I decided to take the Mini out for a run the other day and took the camera along to make a little video.  The car is a 1985 Austin Mini with a 998cc engine.

Took the camera with me when out and about at work collecting samples.  Here are a few shots and video.

This mother goose is sitting on a nest with several eggs.  If you get too close to here she'll let you know she's not happy about it.

Apparently this goose didn't read the sign.

Redwinged Blackbird near Lake Lambton

Pretty soon this switchyard may will stop it's humming.  Black and white.

From late March till early April I took a series of video and time lapses, mostly around the Bluewater Bridge in Sarnia and Point Edward and a few farther down the St. Clair River.

Cameras used included a GoPro Hero2 and a Canon T2i.

Music by Redvers West-Boyle - Gold Star Sound soundcloud.com/rwb-1  

Here's a little knife and sheath I recently completed.  I don't normally work with 1095 as I find it difficult to heat treat but I think I got this one right.

The knife overall length is approximately 7.5" with a 3.5" sabre ground blade made from 1/8" thick 1095 steel with the finish from the heat treat left on and buffed with a Scotchbrite belt.  The scales are Cumaru or Brazilian Teak with brass rivets.

Bannock or doughnut?  You decide...

I've been keeping an eye on a stalk of yucca in our front yard and wondering if it would be dry enough to make a friction fire.  Here's what I found out...

It was a bit of a challenge keeping the ember from blowing away in the wind but I was able to keep it together by leaving it in the notch until ready to transfer it to the tinder bundle.

A time lapse on Cartier Court at dusk shot with the GoPro2 from 999 images taken at five second intervals cropped for 16 by 9.  The final video is put together at 25 frames per second.

An Afternoon Walk With Lizzie

This is a short video I created for a contest on the BushcraftUSA forum. Lizzie and I went for a walk down Michigan Ave. to Canatara Park and then up to the beach in front of the water treatment plant in Point Edward.  From there we walked under the Bluewater Bridge and then back home for a total distance of about nine kilometres.  It was overcast that day which gave the video a somewhat somber tone. 

Well we had an unsuccessful hunt this year up in the Bruce.  The deer were all over the place last year but decided not to show themselves this time around.  Here is a short little video of my stand this year.

There is about a twenty to thirty minute walk into the stand from the cabin so the trick is to dress lightly and pack your insulating layers in for the morning so as not to overheat.  I like to attach my Kifaru Scout pack to the tree behind me and sit in the stand which I put up before the hunt.

For sitting in the stand in temperatures around the freezing mark I like to wear insulated boots with thick 90% wool socks, Keen insulated winter boots, MEC Mercury Tights, M1951 100% wool field pants, a running tech shirt for wicking moisture, a Boy Scout 85% Wool Jackshirt, a down vest, an insulated blaze orange hunting jacket I picked up at Meijer, an insulated hand warmer my brother in law gave me along with some air activated heat packs, some 100% wool glove liners and finally a Thinsulate toque.

For walking around from the stand I pack the insulated jacket, down vest, handwarmer and toque for a light jacket and a baseball cap.

If not in the stand I switch out the Scout pack for a Kifaru Tailgunner with just the shoulder sling as my possibles bag.  The rifle is a Browning A-Bolt II Composite Stalker with Boss in 30-06.

Skookum Bush Tool Type Knife Build

I've placed an order for a Skookum Bush Tool knife and was informed by the maker Rod Garcia  that the wait time is over two years. So I thought I would go ahead and try to make my own for the time being.  I have documented the process on the BushcraftUSA website on this thread.

This is how the knife sits right now awaiting the handle scales to be formed and attached.

Hand Drill with Local Materials

A friend of mine on the online forum BushcraftUSA sent me a handdrill set made from a plant called sotol.  The set worked marvellously well so it was a good starting point but sotol is not found in Southern Ontario.  So, a bushcraft goal of mine was to be able to produce a coal using the handdrill method of friction fire but with local materials. 

Yesterday I collected a number of different weed stalks and some willow to use to accomplish this goal.  Many of the thinner stalks did not work but I was finally successfull using a mullein stalk and a willow hearth board.

Here is a video showing how it all went down.  Of course I removed all the failed attempts so as to make it more interesting, I hope you enjoy it.

Bike for Bibles 2012

This past August I had the privelege to ride with some great folks on this years Bike for Bibles ride, The Canal and Capital Tour.  I have some footage to put together a little video but for now here's a picture taken at Champlain Point in the Gatineau Hills of Quebec with my Long Haul Trucker.

Hand Drill Fire

The hand drill friction fire technique is, in a way, the holy grail of friction fire methods.  I have tried several local materials including mullein, teasel and cedar without success.  After posting about my attempts on the BushcraftUSA forums a member there (RoadLessTraveled) sent me a set made from sotol, a plant that is abundant in the South Western United States.  Here is a video of my first successful hand drill fire using the set he sent.

Transit of Venus 2012

The Transit of Venus is one of the rarest predictable astronomical events that comes around twice within eight years but not again for another 105 years.  The next one will take place in 2117.  On the evening of June 5th I took the telescope down to the water treatment plant in Point Edward and was fortunate to have clear skies even though it was predicted to be cloudy.


Watching the Transit of Venus near the mouth of the St. Clair river.

A solar filter was fitted over the front of the telescope which blocked out the majority of light enabling safe viewing.  The filter can be seen in the above picture.  The telescope is a Celestron Sky Seeker refractor fitted with a computer that controls a motor driving the mount enabling it to track the object you are viewing.  

A photo of the Sun taken during the Transit of Venus on the 5th of June 2012.

The above photo was taken with my DSLR held up to the eyepiece.  I had to play with the apeture settings in order to capture the sunspots and the planet Venus as it traveled across the face of the Sun.

For some time I have wanted to make a video that may help people who are struggling to be successful with the bow drill fire.  One of the biggest reasons for failure is the improper selection of materials for the hearth board and spindle and for the tinder bundle.  Before you venture out into the woods I suggest that you first practice at home using cedar from the hardware store and jute twine for your tinder bundle.  In the video I go over some of my favorite bearing blocks or sockets and why some are better than others.  I like using a teaspoon for a bearing block because it is multifunctional and you probably have one in your kit already.

"Bearing blocks" from left to right in order of preference: teflon, teaspoon, Kabar Hobo, rock, deer antler and finally hardwood.

Here is a close up of the process where you can see the dust filling the notch as the spindle is turned.

Rondeau Provincial Park Bicycle Ride

During a recent trip to Rondeau Provincial Park I had a chance to take the Brompton on a short ride on some of the trails.  The peninsula at one time was known as Pointe au Pins du to the large number of pines that could once be found there.  After extensive logging in the nineteenth century few pine trees remain today and the majority can be found on the lake side of the park.  I had a goal to find a Basswood tree which seems to be scarce up in Sarnia and low and behold there was one right at our campsite. 

Chaga

On a recent canoe trip I was able to harvest some chaga or tinder fungus which grows on birch trees.  The Wikpedia page has a pretty good description of the stuff.

Chaga right after it was harvested.

It makes an excellent tinder that once ignited using a ferro rod or magnifying glass is nearly impossible to extinguish, hence it's nickname "tinder fungus". This piece smoldered for at least fifteen minutes and released a pleasant aroma similar to incense burning.

Burning Chaga

 It also has a history in Russia of being used to make tea which I have yet to try.

Silver Peak Panorama

When we reached the summit of Silver Peak in Killarney Provincial Park I took a series of pictures and then stitched them together to produce this panorama. Right click on the image and select open in new window.

Panorama at the Summit of Silver Peak in Killarney Provincial Park

Kayaking on Lake Huron

Had an opportunity to take my Current Designs Vision 15 kayak out for a spin this past Wednesday on Lake Huron.  I recently purchased a spray-skirt, paddle float and bilge pump after learning how to use them on a course given by the Lambton Outdoors Club back in the spring.  I would love to go on a trip using the kayak in future.

Kayaking on Lake Huron

Beaching the Kayak

Breakfast on the Trail

This is my favorite breakfast while in the bush.  Pancake made with "just add water" pancake mix, with just enough water added to make a thick batter.  Fried in butter and served with homemade black currant jam with a Starbucks Via coffee on the side.

Breakfast in Killarney Provincial Park