Twilight treasures

 

 

After work again, and off I was to hitch the bus and drive out. Out into the rolling hills. Out into the twilight of the forest, away from the frantic ratrace and the heat of summer. Into another form of existence...

 

 As the adder sheds its skin, with a look back from the cool shadows, a look with a smile.

 Into a hall where wooden pillars bear a sky of green.

 Twilight is where my name was born, twilight reigns where few men tread, and twilight is the balm that soothes my soul.

 From the deep, deep, dark, rich soil there sprouts a crystal, quartz unfolds its blossoms over the aeons, growing steadily, stealthily in the dark, through veins of rock and subtle life that is thus alien to life it can´t be called.

 Under root and gnarled wood and rock-hard oaken portal it sprouts into the world.

 Beside the trail of deer and mouflon, of hare and fox and snake and lizard, where the tiny mouse fight their fights and survive their adventures, under a sky pierced with the song of the hunting buzzard...

 ...the gold of fae and treasures of the dirt...

 ...connect to each other like a link to link of an iron chain. And as rune to rune the spell of twilight sings into my soul...

 I see unfolded secrets from the deep, I feel unfolded from my debth myself.

 And thus I grow, grow like the oak, the mighty keeper of the gates...

 And thus I fall, like death in life and life in death.

 And so I walked in enchantment of this runic song, walked the hours away until I reached the shed in the woods  where I often sit and sip my tea and contemplate.

And smiled into my wooden cup of forest.

After work bimble through the woods

 My work is constantly stressing me out, and thusly I am always grateful for the ability to just hitch the bus afterwards and just disappear into the thicket. The woods keep me sane, even if a passers- by would maybe not exactly agree;-). I just took my pack, and, taking off the shirt and the tie, taking off my shoes to feel the earth, I ventured into a valley that has a rare quality: It is a deep crevice in the ground, crossed by few hiking paths, and silent and solitary. Seldom do I meet Humans there, and if this is the case, those few are of a better quality. It is a realm where the fairy tales still thrive and prosper apart from the mayhem that is our so - called everyday life.

 The woods are full of roe and sika deer, wild rams, wild pigs, owls, buzzards, of hare and fox and predators. Their tracks are everywhere, and I tread carefully and respectfully when I cross them.

 Those are the halls most beloved to my heart, better than a king´s palace are the pillars of the trees, vibrant with bird songs and the breeze in the soft treetops.

 Over wood and stone and yonder hill I tread and listen to the maagical song of the water.

 Got resin? I took some home for concoctions, for treating wood and illness alike.

 Across the runes written by the tracks of deer and ram, of hare and fox, that tell wild and wayward stories of the hunt and the feast.

 The sun was shining, and in the distance I heard some rustling noises, and, carefully not to make too much noise myself, I threaded along the creek.

Under those green, green leaves I walked, breathing the balsamic air.

 Everywhere where the unmistakable signs of wildlife.

 Everywhere there were the sounds of a life alien  to modern man, a life that is great enough for me to be a part of, a thread in a web weaved by  a gentle hand that needs no names and no agnition, but mere existence.

 Into the hazel grove I went...

 ...drew out a circle, and had a cuppa woods;-).

 Yummy...

 All too soon the hours had passed.

 Across paths seldom trodden that felt like I trod the stairs of time I went back into the world.

And at the frontier... where the veil is thinner...


colour.

After work foraging bimble, brief introduction of a Mora, garbage and a mushroom sunset;-)

 I figured I was quite stressed out after work, so what to do? - RIGHT! Off with me into the woods, along paths seldom trodden... with a canvas bag and some knives to collect what was lying around...*ggg*

 Those woods are in the periphery of Breckerfeld, a small village near my hometown, and ther is even less traffic than usual.

 I found this knife handle lying around there. You know, there is a common knifehandle bone roe deer breed over here. They are rare and normally shun the paths of man in an extreme degree;-). This one seems to have an anomality, for normally the knife blade is sprouting out of the bone, tempered and all*ggg*. To catch them you have to find a clearing in the woods with large stones on it. The stones have to be shoulder height for the deer, and there you put some spruce sprouts and a dose of pepper. Hunting is done in new moon nights. The deer come across the clearing, want to eat the grass and have to sneeze due to the pepper. Then they bash their head against the rock and drop unconscious or even dead.*ggg* But it only works with the common knifehandle bone roe deer*ggg*...

 I set aside the funny ´shrooms and went on my merry way;-).

 It was some time ago that I found the remnants of a deer in the thicket and I collected some bones and spoke a thankyou ritual and left something to lever the balance. This time I did it again and found this giant red cap. In the pic you can see one of my new Moras. It is the Bushcraft Triflex carbon steel knife. The blade is 100x2,5 mm with a combination plastic and Kraton handle. It comes with a thermoplastic sheath that´s pretty good. The blade is claimed to have a selective temper. My first impression is:

-it cuts like a Mora always does. OOTB it´s shaving sharp, in fact, hair is popping away if you shave. I could easily shave my beard with it, and that´s a feat!
-the temper seems to be not as homogenous as could be, for the outmost section of the tip (1 mm) bent with little effort, a mistake made presumeably in grinding. But no harm done, no breaking here, and a good flexibility.
-the handle is very comfy to hold onto and offers plenty of grip, even when wet.
-the sheath holds the knife in very well, even upside down. The belt loop provided with the knife is clipped in. Body temperature, however,  heated the thermoplastic material enough for the fit of the clip-in- mechanism to become looser than OOTB, but as is, it´s safe enough.

 Carving wood, e.g. making a feather stick or a wood spirit and the like was a right  treat. The blade holds an edge very well. I carved mild steel rods with it with no problems and without even having to strop it. That hints of an approx. hardness of 58-62 degrees Rockwell in the edge area. The balance is very good, too, with the centre of balance right on the index finger. Orthogonal balance (axis-to-edge) is great also, this coming as no surprise with the edge being in line with the belly of the handle. The knife itself is very light and comfortable to work with. It´s ugly, but I won´t complain. It is sold for 22.99€. Look here for more Mora products.

Do I recommend it? I will shoot it out against some higher-end brand knives and some low-budget ones. Now I can just tell that it has minor flaws, but overall ther is no reason at all not to buy it, except when you´re in for heavy batoning all of the time.

I then went deeper into the woods... more bones, but I left it be.

It´s somewhat strange. The farther you get into the woods, the more likely you will find something like this. I have found a lot of material on places like this, but then I would be glad if I did not have to. Just a reminder to take along what you´ve brought and think twice if you cannot reuse it!

 Then I was off to more ´shrooms, quite a loot for shoop *ggg* and for drying as snacks and spice!

 The somewhat grey weather cleared up and I was able to savour a beautiful sunset on my way home.

A perfect day in the woods!