A spring forage
This weekend was the second of my Woodland Ways 'wayer' courses. It was a one day course starting at 9am on Sunday so myself and the other 'Wayers' decided to make a weekend of it and head to the woods on Saturday rather than face a very early start and a long drive at both ends of the day. We'd planned a communal meal for the Saturday as well, so the van was loaded with dutch ovens, a group kettle and enough food for seven people. I drove up four of the other 'wayers' and it was nice to have some company on the long drive.
The main concern for the weekend was the strong winds forecast for Saturday, though these were expected to drop overnight and fortunately, these failed to show their full force and we were able to continue as planned.
We arrived to find the fire all ready on and while the kettle boiled we checked out the various camp options before setting up. Having one member of the group who is a tree surgeon was handy when you're worried about your safety, so we checked out some new spots for setting up our choice of sleeping options. Once our personal sleeping arrangements were set we got on with a few camp jobs, cutting wood, marking out our toilet area and generally having a good catchup over a brew.
It was really nice to spend time with like-minded people, discussing the many and varied subjects within bushcraft. I'm not sure where the afternoon disappeared too, but before I knew it, it was time to prepare our evening meal of chicken and vegetable fajitas. Nachos starters thanks to Andreas and then the dutch ovens served their purpose well and we had the vegetarian option and chicken all cooking nicely in a short time. Many hands make light work and everyone mucked in to get the veg prepped and after warming the tortillas on the dutch oven lid we settled into some serious eating while we talked more bushcraft.
Settling into my tent for the night, the fresh air sent me off to sleep in no time and when morning came round I woke feeling refreshed and ready for the day, the rain and wind not affecting my sleep, though several of the others didn't have as much luck.
Sunday was much cooler than Saturday so extra layers were needed and after of bit of trial and error the scotch pancakes were cooking and while I cooked, the others sorted out a new tarp over the kitchen area of the camp. Jay arrived about 8:30am and the course began with a discussion on the legalities of foraging and suitable foraging areas. We then set out into the woods where we discussed, elder, ash, bramble, birch and nettles before exploring the field boundaries for dock, reed and many more. Heading back to camp for a brew to warm up we grabbed a quick lunch and took down our now dry tents. After a discussion on relevant books, we headed back into the woods for more plant ID and spent several hours tapping into Jay's extensive knowledge of the subject.
The day ended with us packing down the camp, saying goodbye to everyone and then the long drive back home.
I'm looking forward to the next course already.
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| Wild Country Zephyros 2 |
We arrived to find the fire all ready on and while the kettle boiled we checked out the various camp options before setting up. Having one member of the group who is a tree surgeon was handy when you're worried about your safety, so we checked out some new spots for setting up our choice of sleeping options. Once our personal sleeping arrangements were set we got on with a few camp jobs, cutting wood, marking out our toilet area and generally having a good catchup over a brew.
It was really nice to spend time with like-minded people, discussing the many and varied subjects within bushcraft. I'm not sure where the afternoon disappeared too, but before I knew it, it was time to prepare our evening meal of chicken and vegetable fajitas. Nachos starters thanks to Andreas and then the dutch ovens served their purpose well and we had the vegetarian option and chicken all cooking nicely in a short time. Many hands make light work and everyone mucked in to get the veg prepped and after warming the tortillas on the dutch oven lid we settled into some serious eating while we talked more bushcraft.
Settling into my tent for the night, the fresh air sent me off to sleep in no time and when morning came round I woke feeling refreshed and ready for the day, the rain and wind not affecting my sleep, though several of the others didn't have as much luck.
Sunday was much cooler than Saturday so extra layers were needed and after of bit of trial and error the scotch pancakes were cooking and while I cooked, the others sorted out a new tarp over the kitchen area of the camp. Jay arrived about 8:30am and the course began with a discussion on the legalities of foraging and suitable foraging areas. We then set out into the woods where we discussed, elder, ash, bramble, birch and nettles before exploring the field boundaries for dock, reed and many more. Heading back to camp for a brew to warm up we grabbed a quick lunch and took down our now dry tents. After a discussion on relevant books, we headed back into the woods for more plant ID and spent several hours tapping into Jay's extensive knowledge of the subject.
The day ended with us packing down the camp, saying goodbye to everyone and then the long drive back home.
I'm looking forward to the next course already.
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