catching some fish as I am running out of food.


This evening, while I was outside working a couple appeared taking their dog for a walk. They introduced themselves as Ingvar and Anki and they have a cabin on another lake not far from mine. They had come to stay for one night and were going home again tomorrow. Although Ingvar spoke no English and I speak very little Swedish (if anyone knows of a Swedish language course please let me know!) Anki could speak some English and was able to translate. They invited me back to their cabin for coffee and we talked about the wildlife and nature. They have owned their cabin for many years and told me that a lady called Elin had owned my cabin from 1967 until she died four years ago.

It was nice to meet such friendly people and to share their company for an evening. When I return in September, Anki has said she will teach me the fungi I can eat there and the best places to fish. Ingvar is a carpenter and so has offered to help me with some repair work on the cabin in September.

They have asked that I learn to speak more Swedish before I return, but it is proving more difficult to find a local Swedish language course or tutor than I had expected.

Spring in Lapland - 27th May

So I was up at about 02:15 to try and find the beaver (there are Chaffinch and Redwing singing in this piece of film).



The first birds I saw were a pair of Long-tailed Ducks sitting on the ice outside the cabin.

I walked around the lake and on the northern edge I could hear gnawing of bark and could see the water moving. I moved very slowly and managed to get to about three metres of the beaver, who was completely unaware of my presence.

I even filmed it for a short time



before it noticed I was there and with a slap of its tail on the water it was gone.

Pleased with my success I walked over to the marsh where there was nothing unusual and then made my way back to my bed.

After breakfast I decided to walk to a much larger lake that I had visited last autumn. Minerals in the ground mean that a compass can not be relied upon for navigation so as I travel I keep looking back to note distinctive features that I can look out for as I travel back. I also make small marks on trees to help define my return route. The picture below shows a mark on the left of the tree so I know I must turn left here.

The lake is in a low valley and it was almost like going back a week in time as there was still a lot of snow and most of the lake was frozen!


Smew, Goosander and Goldeneye were the only birds here and I also flushed a female Capercallie as I walked back.

I spent the rest of the day rubbing down and painting more windows and I finished the kuksa I was making.

Spring in Lapland - 26th May

As predicted I awoke to a wet rainy morning, which then turned to snow. By mid afternoon it was sunny but with an icy cold north wind.

1 Common Gull flew low over the lake, 1 Redwing singing just outside cabin, 1 male Wheatear around the cabins today (probably forced to take a break from its migration by the weather), I Wryneck (a member of the Woodpecker family) around today. Here is a picture of it on the sauna chimney

I spent most of the day working on the kuksa that I started yesterday to give as a gift to the guy who gave me the knife.

I also collected some local plants to experiment with as food;

I have found references to "Old Mans Beard" lichen being used as a survival food.


If cooked for a long time it is supposed to release starch and has also been used as a gluten substitute to make bread.

It reminded me of pubic hair prior to cooking and after testing it at various intervals during a 10 hour cooking period, it didn't change much!

I do recall from a Ray Mears programme though, that the resulting water could have been used to treat fungal infections.

A plant that I do enjoy is Labrador Tea

though if I drink too much of it, it sometimes gives me stomach ache.

This evening as I sat carving the kuksa, a beaver appeared swimming around the edge of the lake.

I've decided I will get up early tomorrow morning to try and find where it is feeding.

Spring in Lapland - 25th May

Sunny and warm today and as a result the snow is melting significantly now.


The male Common Sandpiper is displaying over the lake today. There were 2 Siberian Jays in trees behind the cabin, 1 Willow Tit and 2 Waxwing, but apart from these it is very quiet for birds today.

Made the most of the fine weather by rubbing down and painting some of the cabin windows today.

I then gathered logs from the fallen frees I had cut up over the past few days. and then carved a spatula and started to carve a kuksa.

I really like a slightly sweet Swedish bread called Vetekaka and buy a pack each time I go.


I used my last mushroom and cheese to make some mini pizzas.

This evening I am trying to collect some Birch sap.

The sap will run down the blade of the knife and drip into the well of the billy can lid. Once this fills the sap will run over the lid, and because the lid fits loosely on to the can, the sap will run around the lid and into the can. This prevents any crap getting into the sap.

There has been a "halo" around the sun all day today so I am expecting rain tomorrow!

Spring in Lapland - 24th May

Another year older today, but what a fantastic way to spend my Birthday!!

Several Tree Pipits singing this morning, 1 pair of Spotted Flycatchers in the trees, a Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming at the top of a dead Spruce, a Cuckoo singing and a pair of Common Sandpipers around the edge of the lake all day. It was also nice to see the three Reindeer again near the cabin.

The back room of the cabin has moved slightly during the winter and now there is a gap between the room and the cabin.

Mice are getting in, so I decided to cover the gap with pieces of wood.

I have a small hand-drill, but no drill bits so I cut the off of one of the nails I intend to use and insert the nail into the drill as use it as my drill-bit.

it works incredibly well!

After my evening meal I went for a walk to the south end of my lake where there were two Elk Moose feeding on Bog Bean rhizomes in the waters edge.

I managed to get to about 20 metres from them, but them something in the forest behind spooked them and they ran off.

As I walked back to the cabin I flushed two Hazel Grouse.

I spent the evening on a high ridge behind the cabin

hoping I might see other large mammals, but saw nothing.

There was an Arctic Hare outside the cabin though.

Spring in Lapland - 23rd May

Sunny when I got up this morning and 10 degrees by 08:30! But heavy rain by 11am.

3 House Martins over the lake this morning, 1 Goldcrest singing, Several Tree Pipits arrived last night and are singing this morning, 2 male Goosander on the lake, and 1 Black-throated Diver flew East.

I decided to try and track the movements of the three Reindeer I saw last night and soon found tracks

and fresh droppings


They had spent some time in the trees behind the cabin and then moved off north west, passing a marshy area.

As I approached the area I found a frog making its way to the small area of open water!

Clearly from the noise emanating from the pool, there were already a considerable number of frogs there, though I could find no sign of spawn.

The Reindeer had continued past here and then headed into the forest, where there were also many Elk Moose droppings. This picture shows both for comparison; Elk above and Reindeer below in the snow (Elk droppings are at least 4x as big as those of Reindeer).

After returning to the cabin, I walked across to the main marsh where there were 2 Siberian Jays watching my movements

Picture taken last September by Jon Pickett

I had very close views of both Ruff and Wood Sandpiper, but there are very few waders displaying now. I tend to only hear and see Greenshank, Spotted Redshank and Wood Sandpiper as they fly over travelling to the marsh to feed and then back to the forest where they nest.

Spring in Lapland - 22nd May

It was a cold night last night and areas of open water on the lake now have a thin layer of ice again. Light snow first thing and then sunny and warm with temperature up to 12 degrees.

There was 1 male and 2 female Smew+ 1 male Goldeneye on the lake today. Another pair of Pied Flycatchers have appeared around the cabin this morning, 4 Waxwings now, 1 Greenfinch flew SSW calling, 1 Willow Warbler singing, several male Bramblings singing, 1 Blue-headed Wagtail flew over, 2 Siskin around and 1 House Martin feeding over the lake.

I cleared more snow and had to clean out the stove because the wood would not light, before I could have breakfast.

I am currently eating two meals a day to ensure my food will last two weeks. I have a big pot on the back of the stove which is simmering away all the time and any left-over food or things I find to eat outside are added and then I just spoon out a bowl full each evening for my meal (managed to find 12 Lingon berries yesterday evening). In reality of course I could survive without eating anything for more than two weeks, as long as I have drinking water, but it is amazing how much I look forward to something simple like a small cup of orange juice or two blocks of chocolate each day.

The stove performs incredibly well. It uses very little fuel and once hot, it will heat the whole cabin without the need for a fire in the living room.

Today I have also made a small shrink pot out of a piece of Birch.

First it has to be hollowed out with your knife


until the walls of the tube are just a few millimetres thick

then cut a small groove around the inside of the tube, carve a base and pop it into the groove

as the Birch tube dries and shrinks it should form a water tight seal around the base.

This evening I walked to a small area of marsh behind the cabin where there was a male Little Bunting singing. Just after midnight there were three Reindeer in the trees just behind the cabin.

Spring in Lapland - 21st May

Snowing again this morning, but by mid-afternoon it was sunny and up to 8 degrees, but by 8pm it was down to 2 degrees.

I spent the day around the cabin, cutting up fallen trees

and carrying them back to the cabin. I was having real problems holding things in my right hand, having hit my elbow on a rock the day before. 1 Lapland Bunting flew over calling, 3 Common Cranes flew NE, 1 Golden Plover flew over calling and there were a pair of Waxwings around the cabin for most of the day.

I must apologies for the quality of some of the wildlife picture, but I only carry a compact digital camera (Panasonic Lumix) and as with any compact, you have to be very close to get good pictures.

I selected some pieces of Birch and split for carving spoons and other items.

and here are some of the items I carved over the next few days.

At about 21:30 I sat outside the cabin and could here a strange distant noise coming from towards the marsh, so I headed over there to investigate. The sound reminded me of the bubbling sound of "lekking" Black Grouse and indeed that was what it turned out to be, they were in the forest beyond the marsh. There were many Ruff also displaying on the marsh, but other waders were rather more quite than on previous visits.

I was also quite surprised to find quite a few mosquitoes had emerged and were determined that i would be there first meal!!

Spring in Lapland - 20th May

A pair of Pied Flycatchers had appeared over-night and the male was singing from a nearby Black Spruce and they were soon busy collecting nest material and building in one of the many bird boxes available to them. Other birds singing around the cabin this morning were Chaffinch and Brambling, Redstarts and Song Thrush, Whimbrel displaying overhead and 2 Common Cranes calling from the marsh. A small area of open water close to cabin was also drawing in various duck species; Goldeneye, Mallard, Teal and Smew.



After breakfast I decided to walk to the marsh again where there were over 50 Ruff & Reeve, Several Wood Sandpipers, Spotted Redshank, Raven and Mistle Thrush and Great Tit singing in the trees. Then I walked into the forest behind the cabin but it was incredibly quiet and very difficult walking in the deep snow.

After returning I continued to clear snow


Then I made a trap to try and catch an Arctic Hare , who's tracks I have seen around the cabin. I bent over a Birch tree and set up a trigger system

with two snares attached to catch the hares feet.

I hoped that an apple core would be irresistible as bait and when it touched the apple core, the branch I had attached it to would trigger the trap (the snares of course were covered by a layer of snow). Unfortunately I never did manage to catch it!

Later in the evening I went for another walk and attempted to collect some Birch bark, but it was incredibly difficult to remove so I guess it was just a bit to early.

Spring in Lapland - 19th May

I awoke to find that it had been snowing for most of the night and it continued to do so during the day, but with brief sunny periods.

I decided to walk to an area of marshland about 1km from my cabin from where I could hear many birds calling and displaying, but my singing and talking loudly incase of bears was getting on my nerves and probably disturbing some of the things I was trying to see, so I put some stones in a plastic water bottle

and taped it to my walking staff and each time I moved the staff, the stones rattling in the bottle made a noise.

The conditions made walking quite a challenge because you might be in deep snow for a short distance and then in areas where the sun had penetrated, the ground was clear.

Walking in snow was also unpleasant because often below the snow there would be deep melt water and so my boots and trousers were constantly wet and my feet cold. Another issue with ground covered by snow was that you could not see the many holes and cracks in the ground and at one point my leg went down one of these and I cracked my elbow on a rock.

Arriving at the marsh it was well worth the walk though. There were Ruff displaying, Spotted Redshanks, Greenshanks, Wood Sandpipers, Whooper Swans, Whimbrel, Goldeneye, Smew and Teal. It was amazing to see wading birds displaying in these snowy, wintry conditions.

Back at the cabin I continued clearing the snow, carved a spoon from Birch and put together a wooden bed. Birds close to the cabin included Great Tit, White Wagtail, singing Redstarts, Raven and Meadow Pipit. There were also fresh Hare and Elk tracks.

Spring in Lapland

My first task was to get a fire going in the stove to heat the cabin and melt snow as this was my only source of water at this time. The most efficient way to melt snow is to put a small amount of water into the saucepan first and to then keep adding snow as the water heats.

You would be amazed at how much snow is required to produce a saucepan of water!

There was a lot of leaves, Pine needles and many other items in the snow, so after melting the snow and boiling the water, I then filtered it through parachute material.

The next task was to clear paths through the snow to the toilet and wood store, and remove the shutters from the cabin windows. It was -5 degrees and snowing quite heavily and I was so pleased that I had thrown a set of merino wool thermals into my pack at the last minute.

After cooking a small meal of meatballs and dehydrated potato mash, my warm sleeping bag was calling to me and I decided it was time for bed.

Spring in Lapland - the jouney there.

I boarded the National Express coach at 1am on Saturday morning (17th May) and after a three hour journey, arrived at Heathrow Airport, Terminal 5. Unfortunately my flight for Stockholm did not depart until 11:15am, but at least there were no delays with our departure.

We touched down at Stockholm Arlanda Airport at 14:50 local time and after collecting my bag, I boarded a train to Stockholm Central Station. I then transferred to the night train to Gallivare for my 16 hour journey. I was sharing my carriage with 5 other people who were travelling further north for a skiing trip.

Here are my friends for the train journey; Richard, Johnny, Camilo, Madeiene, Emilia and Axel. We had good fun and lots of laughs and they were teaching me more Swedish and was teaching them English.

At 9am on 18th May the train arrived in Gallivare station and after saying my goodbyes, I left the train and walked to the town centre. I had decided not to bring a knife with me, but to instead buy one from a shop in town. It was snowing and -1 degrees and no shops opened until 11am, so I sat around and waited. Once open I bought basic provisions, but could find nowhere that was selling knives! Then met with my friend Merete for coffee and then at 3pm my friend Kent (my taxi driver) picked me up and we commenced the one hour drive to the cabin. I told Kent that I had been unable to buy a knife, so he telephoned his daughters boyfriend to ask if I could borrow one. We stopped to pick up the knife on the way to the cabin and rather than loaning me the knife, he gave it to me and would take nothing for it.

When we turned off the main road and onto the forest track to my cabin, we found that it was blocked by a bank of ice and snow left by the snow plough.

Without a shovel it was impossible to move the snow and it was obvious that I would have to walk the 4km to the cabin. Kent was concerned about recent problems with Brown Bears and told me I must sing and make lots of noise to scare them away. Having paid him the taxi fare I set off on my walk to the cabin. I decided to leave my food and some kit in a tree, to return the following day to collect it and with a much lighter load continued on my way. The first birds I encountered were Wood Sandpipers displaying above me and calling from the forest and then Greenshank and Spotted Redshank displaying.

I was surprised to find as i approached the cabin that the lake was still frozen and there was still up to a metre of snow around the cabin.

The last kilometre was very hard going because the snow was deep and each step I took I disappeared at least up to my knee, but finally I arrived at the cabin

I called Kent to let him know I had arrived and was amazed to find that he had driven home to get a shovel, come and cleared the bank of snow, collected my food stash and was on his way to the cabin. I walked back through the snow and met him. Kent said that he did not want me being here without being able to get to me incase there was a problem and when I asked how much I owed him for doing this, he refused to take any money and said "friendship means much more to me than money"..........

Almost alone in the wilderness

So as you may have guessed I have been away for a while and I have just got back. I have been at my cabin in Swedish Lapland since the 18th May. I have many things to write about and show you but it will take me a while to transfer all my pictures and upload videos so please be patient.

You will read about everything that has happened and I have done, the birds and animals I have seen and the people I have met since arriving.....



and departing two weeks later.........