a what to do this month??

[willowherb]

as a keen gardener i have many books telling me what i should be doing and what i should be looking out for month by month.

has anyone come across a book that might give the same info for bushcraft???.i find the months go by far to fast and time ive found out about something it usually was best either found or eaten in the previous month.

perhaps even a new thread on here for new people like a watch list of whats to be done each month .

 

[jon r]

Ray mears has a book that is divited into the seasons of the year. Its a fantastic book!! One of my favorites. Its called "RAY MEARS OUTDOOR SURVIVAL HANDBOOK"

You proberbly already have it or have seen it. But just in case...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Outdoor-Survival-Handbook-Resources-Navigation/dp/0091878861

 

[Jodie]

Gets my vote

I think the information probably is all here but finding it might be a bit of a forage - it would
be quite helpful to have a dedicated sort of thread (assuming one doesn't already exist and
I've failed to spot it!)

You could try searching for a month - eg "November" and see what pops up, also take out
a subscription to the BcUK magazine because it has precisely that sort of information in
it.

The only book I have (I'm sure there are many others!) that's segmented by season is Ray
Mears' "Outdoor survival handbook" which might suit. The Woodsmoke people have been
writing magazine articles and you can download some of them as PDFs:
http://www.woodsmoke.uk.com/documents/files/nettles.pdf

There are three foraging articles on this site:
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/articles/food--foraging/
and other articles at: http://www.bushcraftuk.com/articles/

Have a look in the flora and fauna section here too.

Jo

 

[Jodie]

In addition to Amazon you can also buy that book from the horse's mouth, so to speak:
http://www.raymears.com/shop_item_desc.cfm?id=43&itemType=Books
... and it will be signed.

 

[spamel]

In addition to Amazon you can also buy that book from the horse's mouth, so to speak:
http://www.raymears.com/shop_item_desc.cfm?id=43&itemType=Books
... and it will be signed.

By one of his lackeys!

 

[Jodie]

It would be more efficient to buy a rubber stamp hehe!

Anyway he signed my book - I watched him do it... unless it was sleight of hand
of course

 

[EdS]

not sure about Bushcraft but my garden advice would be sit in the green house, drink G&T and listen to the rain as there is sod all tha ca nbe done in the garden.

Actually - collect fruit and put it to ferment.

 

[SOAR]

You could always have a go at willow bark cordage.

 

[Jodie]

Just found a "plants of the month" feature at Natural England:
http://www.english-nature.org.uk/science/botany/botany1.asp

But I wouldn't mind someone rustling me up a Gantt chart sort of thing with
information on what's coming up over the next month and the best time to
do something or make a start on it

 

[spamel]

Just found a "plants of the month" feature at Natural England:
http://www.english-nature.org.uk/science/botany/botany1.asp

But I wouldn't mind someone rustling me up a Gantt chart sort of thing with
information on what's coming up over the next month and the best time to
do something or make a start on it

Something like that would be best to do with an old diary. Use it every year, don't worry about the days of the week, just go off the date itself. After a couple of years, you will have a rough guage of when such and such a flower is in bloom, when a certain nut will be due for picking and eating, etc.

I want to try beech nuts this year, and they are up and growing fast. I'm not sure when they will be ready so I will keep an eye on them. If they are ready for the start of August, then next year I will know to look for them then. If I note it in an old diary, I can flip to the date and see what could possibly crop up in the next few weeks.

It would be a big task for one person to do though, but what a way to learn.

 

[Jodie]

Old diary, schmold diary
That sounds like an excuse to buy an entirely unnecessary Moleskine notebook...
http://www.moleskine.co.uk/

 

[spamel]

I was thinking something like this, but in a perpetual diary style!

http://www.aspinaloflondon.com/deta...angeID=5&StyleID=87&ProductID=65&DesignID=156

They also do journals!

 

[Jodie]

Ooooohhhh lovely. Especially as they're a quarter of the price!

 

[spamel]

Oooh, did I find something that you didn't know about? I am proud!!

 

[spamel]

Saying that, the reason they are so cheap is because they are dated for this year, which we're halfway through!

 

[Jodie]

Hehe don't be too proud, there's a phenomenal amount of stuff I don't know!

 

[spamel]

How easy would it be to make one of those though? All you'd need would be a decent notebook filler pad, the leather is so fine it could surely be stitched with a normal household sewing machine.

I reckon the man to ask would be Eric!

 

[Jodie]

Ah well yes I did know that
Good idea though to use it as a perpetual diary and ignore the actual days...

 

[Jodie]

Leon-b made one I think and put it on his blog. He got some leather from someone
and attached it to a notebook I think.

A BcUK leather journal would be lovely

I am fresh out of household sewing machines so would have to pay other artisans!

Eric's leather name badges are wonderful - I'm sure my journal would have to have
my name on it too.

 

[Eric_Methven]

Ok ok, I get the hint. Yes, you can sew thin leather on a domestic sewing machine. You need to keep it at it's widest stitch and loosen off the tension a bit. If the thread snaps frequently, it's too tight. Best also to use bonded polyester thread.

I'll knock one up tomorrow and post it on this thread.

Eric