Cubicle-nosed Mohawk pig hiking staff completed;-)

 Here´s my most recent hiking staff completed and close up. Top is a detail of the cubicle - nosed Mohawk pig that is intended to be a Celtic boar as a crown and handle-fitting. You can guide a length of paracord through the hole and make a loop that way to harvest apples and the like. The design makes the bristles also good for prying.

 The tip is tempered spring steel and makes a good choice when digging for roots.

I also fitted a leaf forged from bearing bronze.

The stick is made from fire-hardened blackthorn. It will get a jasper inlay into the gnarled part.

I personally like it;-).

Foraging hike into the woods of spring

The birds were singing like mad, and the weather is becoming altogether warmer. The air has that smell and a touch to it that enbalms my whole being. Spring is here. So I went out for a stroll and thought I´d do some foraging. Above are beech sprouts (fagus, in German: Buche), and they make for a delicious salad. They have a very fine nutty flavour, and they are currently one of my favourites. Harvest them yound, and always leave at least half of the stem!

 Blueberry leaves for tea and for a herbal syrup I am currently preparing.(vaccinium myrtillus, in German: Blaubeere). They are delicious!

 Another, but controversially discussed wild food delicacy is bracken / fern (pteridium aquilinium, in German: Adlerfarn). mature, the plant is carcinogenic and even toxic. It is eaten throughout the USA, Europe and Japan and many other regions as sprouts. Wikipedia claims there is an increase in carcinome deseases (cancer) in these regions that is associated to the consumation of the plant. I personally do obstain from it for I am in doubt about it, but I feel obliged to give a choice. ALWAYS give the sprouts at least a few turns in boiling salt water. Another failsafe might be, to dry them beforehand and  then giving them a good boiling. I Japan, it seems to be customary to put them into a hot Natron solution overnight, dry them AND then giving them a turn in boiling water. It´s yours to decide. And remember: If in doubt, rather obstain from the use of a plant. They taste great, though, but I AM in doubt and so do not use them any more.

 The woods are vibrant with light these days. And those wonderful, marvellous green leaves have another advantage: Young birch and beech leaves make for a delicious salad, rich with vitamin C!

 As is sorrel;-) which I collected for syrup. (oxalis, in German: Sauerklee).

 The light healed all the darkness of winter, warm and radiant as it was.

 Aegopodium, in German: Giersch, and blimey, I can´t figure out the English name;-). But delicious as a salad and good against arthtosis, blood circulation and a load of other implications.

 Wild Strawberry leaves for tea (fragaria vesca, in German:Walderdbeere) and syrup.

 Stinging nettle (urtica, in German: Brennnessel) for tea, spinache and nettle soup.

 Garlic mustard "Jack-by-the hedge" (aliaria petiolata, in German: Lauchrauke) for schnapps, tea, as a spice and as salad. It has a garlic flavour before blossom, although not as rich as wild garlic, and tastes a bit like cresses after blossom. In any case, wild garlic tastes better by far, but it´s a good spice, albeit a bit bitter to my liking.

 Ground ivy (glechoma hederacea, in German: Gundermann) as tea, for spice and for syrup.

 Lungwort (pulmonaria officinalis, in German: Lungenkraut) as a medicinal, as a spice, as a tea and for syrup. As the name indicates, it´s good against pulmonary deseases, bronchitis and the like.

 Sweet woodruff (galium odoratum, in German: Waldmeister) for tea, syrup and as a medicinal. Good for blood circulation. Please take note that sweet woodruff is mildly toxic (gives mild to strong headaches) and should be harvested before blossom. When using in tea, always use dried herbs. In syrup, only use one bundle for 1 l, and in schnapps the like. If you use blood clot prohibitor medicaments as Marcumar or other Cumarine preparations, consult your doctor before using woodruff, for it contains a high level of cumarine and works a cumulating effect with cumarine medicaments.

 A licce liddybug*ggg* for tea... NOT.*ggg* I simply like these little fellows.

 Lugra Moros did a great job that day... and I really love that knife.

 I also collected lots of dandelion flower for syrup (taraxacum, in German: Löwenzahn) and tea.

 On my path through the vibrant, living green of the woods I met this little fellow, too. A blindworm crossed my path, and I wished it a good journey. A young one, I assume, savouring the day and basking in the sunlight.

 ...

Since there were no good photos of it up to date, I thought I´d post you some, of my favourite Shilleleagh walking stick. Blackthorn, polished bark.

 The rune is a bind rune I dreamt up, and it involves the runes "thurisaz", "thorn, giant", for the wood, and as a protective "wish";-), and "eihwaz", "yew, sorcery, death, magic, endurance".

 My "trademark" rune disc, which shows the older Futhark, the runic alphabet in circular form. No end and no beginning here...;-)

 It was getting dark, when I met this spirally little fellow... spring is here, definitely. I went home brimful with experiences and a deep satisfaction.

A happy Beltane to have had, everyone out there who celebrates it. To all the others: Enjoy spring, it´s great!

Pimp my blade;-)-Restored an old an trusty knife

 You might be familiar with this knife, for it has served me for some ten years now. Recently the pommel, which was tagua, fell off, and I catched the opportunity to refreshen it a bit. I am relatively pleased with the outcome. I etch-burned the ornaments and made a pommel out of blackthorn with a mosaic pin.

Blade is forged from an old chisel, tempered in a linseed-oil / urine / ash concoction after the "curicus und offenhertzig weinartzt" from 1723, which led to something like a bainite temper, making for a tough and flexible yet very durable blade. I recently sharpened it for the first time! I really love this knife now.

Progress on my Shillelagh

I have worked on my Shillelagh, and this is how it goes: In a creativity and artist´s shop I came across a little bronze disc (presumably for amulets;-)) with a complete Old runenordic Futhark inscribed and got it to fit it in the knob of the handle. Drilled it with a Forstner drill, fixed it with dual compound glue and an upholstery nail. The Futhark serves as a functional rune-energy;-)-item, as was presumably a custom in historical times, too, if you follow the magical theory. It could also have been in use as a mnemnonic device to help remember the staves of the runes. This left aside, I find it attractive.

Then I removed the bark and carved out an oval with a frame. The rune you can see is a so - called "bind-rune". Bind runes were found at Rök (Rune Stone) and on many artifacts. It might be that they were simply used to save space, such as abbreviations in our modern times, but also to express semiotic ideas, for runes always were ideograms, too. Of course, one could go as far as to postulate a magical use, too.

It´s very cool, for since I do not study runeology any more officially, I can do the heck what I goddamn please and state it´s for magical uses;-) and no teacher telling me otherwise;8-).

Hey, it´s artwork;-)! And it tells: Thurisaz, the thorn (of the blackthorn), the black giant, gives the twilight under the Yew´s (eihwaz) branches and leaves. The giant´s axe (or sword) of blackthorn´s needles fends off Evil and keeps the (runes) secrets (Straif) of the staff.

I made fun of my teacher, Prof. Dr. (em.) Else Ebel, "but I don´t mean it mean", for  I owe  her a lot actually. I recommend anyone interested in runelore reading a decent book beforehand before delving deep into the magical side of the art. I would recommend KLaus Düwel: Runes, Frankfurt a.M. 2001-2005, which gives an exact, academically correct overview on the topic.

Working on my blackthorn Shillelagh

 In winter I got myself two blackthorn shanks for a quarterstaff and a shillelagh. I really like the symbolism of the wood, and of the Shillelagh. To me it is a symbol of stubornness in the face of desaster, of rebellion against injustice and tyranny. To those not familiar with the concept: A Shillelagh is a traditional Irish weapon, typically made from oak, blackthorn or holly. It´s got its name from the Shillelagh village, where once there were dense oak forests. The forests were cut down by the English, so the inhabitants used blackthorn instead, as was commonly  used beforehand, too. Blackthorn grows in very hostile conditions,

and blackthorn hedges make for a very enduring brush landscape;-) and an effective means of keeping someone out. It also makes for a very effective wood to whack someone with, too. Shillelaghs were even "loaded" by hollowing out the top knob (made either from a piece of branch or rootwood) and filling it with lead. In modern Irish martial arts, stickfighting (Bataireacht) is taught again. When Ireland was occupied by the English, the Irish people were forbidden to carry weapons. Even the shorter original Shillelagh, which is now called a "shamrock" (Seamróg), was forbidden to carry. So it got a bit longer and just became a walking stick (which was not forbidden). Traditionally the wood was cut in December, smeared with butter, manure or resin to keep the wood from cracking, and hung up, tip up, with a copper ferrule fitted to prevent splitting, in the chimney for three weeks, therefore gaining the black appearance.

In my opinion, the blackthorn in itself has a lot to do with the Irish (and Scottish) and maybe Celtic psyche in general.It´s hard, enduring, yet shows a lovely blossom. The fruit are sour and bitter when not treated properly, but delicious if you know how to handle them ;-).

The Ogham meaning (Straif: begining of secrets, death, winter tree), and the modern Runic connotation, i.e. Thorn, thurisaz goes hand in hand with this fascination. I just wanted to make a Shillelagh, and to treat it with the respect it deserves. Not primarily as a weapon, but as a walking stick and as a mythological inspiration.

It has dried out nicely, but showing one crack along the knob. I filled it with some dual-compound glue. I left the bark on, and heated it with a hairdryer, applying a mixture of beeswax, resin, and boiled linseed oil. gave it a good burning with the hairdryer again. Then I polished it with some 1000 grit sanding paper and steel wool (0,000). I will forge a tempered tool steel tip for it and maybe make a bronze cap. I will carve some runes into it I have yet to find, and this Shillelagh´s name I have to find still, too.