Fidget spinner bowdrill

One of the main stumbling blocks to good bowdrill technique is a decent bearing block. Now you're not going to find fidget spinners growing off a tree but for practise and muscle memory they are worth using..

Use which ever shape of spinner you like and shape the spindle to fit the bearing

Get your kit together and practise.. we are trying to develop a way to help people with joint problems do bow drill as assuming the form is very difficult if you have bad knees or a bad back..

The ember isn't hard to get..you can also go slightly more traditional by putting the bearing in a piece of antler

Top one was hazel on lime by Davy, second one was me with willow on willow..

Preserving chanterelles

I was hoping for the usual glut of chanterelles this year but it's been quite dry and the harvest was poor though I did get some..

Chanterelles don't dehydrate well and can end up rubbery so the best thing to do with them is fry them up in a little oil

Once they release their water keep frying them till it evaporates then put them on a plate to cool

Once cool put them in a bag and freeze them, this way you can always have a few on hand as you need them.

Wild marjoram

I went out for a walk recently and came across a great little herb, wild marjoram.
Not always easy to find but when you do find it then it can be quite abundant..



Should have picked a lot of it and dried it out for cooking.. might just have to go back thete for another walk.

Spinning time

Its at that time of year again when my thoughts turn to spinning for small game fish like perch and trout..they are now well used to feeding on this year's fry so spinning is a good way to target them.so out came the spinner making box



And within an hour I had 15 gorgeous little lures made thst will do serious damage to the trout population!



Looking forward to the next couple of months !