Another bushcraft hike with Zee Aylienz

 On Sunday I called the cripples (Kai, Levin from Weideland blog, and Seppel all have some kind of handicap at the moment, from broken ribs, punctured lungs, broken knee to a broken collarbone) to go for a hike with some bushcraft practice on top. We met at Kai´s, and NO, THERE WAS NO ALCOHOL INVOLVED for once, that is;-).

 We immediately made for the hills. This is quite an interesting spot. Parents can buy a tree and plant it for the birth of their child on this area. A great project, if you ask me!

 We ventured ever deeper into the woods, thoroughly taking care of the wind and any animal sightings and followed deer tracks into the bush.

 Found some droppings, but no sightings. Had some fun, though...;-).

 Rabbit had been there on the deer tracks, too. On the hunt?*ggg*Rabbits are very aggressive and pursue deer for food around these parts*ggg*.

 Coughwort is there already (Tussilago farfara)!

 On the road deeper into the woods...

 snowdrop (galanthus nivalis) in blossom.

 Seppel checking a tinder conk.

 Foraging for amadou material-we will make some amadou soon... finally!

 ...

 This is a peasant´s junkyard, dating back to early modern times. You can often find a load of useful material at those places, and they are quite abundant. Kai making mischief;-)...

 Towards the lake we went.

 You know this picture. I have shot it a thousand times. But then I simply love that place. It has an air of peace to it, and it was there we had a break and a cuppa tea and a brew and a snack.

 I used to sit under this oak for hours on end when I was  a child. I daresay it taught me more than studying at the university.

 Good.

 We gathered some dry grass for tinder, took some wood chips from inside a rotten tree trunk and tried our best at fire starting.

 First with a cigarette lighter. Was hard enough, for the tinder was not exactly so dry as we would have liked.

 More scenery...

 Then it was the ferro-rod. Most of you readers may laugh at our feeble efforts, but we are still at the beginning, and we were enthused to get it going as well as it went... which was not so well... we soon learned that patience is the most crucial part in making a fire in the wet!

 But we finally succeeded. It is good to have a team that some can go foraging for tinder and firewood and the others building camp and starting a fire.

 This licce ladybug looked on... spring is on the way, definitely!

 Then we decided we´d take  a shortcut back to the city, for time was running out.

...

...

We passed by these cliffs on our way. We had a lot of good-natured conversations, weird jokes and certainly a lot of fun. My bunch of cripples are carved from quite a hard wood, for it was some 25 km with their handicaps, and doing that with a laugh is not for everyone. Props, guys, we have to do that again sometime soon!


We then split up, and I went on my solitary way home.








And on that way home I met others on their way home: The geese are back! Spring is on the way, and I look forward to it!