Last Botany Walk

Last night was the last botany walk with Dr Ken Adams. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed his input although it’s difficult to follow his academic lines on occasion. As for the study of grasses! Forget it!

I’m assured he’s coming back to do some fungi ID in the Autumn which will be great.

This is some slime-fungus, the exact type of which not even the good Doc could identify.

Calamint

Viper’s bugloss

Water chickweed

Weld (Dyer’s Rocket)

Mellilot

Scentless mayweed

Here’s a few random things I’ve learnt over the last 6 weeks about botany:

• Purple coloured comfrey is Russian. Native comfrey is pale yellow.
• English elm is in fact Atinian elm from Italy. The Romans brought it over to grow vines on.
• Early herbalists thought that every plant bore an outward sign of it’s value to mankind (Doctrine of Signatures)
• Most plants with “wort” in the name implies that there’s a medicinal value.
• Sainfoin was grown as fodder. It means Holy hay.
• Latin is difficult to learn in a day.
• Pink campion is a hybrid of Red and white campion (surprise, surprise)
• Most botanists wear socks and sandals Sorry Ken. Had to get that in!
• Hogweed smells – hence the name hog.
• The pink pigment in most plants is an ultra violet protection mechanism from the sun. (more plants are pink nearer the coast)
• Many plants are now hybrids.

Ladies bedstraw

Hemp nettle

Mignonette

Agrimony

Thanks for the visit.

Last Botany Walk

Last night was the last botany walk with Dr Ken Adams. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed his input although it’s difficult to follow his academic lines on occasion. As for the study of grasses! Forget it!

I’m assured he’s coming back to do some fungi ID in the Autumn which will be great.

This is some slime-fungus, the exact type of which not even the good Doc could identify.

Calamint

Viper’s bugloss

Water chickweed

Weld (Dyer’s Rocket)

Mellilot

Scentless mayweed

Here’s a few random things I’ve learnt over the last 6 weeks about botany:

• Purple coloured comfrey is Russian. Native comfrey is pale yellow.
• English elm is in fact Atinian elm from Italy. The Romans brought it over to grow vines on.
• Early herbalists thought that every plant bore an outward sign of it’s value to mankind (Doctrine of Signatures)
• Most plants with “wort” in the name implies that there’s a medicinal value.
• Sainfoin was grown as fodder. It means Holy hay.
• Latin is difficult to learn in a day.
• Pink campion is a hybrid of Red and white campion (surprise, surprise)
• Most botanists wear socks and sandals Sorry Ken. Had to get that in!
• Hogweed smells – hence the name hog.
• The pink pigment in most plants is an ultra violet protection mechanism from the sun. (more plants are pink nearer the coast)
• Many plants are now hybrids.

Ladies bedstraw

Hemp nettle

Mignonette

Agrimony

Thanks for the visit.

Terra Nova Jupiter

Today was the first day I’ve been able to get out for a week because of a lung infection. It’s strange that every time I don’t feel well, a parcel arrived during that week. I can’t work it out! I call it retail rehabilitation.

I’ve been looking at an alternative for the Snugpak Stratosphere for a while. The Snugpak is pretty good but there’s a couple of things I don’t like. The main thing is mossi net which, when zipped up, nearly garrottes you as it hangs straight down instead of following the sloped line of the bivi bag like its outer material and secondly, the material itself is very sweaty.

The nearest hooped bivi bag to the Snugpak is either the Highlander Falcon (which is very claustrophobic, having no vents except on the top) and the Terra Nova Jupiter , which has always been cost prohibitive. That is until now. Sports Direct has slashed nearly a hundred pounds off the Jupiter. Even so, it’s pretty expensive at £190 but I took the chance and ordered up.

When I got it out of the bag, I was amazed at how light it was. It’s actually described as 300 grammes lighter than the Snugpak. The 6 pegs are very light weight aluminium, which helps. So does the single pole for the hoop instead of two for the Snugpak.

The reviews bemoan the lack of length, and I suppose if your over 6foot you could have a bit f a squeeze, but when do you lay out straight? It’s fine if your under this height.

It’s big enough for Bill, but then again, he is a little dog.

The single pole goes through a sleeve and connects to two holes each side of the hoop. It’s surprisingly stable if you use two pegs in the provided holes next to the poles, but there are two guy lines supplied for you to peg out to the front of the Jupiter. Two further pegs secure the foot end.

Not many reviews show you how the front zipped arrangement works. Both the mossi net and the outer material have double zips, therefore you can leave an opening anywhere you choose, or, of course, do it up completely or leave one or the other down completely. This is a great arrangement and much more flexible than the Snugpak and great for watching wildlife while under cover. Even with both mossi net and outer completely zipped up, you don’t feel claustrophobic because of the gentle sloping front of the bivi.

The inside of the bivi bag is an off white colour which also helps to prevent one being claustrophobic when everything is zipped up.

This is a low profile sleeping solution and therefore, unless you bring along a very lightweight tarp, not really suitable for lengthy excursions, or if you know it’s going to hammer it down with rain. For low profile overnighters while watching wildlife it’s superb. The only bgg downside is the lack of a side entry zip, which is a big thumbs up for the Snugpak. Time will tell if it get’s more use over the years than the Snugpak, but all indications so far are positive .

All this reviewing is thirsty work! By the way, I listed all the reviews I’ve done on this blog (some are pretty old!) It’s available from the main menu at Pablo’s Area>Kit>Review Index.

Thanks for the visit.

Terra Nova Jupiter

Today was the first day I’ve been able to get out for a week because of a lung infection. It’s strange that every time I don’t feel well, a parcel arrived during that week. I can’t work it out! I call it retail rehabilitation.

I’ve been looking at an alternative for the Snugpak Stratosphere for a while. The Snugpak is pretty good but there’s a couple of things I don’t like. The main thing is mossi net which, when zipped up, nearly garrottes you as it hangs straight down instead of following the sloped line of the bivi bag like its outer material and secondly, the material itself is very sweaty.

The nearest hooped bivi bag to the Snugpak is either the Highlander Falcon (which is very claustrophobic, having no vents except on the top) and the Terra Nova Jupiter , which has always been cost prohibitive. That is until now. Sports Direct has slashed nearly a hundred pounds off the Jupiter. Even so, it’s pretty expensive at £190 but I took the chance and ordered up.

When I got it out of the bag, I was amazed at how light it was. It’s actually described as 300 grammes lighter than the Snugpak. The 6 pegs are very light weight aluminium, which helps. So does the single pole for the hoop instead of two for the Snugpak.

The reviews bemoan the lack of length, and I suppose if your over 6foot you could have a bit f a squeeze, but when do you lay out straight? It’s fine if your under this height.

It’s big enough for Bill, but then again, he is a little dog.

The single pole goes through a sleeve and connects to two holes each side of the hoop. It’s surprisingly stable if you use two pegs in the provided holes next to the poles, but there are two guy lines supplied for you to peg out to the front of the Jupiter. Two further pegs secure the foot end.

Not many reviews show you how the front zipped arrangement works. Both the mossi net and the outer material have double zips, therefore you can leave an opening anywhere you choose, or, of course, do it up completely or leave one or the other down completely. This is a great arrangement and much more flexible than the Snugpak and great for watching wildlife while under cover. Even with both mossi net and outer completely zipped up, you don’t feel claustrophobic because of the gentle sloping front of the bivi.

The inside of the bivi bag is an off white colour which also helps to prevent one being claustrophobic when everything is zipped up.

This is a low profile sleeping solution and therefore, unless you bring along a very lightweight tarp, not really suitable for lengthy excursions, or if you know it’s going to hammer it down with rain. For low profile overnighters while watching wildlife it’s superb. The only bgg downside is the lack of a side entry zip, which is a big thumbs up for the Snugpak. Time will tell if it get’s more use over the years than the Snugpak, but all indications so far are positive .

All this reviewing is thirsty work! By the way, I listed all the reviews I’ve done on this blog (some are pretty old!) It’s available from the main menu at Pablo’s Area>Kit>Review Index.

Thanks for the visit.

Close Encounters of the Hatfield Kind

This weekend, together with colleagues Les and Brett from Wildcrafts, we helped out with a wild camping weekend organised by the National Trust.

It wasn’t a course as such, but we were on hand to provide a bit of safety and guidance to the participants and carry out a couple of demos.

Les and Brett started with a fire lighting demo complete with a demonstration of their patent pending, leave no trace, fire-square which will reduce the scarring on the ground.

In the afternoon, we all went tracking. It wasn't too long before one of Austin’s lads spotted several fallow deer on one of the paths. We all stalked up to a good position to get a few photos. We then turned to find that a second small group, including a fawn, were behind us on an opposite  path. We were actually hemmed in by deer!

This was a great experience for the youngsters, who, by the way, consisted of equal numbers of girls to boys. JP gave other sessions on cordage and supplied the excellent evening meals with a new wood-burning stove.

On Saturday evening, JP and I went to practice some evening tracking. Spectacularly, we managed to get as close as I’ve ever been to some badgers; and it was the same for JP. There’s some footage at the end of the post.

It was great to meet Chris, Austin, Paul, Dave and their families.

After taking down the parachute on Sunday, we immediately made our way to the cafe at Hatfield where JP and I ran our Countryside and Woodland Awareness Course. Again, the two families were wonderful and it was refreshing to see how all of the kids, Monica, Joshua, Benjy and Elisabeth, seemed to enjoy the afternoon, and how quickly they got into wildlife, tracking and the deductive processes involved in tracking.

The afternoon finished up with another amazing close encounter where everyone (including the Mums, and Dads) all managed to stalk to less than 10 yards away from a young squirrel. Even though it appeared a bit drowsy, it really showed how much they’d taken on board and that the squirrel didn't see anyone as a threat. Brilliant stuff – and thanks to Chika and Tony for signing up to the afternoon. Hope to see you all again.

Close Encounters of the Hatfield Kind

This weekend, together with colleagues Les and Brett from Wildcrafts, we helped out with a wild camping weekend organised by the National Trust.

It wasn’t a course as such, but we were on hand to provide a bit of safety and guidance to the participants and carry out a couple of demos.

Les and Brett started with a fire lighting demo complete with a demonstration of their patent pending, leave no trace, fire-square which will reduce the scarring on the ground.

In the afternoon, we all went tracking. It wasn't too long before one of Austin’s lads spotted several fallow deer on one of the paths. We all stalked up to a good position to get a few photos. We then turned to find that a second small group, including a fawn, were behind us on an opposite  path. We were actually hemmed in by deer!

This was a great experience for the youngsters, who, by the way, consisted of equal numbers of girls to boys. JP gave other sessions on cordage and supplied the excellent evening meals with a new wood-burning stove.

On Saturday evening, JP and I went to practice some evening tracking. Spectacularly, we managed to get as close as I’ve ever been to some badgers; and it was the same for JP. There’s some footage at the end of the post.

It was great to meet Chris, Austin, Paul, Dave and their families.

After taking down the parachute on Sunday, we immediately made our way to the cafe at Hatfield where JP and I ran our Countryside and Woodland Awareness Course. Again, the two families were wonderful and it was refreshing to see how all of the kids, Monica, Joshua, Benjy and Elisabeth, seemed to enjoy the afternoon, and how quickly they got into wildlife, tracking and the deductive processes involved in tracking.

The afternoon finished up with another amazing close encounter where everyone (including the Mums, and Dads) all managed to stalk to less than 10 yards away from a young squirrel. Even though it appeared a bit drowsy, it really showed how much they’d taken on board and that the squirrel didn't see anyone as a threat. Brilliant stuff – and thanks to Chika and Tony for signing up to the afternoon. Hope to see you all again.