55 on the fly

Here's my bow drill kit and some practice, willow spindle and hearth board.

Folks, if the eyes on my fly rod will freeze up, then it's too cold for me to go fishing.   So instead, I go take a hike!   Took a hike on some state land here in NY. The primary goal for today was to see if I could find some "fat wood". I had a little stand of pines in mind and it didn't disappoint me. Pack and gear for this trip... A nice downed pine with partial root exposure had just what I was looking for and the G&B axe chopped out several nice sized chunks of it.  The good news is there's plenty more there for the future in that one tree. After stowing the fat wood I hiked through some hardwoods and up a steep hill. I then noticed some deer tracks in the trail ahead and they looked very fresh.... As I exited the woods and broke into a small field I turned and peeked over the hill to find two deer standing there looking back at me. I managed to snap this photo with my point and shoot....  I hiked for some time and ended up in an are...

Hit the hardwoods here in NY today for a hike and some breakfast in the forest. It was 25 degrees with the snow a bit deeper than I had hoped as I had forgotten my snowshoes. I knew I would forget something... Anyway, I made my way through the 8-10 inches of snow into a nice valley out of the wind and along a nice little creek. I had gathered some cherry bark for fire starter and soon had a good little fire started. Cowboy Coffee and Skogkniv Oatmeal (that's oatmeal made with strong coffee)...  Yeah it's really good! All and all a nice morning with six turkeys and one deer sighted as a bonus... Cheers!

On a recent hike in Maine with my wife Michelle, I found a small piece of Chaga (a fungus, mushroom) growing on a birch tree.  When this fungus starts growing on a tree, the tree is doomed and will die... Removing the chaga does no harm to the tree nor does it save it, but non-the-less it makes a wonderful tea.  Or so I've been told.  Chaga has been used for century's by our native americans for brewing an herbal tea rich in anti-oxidants.  So, today I thought I'd make some and give it a try. my chunk of Chaga... I cut the Chaga into some small pieces and added it to two cups of water. I put it on my small "minibulldesign" stove and fired it up. Here's the tea after boiling for about 5 minutes and steeping for about 5 minutes more, strained and ready to drink. How was it?  Great, very nice, tastes like a green tea...  Anybody that knows me, knows that I'm not a fungus or mushroom fan but from now on I will keep my eyes open...

One more spoon... I'll get back to fishing stuff next time, really...

No --- not a fishing spoon..... a wooden eating spoon....  At times I break out the woodcarving tools and do a little carving.  I was inspired by a fellow bushcrafter and spoon carver, Mike Barton on YouTube and decided to give it a try... In about an hour --- starting with a small log; I split out a blank and carved this spoon.  This will go in my pack for those cold days afield when I want to have a coffee or a quick meal. completed my first spoon