Guy Radford April 28th, 2011
Yesterday whilst wondering the fields in the early evening I spotted a fox and her cubs playing in the last of the warm sun. I used my tracking skills to creep closer, it’s not very easy to hide in a grass field, but the wind was on my face so that helped. Here is one of the pictures I took. It took me about half and hour to get this close and this was just as she started to get suspicious of me.
Guy Radford April 28th, 2011
The young Beech leaves are very tasty and make are rather more-ish wayside snack. They are also great in salads.
Even though Hornbeam is part of the same family the leave don’t taste nice.
Guy Radford April 27th, 2011
Wood sorrel is easy to find and identify and on top of that is very tasty. It has and apple flavour. Each plant is tiny so you need loads to make a reasonable snack, however that flavour comes from the oxalic acid, which if you consume too much is poisonous! But I doubt you could pick enough for it to be a problem.
Sheep Sorrel or Common Sorrel is harder to identify. But once you find it it has a similar taste if not a little tarter.
Guy Radford April 22nd, 2011
Whilst driving back from the woods I saw a Barn Owl sat in the middle of the track. I managed to take a few photos before it flew silently away. The photos is not very good quality as it was taken on my mobile in the dark and zoomed it.
Guy Radford April 16th, 2011
Vetch is a member of the pea family. Which means you can eat the peas. They are very small but tasty.
Guy Radford April 16th, 2011
With Burdock you can eat the root. The root contains a lot of starch. To get to the root you need to dig next to the plant, the root can go down 12 inches or more and will easily snap if pulled.
To cook there are to main ways, throw it on the embers like a potato. Once cooked you can eat the starchy middle. Or you can chop it up and add it to stews.
Guy Radford April 16th, 2011
I just bumped into a lime tree where the bark is semi prepared. The tree is dead and still standing. The bark has started to rot and all the fibres and becoming exposed. In just pealed of great length with my hands. What a great find.
Here is a photo from near by of a fallen Lime with suckers growing up.
Guy Radford April 16th, 2011
This little plant does not have much flavour but is very pleasant eating. Great for bulking up salads and as a wayside snack. The flower is also edible and very recognisable. Without the flower the leaves can be confused with similar small plants.
Guy Radford April 8th, 2011
Ramsons also known as wild garlic, Allium ursinum, have just started to appear. You get that lovely garlic smell on the breeze. It is easy yo recognise both visually and by its smell. This plant is great in salads and cooking.
Guy Radford April 6th, 2011
Before you disappear into the wilderness it is always important to let people know where you are going even if your travelling in a group.
If whilst travelling you became ill, fell and broke a leg or just got lost, what would happen? Will someone come looking for you?
Isle of Harris - Scotland
When out in the remote country side a lot of places will take your details of your trip and are more than happy to dial 999 if you don’t show up. It is always good to give them your mobile and expected time back, remember to add plenty of extra time as things often take longer then expected. Also take their number, if you are delayed and ok, then you can revise you return time. REMEMBER: Always go back and tell them your back otherwise search and rescue will be wasting their time and possibly putting other peoples lives in danger.
What prompted me to write about this was an excellent article by Paul Kirtley called The Importance of Leaving Word Before Heading Into the Wild. In the article he talks about a POP form (Personal Outdoor Plan). I think this is a great idea and I fully support it, it forces you consider a variety of scenarios and gets them written down!
Go and have a ready of Paul article.