Not A Lot Going On?

"There's wasn't a lot going on was there?" said Mrs P as we drove Doris the Discovery home after a little outing today.

I thought about this and was just about to agree when I remembered what I had noticed looking out of the window. The drips of rain had caused interesting patterns of built up snow on the edge of the tarmac track where it had refused to melt. 

A row of this white snow pointed to an entrance of the badger sett where, judging by the tracks, there was some activity from last night's excursions. There were no tracks in the snow itself. Bedding had been left outside but this wasn't too fresh indicating that it had been a dragged out a couple of nights ago. Rabbit droppings were also around the entrance. The rabbit was possibly living in close proximity to the badgers if not in the same sett; but in a different and unused tunnel complex.

The meadow areas were a light beige colour contrasting with the dark brown of the ploughed fields, while some close cropped grassed areas were a deep manicured green. The wind was bending the larger, thin hollow grasses at a strangely obtuse angle.

We had spotted a single rabbit scooting for the cover of its burrow as we drove past it and a kestrel looked down from a tall lamp post before it decided enough was enough and headed home. I wondered if it had found enough to eat today or whether it was flying home still a little peckish.

The crows and rooks were preparing to roost in the wood, which looked magnificent in the low light as the sun began to dip down towards the horizon. The wood seemed to whisper... we'll still be here waiting.

The build up of water on the edge of the paths had created deep puddles and we had had fun splashing Doris through them.

Finally, we had watched  a dramatic sunset as the sun finally set in the eastern sky.

Not a lot going on? I'm not so sure of that.

Thanks for the visit.

Pablo.

Not A Lot Going On?

"There's wasn't a lot going on was there?" said Mrs P as we drove Doris the Discovery home after a little outing today.

I thought about this and was just about to agree when I remembered what I had noticed looking out of the window. The drips of rain had caused interesting patterns of built up snow on the edge of the tarmac track where it had refused to melt. 

A row of this white snow pointed to an entrance of the badger sett where, judging by the tracks, there was some activity from last night's excursions. There were no tracks in the snow itself. Bedding had been left outside but this wasn't too fresh indicating that it had been a dragged out a couple of nights ago. Rabbit droppings were also around the entrance. The rabbit was possibly living in close proximity to the badgers if not in the same sett; but in a different and unused tunnel complex.

The meadow areas were a light beige colour contrasting with the dark brown of the ploughed fields, while some close cropped grassed areas were a deep manicured green. The wind was bending the larger, thin hollow grasses at a strangely obtuse angle.

We had spotted a single rabbit scooting for the cover of its burrow as we drove past it and a kestrel looked down from a tall lamp post before it decided enough was enough and headed home. I wondered if it had found enough to eat today or whether it was flying home still a little peckish.

The crows and rooks were preparing to roost in the wood, which looked magnificent in the low light as the sun began to dip down towards the horizon. The wood seemed to whisper... we'll still be here waiting.

The build up of water on the edge of the paths had created deep puddles and we had had fun splashing Doris through them.

Finally, we had watched  a dramatic sunset as the sun finally set in the eastern sky.

Not a lot going on? I'm not so sure of that.

Thanks for the visit.

Pablo.

Extract From The Diary Of An Immobile Bushcrafter

Day Four

0800 - Get up. Endeavour to wash etc etc and get dressed
0900 - Commence hopping downstairs
0910 - Arrive downstairs. Make morning flask of coffee
0920 - Sit in chair - Watch squirrels in garden. Check time to confirm it'll be another 8 hours before human contact
0930 - Access internet. Look at all useless kit sites
0932 - Promise self that not to buy any useless kit
0934 - Promise self not to buy any more useless kit
0936 - Look at all good and expensive kit sites
0938 - Promise self that not to buy any good and expensive kit
0940 - Promise self that not to buy any more good and expensive kit
0945 - Watch squirrels. Check time.

1000 - Have fun trying to extract apple from fruit bowl on coffee table using only crutches
1005 - Give up trying to extract apple from fruit bowl on coffee table using only crutches
1010 - Coffee break
1020 - Watch time and check squirrels

1030 - Hop over to hat stand.
1030 - Narrowly avoid tripping over apples on floor

1031 - Try on hats
1035 - Hop back over to chair.
1040 - Coffee break
1045 - Access internet. Check kit sites to see if anything has been added in the last hour and a half
1100 - Watch squirrels

1105 - Check blogs, web sites and other bushcrafft forums
1200 - Check watch. Wonder in amazement how time flies when you're having fun.
1205 - Lunch. Examine the possibility of setting up Trangia in lounge.
1206 - Decide against setting up Trangia in lounge
1210 - Hop into kitchen and collect sandwiches and glass of juice
1215 - Decide against hopping back to chair with glass of juice in hand
1230 - Eat sandwiches - Watch squirrels - Check time
1300 - Start listening out for postman
1330 - Joy of joys - Postman arrives!
1335 - Curse at postman for not bringing any useless or expensive kit
1340 - Try on hats
1345 - Access internet. Check to see if any blogs or new posts have been added . Oh... check on new kit.
1400 - TV time! Access TV for good documentatries
1405 - Switch off TV
1410 - Postman asks if he can be released
1415 - Eat squirrels - Check sandwiches - Watch time

1420 - Decide to explore house - Commence crawling upstairs 1440 - Arrive in study and open bushcraft wardrobe
- commence playing with bushcraft stuff
1535 - Check watch. Wonder in amazement how time flies when you're having fun
1536 - Realise in horror that it's time for exercises
1540 - Commence journey downstairs
1550 - Commence exercises
1555 - Complete exercises
1600 - Hop back into chair - Watch squirrels

1605 - Start watching dusk fall
1630 - Cease watching squirrels - too dark
1635 - Check watch - Realise human contact is now less than 1 hour away - Wonder where the day has gone
1645 - Hop into kitchen and follow Mrs P's food prep instructions for dinner

1650 - Decide leg hurts - unable to complete dinner prep task - Hop back to chair
1710 - Check watch - Human contact now less than 30 minutes away - Worry about consequences of inability to complete dinner prep task.

1720 - Clear up sandwich debris - Remove apples from floor
1725 - Practice pretending to be miserable and in pain to extract maximum sympathy
1730 - Human contact! Commence describing highly eventful day. Fall about laughing when describing fun with apples
1732 - Cease describing eventful day and laughing about apples when confronted about failure to complete dinner prep task

1740 - Commence normal evening routine.

Day Five

0800 - Get up. Endeavour to wash etc etc and get dressed
0900 - Commence hopping downstairs
0910 - Arrive downstairs. Make morning flask of coffee
0920 - Sit in chair - Watch squirrels in the garden. Check time to confirm it'll be another 8 hours before human contact

Extract From The Diary Of An Immobile Bushcrafter

Day Four

0800 - Get up. Endeavour to wash etc etc and get dressed
0900 - Commence hopping downstairs
0910 - Arrive downstairs. Make morning flask of coffee
0920 - Sit in chair - Watch squirrels in garden. Check time to confirm it'll be another 8 hours before human contact
0930 - Access internet. Look at all useless kit sites
0932 - Promise self that not to buy any useless kit
0934 - Promise self not to buy any more useless kit
0936 - Look at all good and expensive kit sites
0938 - Promise self that not to buy any good and expensive kit
0940 - Promise self that not to buy any more good and expensive kit
0945 - Watch squirrels. Check time.

1000 - Have fun trying to extract apple from fruit bowl on coffee table using only crutches
1005 - Give up trying to extract apple from fruit bowl on coffee table using only crutches
1010 - Coffee break
1020 - Watch time and check squirrels

1030 - Hop over to hat stand.
1030 - Narrowly avoid tripping over apples on floor

1031 - Try on hats
1035 - Hop back over to chair.
1040 - Coffee break
1045 - Access internet. Check kit sites to see if anything has been added in the last hour and a half
1100 - Watch squirrels

1105 - Check blogs, web sites and other bushcrafft forums
1200 - Check watch. Wonder in amazement how time flies when you're having fun.
1205 - Lunch. Examine the possibility of setting up Trangia in lounge.
1206 - Decide against setting up Trangia in lounge
1210 - Hop into kitchen and collect sandwiches and glass of juice
1215 - Decide against hopping back to chair with glass of juice in hand
1230 - Eat sandwiches - Watch squirrels - Check time
1300 - Start listening out for postman
1330 - Joy of joys - Postman arrives!
1335 - Curse at postman for not bringing any useless or expensive kit
1340 - Try on hats
1345 - Access internet. Check to see if any blogs or new posts have been added . Oh... check on new kit.
1400 - TV time! Access TV for good documentatries
1405 - Switch off TV
1410 - Postman asks if he can be released
1415 - Eat squirrels - Check sandwiches - Watch time

1420 - Decide to explore house - Commence crawling upstairs 1440 - Arrive in study and open bushcraft wardrobe
- commence playing with bushcraft stuff
1535 - Check watch. Wonder in amazement how time flies when you're having fun
1536 - Realise in horror that it's time for exercises
1540 - Commence journey downstairs
1550 - Commence exercises
1555 - Complete exercises
1600 - Hop back into chair - Watch squirrels

1605 - Start watching dusk fall
1630 - Cease watching squirrels - too dark
1635 - Check watch - Realise human contact is now less than 1 hour away - Wonder where the day has gone
1645 - Hop into kitchen and follow Mrs P's food prep instructions for dinner

1650 - Decide leg hurts - unable to complete dinner prep task - Hop back to chair
1710 - Check watch - Human contact now less than 30 minutes away - Worry about consequences of inability to complete dinner prep task.

1720 - Clear up sandwich debris - Remove apples from floor
1725 - Practice pretending to be miserable and in pain to extract maximum sympathy
1730 - Human contact! Commence describing highly eventful day. Fall about laughing when describing fun with apples
1732 - Cease describing eventful day and laughing about apples when confronted about failure to complete dinner prep task

1740 - Commence normal evening routine.

Day Five

0800 - Get up. Endeavour to wash etc etc and get dressed
0900 - Commence hopping downstairs
0910 - Arrive downstairs. Make morning flask of coffee
0920 - Sit in chair - Watch squirrels in the garden. Check time to confirm it'll be another 8 hours before human contact

Quick Trip Out and ATI + 18

With Mrs P's help, I went out for my first short trip since the ATI (Achilles Tendon Injury). I've been following the hospital advice to the letter and have kept the leg elevated 95% of the time. The first week was really painful and I had to resort to taking Ibrobrufen painkillers. The second week was better although I started to really get frustrated that I couldn't get out and about. The foot has been plastered so that the toes are pointing to the ground therefore I can't put any weight on it even if I wanted to. I can go short distances on the crutches but then the injured foot starts to ache as the fluids move to the injured area.

I've been trying to exercise using dumbells and doing situps. If nothing else, I'll improve my upper body strength by the time the cast is off.

The field trip in the Doris the Landrover Discovery did me the world of good. We skirted around the fields in my areas and to make myself more at home, I even brought along a day sack with my possibles pouch and EKA knife. Some hope of using that though!

With the lack of mammal sightings we concentrated our efforts on finding some owls and almost instantly noticed a little owl (Athene noctua) on a fence post. Later we watched a barn owl for a full 5 minutes quartering away in the field. It was getting a little dark but I managed to get some footage. The pics are taken from the video so they're a bit grainy, but I think they add to the atmosphere of the dusk hunt.

Today, I went back to the hospital fully expecting to get the foot repositioned and a new cast fitted. This didn't happen as they decided to leave it in the same cast for another two weeks. This decision was made with no examination of the injury and no-one seemed to be able to explain why I had been asked to come back after 2 weeks instead of 4 weeks. This is a blow to my moral as it means another 2 weeks with the foot in the same awkward position. I am not happy - but if it means there's less likelihood of a re-rupture then I can't really argue. They're the experts (allegedly) but I think I'll still get a second opinion.

By the way - I've run out of grapes and my PayPal account is dwindling fast!! Help!!

Many thanks for all your emails, comments and forum messages.

All the best,

Pablo.

Quick Trip Out and ATI + 18

With Mrs P's help, I went out for my first short trip since the ATI (Achilles Tendon Injury). I've been following the hospital advice to the letter and have kept the leg elevated 95% of the time. The first week was really painful and I had to resort to taking Ibrobrufen painkillers. The second week was better although I started to really get frustrated that I couldn't get out and about. The foot has been plastered so that the toes are pointing to the ground therefore I can't put any weight on it even if I wanted to. I can go short distances on the crutches but then the injured foot starts to ache as the fluids move to the injured area.

I've been trying to exercise using dumbells and doing situps. If nothing else, I'll improve my upper body strength by the time the cast is off.

The field trip in the Doris the Landrover Discovery did me the world of good. We skirted around the fields in my areas and to make myself more at home, I even brought along a day sack with my possibles pouch and EKA knife. Some hope of using that though!

With the lack of mammal sightings we concentrated our efforts on finding some owls and almost instantly noticed a little owl (Athene noctua) on a fence post. Later we watched a barn owl for a full 5 minutes quartering away in the field. It was getting a little dark but I managed to get some footage. The pics are taken from the video so they're a bit grainy, but I think they add to the atmosphere of the dusk hunt.

Today, I went back to the hospital fully expecting to get the foot repositioned and a new cast fitted. This didn't happen as they decided to leave it in the same cast for another two weeks. This decision was made with no examination of the injury and no-one seemed to be able to explain why I had been asked to come back after 2 weeks instead of 4 weeks. This is a blow to my moral as it means another 2 weeks with the foot in the same awkward position. I am not happy - but if it means there's less likelihood of a re-rupture then I can't really argue. They're the experts (allegedly) but I think I'll still get a second opinion.

By the way - I've run out of grapes and my PayPal account is dwindling fast!! Help!!

Many thanks for all your emails, comments and forum messages.

All the best,

Pablo.

More On Winter Clothing

Carrying on from my last post about clothing and winter protection I'll continue the journey down from the head. The assumption is that I'll be getting out again before winter disappears.

Hats are no real problem. I bought the splendid possum fur/merino wool hat from Mears last year and it's absolutely great especially during the evenings around the fire. During the day, I prefer a peak, therefore I'll use my standard cap or a "Millets special" fleece lined cap with ear covers that I've had for a couple of years.

As last year (and the years before that) I'll continue the tried and tested method of layering. Last year I bought a WoolPower 200grm base-layer and that was a huge success for me. It was generally quite mild last year in the UK but even so, the temperature went down to -4C on one or two occasions while overnighting and I was grateful for the protection this garment gave me. The merino wool is designed to wick away sweat, which it does. The mid-layer is a reasonable quality thin fleece with the standard Swaandri on top of that. My Swaani is an older button up version. I'm tempted by Bison's Field Shirt which have received great reviews, but unfortunately at £75, I can't justify the cost when I've still got a servicable Swaandri.

 

The top layer will either be my SASS smock (don't be put off by the name; it's ventile (close weave cotton) in all but name and has nothing to do with the military) or my old, battered, trusted and favourite wax jacket. I bet I know what I'll revert to as the winter progresses!

I have a pair of Peter Storm Long Johns (WoolPower also do nice leggings) and didn't even put these on last year, so I'll stick with these just in case the temperature drops significantly and put some thicker surplus trousers over the top. But here's another solution for base-layer leg-wear. Ladies tights. Ask any self respecting infantryman and he will (in private) tell you that he has worn ladies tights or at least packed them in his bag at some stage during winter exercises.

During track and field training (many moons ago) us sprinters used these garments to great effect when training during the winter months to protect the delicate fast-twitch muscle fibres. So, come on guys; don't be shy...I won't tell if you won't! Just say, "They're for the wife" in the lingerie shop and ignore the all-knowing look from the shop assistant; or alternatively, raid the washing machine and blame it on the "sock-eating monster!" Stay away from fish-nets for obvious reasons. By the way, ladies tights make an excellent water filter and you can extend the life of premacs by quite a few uses.

Gloves are particularly important to me as I suffer from cold extremities. I picked up two pairs of Thinsulate fingerless gloves last year for £5-00 at the local market and I have seen them on Ebay for not much more. They are great for providing warmth but tend to fray quickly if you're working with wood. They are also a bit slippery if using tools. In this case I revert to some leather gloves that live in my shoulder bag or tool pouch. These tend to be cold though and distinctly non-waterproof.

My new balaclava will do well for neck coverage, although on milder days I'll stick to the ever-present buff. The shemagh will come out of the bag if the wind gets up or I need to wrap up well. Heat loss from the neck is only second to that of the head and I make sure this heat loss is kept to a minimum.

Two pairs of socks (thin under pair and outer wool) will finish off the clothes side. Wool socks are a must and as taught by the one and only Mors Kochanski, you can have 3 pairs of thick wool socks on at -30C in deep snow and no boots and you'd still be OK.

Pablo.