Redshank

An easy one to find and recognise and a handy one at this time of year when a lot of plants are dying back

 

easy to identify with the close knit bunches of pinky white flowers

 

 

and the easy way to be sure is the black markings on the basal and lower leaves.

 

A good plant to start on if you want to eat wild foods as it doesn't taste green! as a matter of fact it's quite tasty and would be good in a salad although I've just eaten it as is.

Apparently it also helps stop diahorrea , however I haven't tried it for that so can't speak from experience..

 

New Lauri Bushcraft Knife

I do love Lauri blades and having made some of the larger ones lately, I figured I'd make a more utilitarian one for general use

 

Walnut handle, brass bolster

 

 

and end cap

 

and here it is, it really is very comfortable.



 

Buzzard Bushcraft in the Daily Mirror

We did a little thing recently where a reporter from the Daily Mirror came along to see what all the fuss about bushcraft was about, he was so impressed with what we had to offer that he did a little write up in one of the UK's biggest daily newspapers about us, it has a circulation well in excess of 1 million!!!

 

he did get quite a few things wrong, like mentioning yarrow and achillea!!

 

and morphing Davy and myself into the same person!! (har har)

 

but the rest of the write up was quite good

 

especially the bit where he says Ray Mears and Bear Grylls have nothing on Davy!!

I'll leave him thinking that's true!



 

Much Room for Mushrooms

I love mushrooms, but I'm very reluctant to pick those I find in the wild as it's too easy to make a mistake. However there are a few types that are easily identifiable and also make great eating and this time of year is the time to find them

 

one of the easiest to identify, the common field mushroom, and one of my favourites, very tasty and great in stews and casseroles or just fried in butter

 

 another relatively easy one to find, the Shaggy parasol, I have mistaken yellow stainers for these before so please do take care

 

 

and the good old Ink Cap, pick when small like this, as it gets watery and tasteless when cooked and not particularly pleasant to eat.

 

Like all wild edibles, please be carefull only eat what you can positively identify,

If in doubt, leave it out!!!

Chicory

This is the second of the 2 plants I have been looking for and eventually found this year. It's relatively uncommon in Northern Ireland so it was good to eventually find it

 

The leaves are edible but can be bitter, I nibbled on one and they are but I've had worse.

The most common thing chicory is used for is as a coffee substitute and I'm sure we're all familiar with that use, although I've read reports that over consumption can cause retinal damage, though I'm unsure as to how accurate this is.

The roots are edible raw or cooked and there is a history of it being used in europe where it's called endive.

Mythology about chicory states that when "taken" in a particular way it opens the doorways between earth and the spiritual planes, maybe best just to eat the stuff!

 

 

 

Acorn Coffee

This is a really old way of making a coffee like drink, it's ok as a stand by and I much prefer tea but it might be handy for some of you dedicated coffee drinkers out there

 

gather plenty of acorns, for every 2lbs you get about 4 oz of coffee after discarding, shelling and roasting

 

shell the acorns and chew one, if they're too bitter leach in water for 24 to 48 hours

 

now there's 2 ways of doing this, the easy way or the hard way! The easy way is to use a blender, the hard way is a pestle and mortar, either way reduce your acorns down to a crumbly consistency

 

then slowly roast in a dry pan. You'll be surprised how much steam comes off them!!

 

once there's no more steam coming off them put back in your blender and grind them again, then back in the pan for a second time, then repeat the process one more time.

 

by the third roasting and grinding the acorns will be dark in colour and finely ground, they will also smell very coffee like! But this was all I got from 2lbs of acorns!!!

 

and the taste, it's quite coffee like and quite mild, I'm sure a lot of coffee drinkers will be pleasantly surprised by it's taste!

 

 

 

 

Tansy

There are a couple of plants I've been looking for for a very long time and regardless to the fact that they are supposed to be common I've had a hard time finding them, until now! This is one of them, Tansy.

 

 

Quite unusual looking I'm sure you'll agree but it has a history going back to the neolithic.

 

It's uses are many and varied from treating intestinal problems, like parasites and worms to being used as a face wash to lighten the skin, for rhuematic and joint problems but most importantly and very effectively as an insect repellant.

However It does contain a compound than can cause skin rashes so it's wise to test it first to see if you suffer from this sensitivity.

 

The folklore behind it includes it being used in funerals as it was believed to bestow immortality upon the body and the soul.

It should be avoided by pregnant women at all costs.