An Indian Summer?

Well, I survived last weekend in London. Just! It's taken me this long to recover! It wasn't that bad to be honest but I was nevertheless pleased to get back.

It was particularly good this weekend, as you can imagine, to get back into the woods; especially as the temperatures soared into the 20's C. Another 5 days of this and we'll qualify for an official Indian Summer.

I spent Saturday in the local woods playing around with DDhammocks new products - the new DD Travel hammock and new DD tarp. I'm afraid you'll have to wait until mid week for the review, but it will be a video review so might be worth waiting for. Here's a picture of the tarp as a taster.

I wasn't surprised to see a few plants lingering on into early autumn especially as it's been so mild. The tiny Scarlet pimpernel is always one of the last to fade away.

Herb robert (Robertiella robertiana) of the geranium family is one of the first plants to show in spring and flowers all the way into early autumn. It's considered an old remedy for toothache, nosebleeds and wounds as it has an antiseptic effect. It's pink petals are always nice to see in a hedgerow.

On Sunday, I went for a quick walk in Broaks woods and then later Poor Park woods. I didn't have an agenda and just meandered along the main paths soaking in the warmth of the sun.

In Poor Park I kept having glimpses of the Fallow deer and at last I spotted the large buck. I didn't get close enough for any photos but it made me set out a plan of action for November. I'm determined to get some pictures and footage of the Fallow deer rut; and I plan to stay out a night or two in order to do so.

My mind also wandered to next week. I'm going down to Devon to help Max Maxwell from Shadowhawk out on a Tracking course. Apart from a great 4 days tracking, I'll be mentoring the students and getting stuck in around the campfire. I hope this will also be an introduction on how to instruct tracking courses. Max offered me a place on the team when we spoke at the Wilderness Gathering. I've got a hell of a lot to learn; so I'm starting as soon as possible. More on that later.

Thanks for the visit.

Pablo.