saxonaxe
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11.00 hrs, the Sun is warm and the sky is clear blue. Yesterday was an easy day, a weights session at home, so I topped up the water bottles and was walking up the lane shortly after 11.00. First stop at the lake where the patches of Dog Wood shrubs show quite red in the Sun against the dark background of trees on the far side of the lake.
This is a bridge across the lake well below the 8 arch bridge in earlier photos. It lies on the route between home and the beach. One of my objectives is to be fit enough to walk to the Beach and back......before my birthday in July, and today was an opportunity to check progress.
I found that progress was good and I was confident that I could have reached the beach today because the trail is relatively flat and easy walking from that Bridge, it appears I'm 3 months early, so I threw a nasty in, what I've known in the past to be called a 'Heart Breaker'...
Stop whining, you can have a brew, When...if you get to the top..
It's warmer than Mount Everest here, but the climb felt about the same..I earned the brew.
The Ancient people lived on this hill, the stone memorial is built to mark their settlement site. Even today it's possible to detect the vague circles left by their dwellings. Between where I sat swigging tea and the yellow flowers of the Gorse bushes it's just possible to see a feint depression in the ground and a few odd stones showing through the short grass.
The beach lies not far away and it's satisfying to look down and know that what I planned back in November was well within reach.
This is a circular route and there's a long way to go before I reach home, 85% off road too, so time to move. Rough grass land, Sheep country.
It can be a bit bleak up here on a cold Winters day, the wind howls across this land and the trees lean away. The soil eroded from under the roots of these trees leaves the roots looking like branches which have buried their heads in the soil to escape the cold winds.
On the edge of the grazing land and the fallen trees on the woodland margin look like somewhere for burning knees to sit and rest.
Bonus! King Alfred's Cakes live here on these fallen Ash Trees which gives me a chance to do a little experimenting on this warm sunny day...and make another brew of course.
Also called Cramp Balls or properly Daldinia Concentricia ( concentric rings show easily)
A comfortable seat in the sunshine and it's Tea time...I thought I would take the opportunity to see how the sunshine through a lens fire lighting technique would work today, so I brought my char cloth fire kit and also some dry Birch bark. Normally it's best to give the Cramp Ball time to dry thoroughly before attempting to use it as Tinder, it is often damp when taken straight from the tree as I did today, so I was surprised that within a couple of seconds under the glass a red ember spot appeared and if I had wanted to, and been prepared with dry grass or similar I could easily have obtained a flame. I've used Cramp Ball fairly often before as a fire starter but it is good to keep in practice.
Char cloth from my kit lit just as easily and went from black cloth to grey ash in no time in the light breeze. Last came the thin Birch Bark. Not a clear photo, I needed 3 hands...but it's possible to see the burning spot on the pale Bark. i didn't bother blowing it into flame but the ember was there if I had needed it.
Now on to important things, like cheese and Wild Garlic sarnies that I made the other day.
Headed home through the wood, plenty of wild Daffodils in bloom and the Saxifrage is flowering too, greenish yellow in the sunlight.
We all know there are dangers in the countryside and most are easily avoided, it's just that sometimes people, often children, get misled by what looks totally harmless. This plant, Dogs Mercury ( Mercurialis perennis ) is extremely poisonous, all parts, leaves and stem and the little green flowers that show in the Spring. It looks like 'Any old weed' but it will kill if ingested in even small amounts and the stem juice will make you ill if transferred from your hands to food or mouth.
16.45 hrs, a long day, and back home across the bridge nearer home.
This is a bridge across the lake well below the 8 arch bridge in earlier photos. It lies on the route between home and the beach. One of my objectives is to be fit enough to walk to the Beach and back......before my birthday in July, and today was an opportunity to check progress.
I found that progress was good and I was confident that I could have reached the beach today because the trail is relatively flat and easy walking from that Bridge, it appears I'm 3 months early, so I threw a nasty in, what I've known in the past to be called a 'Heart Breaker'...
Stop whining, you can have a brew, When...if you get to the top..
It's warmer than Mount Everest here, but the climb felt about the same..I earned the brew.
The Ancient people lived on this hill, the stone memorial is built to mark their settlement site. Even today it's possible to detect the vague circles left by their dwellings. Between where I sat swigging tea and the yellow flowers of the Gorse bushes it's just possible to see a feint depression in the ground and a few odd stones showing through the short grass.
The beach lies not far away and it's satisfying to look down and know that what I planned back in November was well within reach.
This is a circular route and there's a long way to go before I reach home, 85% off road too, so time to move. Rough grass land, Sheep country.
It can be a bit bleak up here on a cold Winters day, the wind howls across this land and the trees lean away. The soil eroded from under the roots of these trees leaves the roots looking like branches which have buried their heads in the soil to escape the cold winds.
On the edge of the grazing land and the fallen trees on the woodland margin look like somewhere for burning knees to sit and rest.
Bonus! King Alfred's Cakes live here on these fallen Ash Trees which gives me a chance to do a little experimenting on this warm sunny day...and make another brew of course.
Also called Cramp Balls or properly Daldinia Concentricia ( concentric rings show easily)
A comfortable seat in the sunshine and it's Tea time...I thought I would take the opportunity to see how the sunshine through a lens fire lighting technique would work today, so I brought my char cloth fire kit and also some dry Birch bark. Normally it's best to give the Cramp Ball time to dry thoroughly before attempting to use it as Tinder, it is often damp when taken straight from the tree as I did today, so I was surprised that within a couple of seconds under the glass a red ember spot appeared and if I had wanted to, and been prepared with dry grass or similar I could easily have obtained a flame. I've used Cramp Ball fairly often before as a fire starter but it is good to keep in practice.
Char cloth from my kit lit just as easily and went from black cloth to grey ash in no time in the light breeze. Last came the thin Birch Bark. Not a clear photo, I needed 3 hands...but it's possible to see the burning spot on the pale Bark. i didn't bother blowing it into flame but the ember was there if I had needed it.
Now on to important things, like cheese and Wild Garlic sarnies that I made the other day.
Headed home through the wood, plenty of wild Daffodils in bloom and the Saxifrage is flowering too, greenish yellow in the sunlight.
We all know there are dangers in the countryside and most are easily avoided, it's just that sometimes people, often children, get misled by what looks totally harmless. This plant, Dogs Mercury ( Mercurialis perennis ) is extremely poisonous, all parts, leaves and stem and the little green flowers that show in the Spring. It looks like 'Any old weed' but it will kill if ingested in even small amounts and the stem juice will make you ill if transferred from your hands to food or mouth.
16.45 hrs, a long day, and back home across the bridge nearer home.