August in the wood

After a wonderful long summer holiday, reality has returned – luckily, I really enjoy my everyday life. If I didn’t enjoy it, I would change it. August and September are also months filled with “must-do” things during the weekends, which is fine too. But it does mean a bit fewer trips to the forest and overnight stays.

That doesn’t mean nothing is happening in the woods, though.

Thrift Store Finds
I always stop by thrift stores whenever possible. And I’ve picked up a few really cool and insanely cheap finds for my outdoor gear. Another nice sheepskin for the collection. Hides are one of the few things I hoard – just because I can. When they’re cheap, I grab them. That way I can keep some in the shelter, on the sofa, or on the terrace someday. I’ve found hides for anywhere between 50 and 80 kr (~6.70–10.70 €).

And then I found a cool bag for just about 40 kr (~5.30 €). It’s thick leather, the strap is double-layered and stitched together. There are two open pockets and three with zippers. The strap was cut off, so I’ll make two carabiners for it – that way it can be worn as a belt bag. I just need to figure out what to store in it, but I’m thinking fire-starting gear in one of the pockets.

Rune Carving
I’ve wanted a set of runes for a while. Now I finally started carving one – I had to, after the ravens moved into my forest. I spend time thinking about which wood species best match each rune. We actually know almost nothing about rune magic and rune divination, so it’s really up to each person to decide.

It’s amazing to have so many different tree species in my own forest. So far, my rune set includes ash, oak, pine, spruce, hawthorn, cherry, birch, and yew.

Carving runes gave me an excuse to use a set of carving tools from Lidl. They cost around 100 kr (~13.30 €) for 15 tools. A crazy number. I’ve really only used two for the runes, and they’ve now moved permanently into my carving kit. They work surprisingly well – I’m impressed they aren’t ruined already.

I also have a couple of knives from Beavercraft in the kit. They weren’t expensive either. The steel is fairly thin, the tips bend a little too easily, and I was puzzled about the construction – the blades weren’t fixed very well, and one was starting to come loose. I carved a couple of beech wedges and hammered them in, and now the knives feel much sturdier.

Since the knives wear down from carving, it’s a perfect opportunity to practice using the Fällkniven DC4 – a really nice sharpening stone. I’m looking forward to using it more. It’s the perfect size to keep in the backpack for trips.

The Forest
I’ve had to cut down and prune some trees in the forest. I’m preparing to establish a vegetable garden – something that doesn’t exist there yet. That gives me lots of great resources for later use. Logs are cut for firewood. Long poles I keep for bushcraft building projects, so they need to be stored dry. Y-shaped branches I always save, to support leaning trees in the woods, fruit tree branches, or for construction. And I strip the smallest branches of leaves to have materials for brush fences around the vegetable garden.

I’ve also put up new fencing in the forest to make better areas for the dogs. But that green wire fencing looks really ugly, so I’m weaving willow into it to make it prettier. All the cut willow tips are planted in the ground – maybe they’ll take root.