April has been a very busy month.
I hardly had a moment to call my own for various and sundry reasons.
But today I looked around and discovered that I actually could take a breath and think about doing something that did not involve work.
So Sunny and I headed out the door after lunch and walked up to the creek.
I have permission from our neighbors to walk through their fields which cuts off a tidy chunk of the walk since I can avoid going all the way down the lane in the wrong direction.
Today I wanted to practice starting a fire with my fire steel.
In the background is the flint and steel that D. sent me from the south. I haven't tried it out yet. One level of primitive tool at a time... :-)
Sitting in the tin... that stuff that seems to be absorbing light, is what saved the day for fire starting this time. It's called char cloth and it is made by putting cut strips of cotton cloth into a tin, poking holes in it and then tossing it into a fire. The cloth chars, but doesn't catch fire. And when you are finished, it is just WAITING to take a spark and burn... though not in a flashy way. It's more subtle than that.
Anyway, I gathered dry leaves and grasses and dead sticks that I scrounged and sat down by the creek to see what I could do.
After MANY attempts, I was ready to give up and use a lighter. I rummaged through my bag and finally realized I had no lighter. Then I remembered that I had taken it out on purpose. Because I KNEW that I would be tempted to give up too quickly if that was an option.
So, I kept trying... and finally, finally, the char cloth took a spark and because I had made a small feather stick to catch the heat... and I do mean heat, because a spark does not a flame make. This is an important fire making bit of information. You need tinder that is incredibly dry to make a fire from a spark. Next time I am going to get some hairy cedar bark or punky wood from a dead log and see if I have quicker results.
Eventually, I had a fire.
Sunny was unimpressed.
Then I turned my attention to all the new Spring growth here and there along my beach.
I even found a real Fairy Garden.
And finally, did a little balancing to hone my rusty skills.
Not breathtaking, but a good warm up exercise for what I hope will be an improvement in my abilities this year.
I came home with scratches on my legs, grubby knees, wet tennis shoes, and twigs in my hair.
Which means it was a completely satisfying afternoon.
:-)
In the background is the flint and steel that D. sent me from the south. I haven't tried it out yet. One level of primitive tool at a time... :-)
Sitting in the tin... that stuff that seems to be absorbing light, is what saved the day for fire starting this time. It's called char cloth and it is made by putting cut strips of cotton cloth into a tin, poking holes in it and then tossing it into a fire. The cloth chars, but doesn't catch fire. And when you are finished, it is just WAITING to take a spark and burn... though not in a flashy way. It's more subtle than that.
Anyway, I gathered dry leaves and grasses and dead sticks that I scrounged and sat down by the creek to see what I could do.
After MANY attempts, I was ready to give up and use a lighter. I rummaged through my bag and finally realized I had no lighter. Then I remembered that I had taken it out on purpose. Because I KNEW that I would be tempted to give up too quickly if that was an option.
So, I kept trying... and finally, finally, the char cloth took a spark and because I had made a small feather stick to catch the heat... and I do mean heat, because a spark does not a flame make. This is an important fire making bit of information. You need tinder that is incredibly dry to make a fire from a spark. Next time I am going to get some hairy cedar bark or punky wood from a dead log and see if I have quicker results.
Eventually, I had a fire.
Sunny was unimpressed.
Then I turned my attention to all the new Spring growth here and there along my beach.
I even found a real Fairy Garden.
And finally, did a little balancing to hone my rusty skills.
Not breathtaking, but a good warm up exercise for what I hope will be an improvement in my abilities this year.
I came home with scratches on my legs, grubby knees, wet tennis shoes, and twigs in my hair.
Which means it was a completely satisfying afternoon.
:-)