Paper rockets

On Friday evening we travelled to the cabin.  It wasn’t easy driving the snowmobile, because in some places there was no now, and in others there was deep snow, which the snowmobile sunk into.  I had to make two trips in to the cabin; one with Emma on the back of the snowmobile and then with Teres.

By the time we had made fire, got the cabin warm inside and cooked food, it was getting late so we went to bed.

Saturday was cold, with heavy showers of rain, sleet, hale and snow.

I spent the early part of the morning cutting up two Birch that had come down over winter.  When I started, the snow was hard enough to walk on and I used the snowmobile to drag large lengths of timber, but then both I and the snowmobile began sinking into the snow.  So I resorted to cutting smaller pieces and transporting them by dragging with the pulka.

Emma was bored in the cabin, so we made some paper rockets (many tutorials on YouTube)

which were made to fit over a piece of plastic tube.  When you blow hard into the tube

the rockets fly across the room (the yellow streak you see in the picture below)

we made different designs to see which flew the best.  Teres even made some paper birds for Emma to shoot down with the rockets

In between snow showers

we tested them outside and they flew surprisingly high.

I was a bit concerned as to how we would get back to the car, because the snow was now wet and soft.  Fortunately the sky cleared during the evening and at 4am when the temperature was -5 degrees and the snow nice and hard, I woke Teres and Emma, and we packed to leave.  I was reluctant to make two trips again so we put Emma in the pulka and drove out without any problems!

A snowmobile can’t swim!!

I had planned to take the family ice-fishing today, and because we have had a lot of snow recently I decided to drive the snowmobile to the lake yesterday afternoon to create a path to drive on.  Emma wanted to come with me so we headed out at about 3pm.

It was 10kms to the lake and it wasn’t so difficult driving conditions as I had anticipated.  When we arrived at the lake, I left Emma at the side of the lake and decided to drive around the lake to press down the snow.  As I drove out onto the lake it became obvious that there was quite a bit of water laying between the snow and ice.  As I tried to turn the snowmobile around it broke through the ice!!

The skis at the front of the machine were still on snow and ice, but the track that drives the machine was in a half metre of water.  I do not have any winter waterproof boots, only insulated leather boots, so when I climbed from the snowmobile into a half metre of water, my feet got very wet.

Fortunately there was double ice on the lake and the snowmobile had only broken through the top layer, but when I tried to drive the machine out, it would no move!

I walked through freezing water and up to where I had left Emma in the forest (it was now starting to get dark).   I explained what had happened and was sure she would start to cry (she is 6 years old), but instead she said “Ok, I will dig a hole in the snow and collect wood so we can make fire”.  I was so amazed and pleased with her response.

I walked back to the snowmobile and called a friend to ask advice on how to get the machine out.  He said that I would need to collect a lot of branches to put under the front of the snowmobile to drive on and then lift the back of the snowmobile up onto the ice (this I could not do).  I then called another friend and asked if he could come out and collect Emma because I was worried that she would be scared.

I returned to the forest to collect branches and help Emma make fire.   She had dug down into the snow with her hands and prepared the fire sight.    It did not take long to get a fire going.

I told Emma that someone was coming to collect her, but she said she was not scared or worried, because she felt safe with me in the forest and was sure I would get the snowmobile out of the lake.

I left Emma to keep the fire going and returned to the lake with the branches.  I started the snowmobile and found that I could drive it backwards a little.  Then I laid down the branches and standing at the side of the snowmobile I tried to drive it forward.  The machine moved about a metre and then stopped because of snow collecting at the front of the machine.  I put on my snowshoes and pressed down a path in the snow where I could drive the snowmobile.  I  removed the snowshoes (by now my feet were freezing cold) reversed the snowmobile again and then drove it forwards.  It started to move and the back rose up out of the water and as I walked at the side of the machine it continued to move.  Just as my friend arrived I jumped onto the snowmobile and drove it onto the edge of the lake (I was so embarrassed that he had driven so far for nothing!!).

I picked up Emma and we drove home.  It was 6pm when we arrived home.

Due to the conditions on the lake, my family did not want to fish today, so I went there with my neighbour again.

We also made fire and cooked reindeer meat and coffee.

I caught one Arctic Char and Folke caught three.  We left the snowmobiles at the edge of the lake!!

Signal fire

It is snowing again today and the temperature is 0 degrees with a cold north wind!  Spring is going to be very late this year.

Recently I demonstrated an emergency signal fire to a group from Austria.  It was only a small version but still worked very well.  This type of fire is used to help emergency services locate your position from the air.

Firstly I dug a hole in the snow and then laid two pieces of Birch across the hole.  Across the two lengths of Birch I laid a large amount of small, dry, dead Spruce branches.

Over theses dead branches I thatched a thick layer of fresh, green Spruce branches.

Finally I pushed dried grass and Birch bark up underneath the pile as a fuse to light the fire.  Once the grass was lighted, smoke began to appear very quickly

Soon there was thick smoke bellowing out

Unfortunately at this point the battery ran out in my camera, but here is a picture of a larger version made in Canada 2006.

Falke’s Guksi

Here is a Kåsa/Guksi I have just made for my neighbour Falke (you may have to wait a few seconds for the video to load).

Easter at my cabin

I have just returned from 4 days at my cabin.

I have spent some time carving

I made this guksi/kuksa/kåsa

My home made stove survived the winter and is great for cooking coffee and keeping warm

I also spent some time ice fishing

with Teres and her parents

I did not catch anything, but Ingvar caught a Pike

My neighbours at the cabin were smoking some Moose meat, so after leaving some reindeer meat in salt water for 36 hours,

they also smoked meat for us.  We hung up the meat

they made a fire using green Birch

The meat was smoked for 30 hours

The rest of the time was spent sitting out enjoying the sunshine

Dokkas nestbox cleaning

Last weekend I was in the village of Dokkas where I was helping Dokkas Hunting & Fishing Club with a nestbox project which has been running for many years.

The nestboxes are for Smew

and Goldeneye

We cleaned out the boxes and replaced damaged ones

Here you can see both old and new boxes

After the work was completed we gathered for……you’ve guessed it, coffee and sausage around a fire.

It was a very enjoyable morning and thanks to everyone at “Dokkas Jakt och Fiske” for keeping the project going.

A new knife

I have just completed a new knife to go with my new kåsa

I have used the same wood in the middle section as I made the kåsa from.  I makings are caused by a tree fungus that was in the tree

The darker wood is from a Sallow root bur

I have used sheath leather and3 pieces of Moose horn to make the end of the knife

 

A new kåsa/guksi

I have just completed a new kåsa.   Guksi (pronounced gooksee) is the Sámi name for a wooden coffee cup.

I made it out of a 15 year old Birch bur given to me by my neighbour and it was bloody hard work to carve (especially the inside)!!

The dark lines are caused by a fungus that would have been growing in the tree

I have soaked the cup in rapeseed oil to bring out the patterning in the wood

In the next issue of “The Bushcraft Magazine” (coming out very soon) I write about how to make a kåsa

Swedish Fire Torch

This weekend we shall have Emma’s 6th birthday party and we have decided to have the party outside so that the children can ski and cook food over a fire.  Inspired by Ben’s post on his blog “2 The North”.  I decided to do some “Swedish Fire Torches” to cook food on.  I have used the fire torch before and was sure I had written about it on here, but having searched I cannot find anything.

Traditionally it is made by making two cross-cuts into a spruce or pine log

Then fire is made on the top and the fire will then burn down the inside of the log, drawing in air via the cuts. A kettle can then be placed on top to cook coffee.

There are a couple of rules that I recommend to follow;

1. Ensure the log is at least the same diameter as your cooking pot (otherwise the log can burn down before the water has cooked)
2. Ensure the four quarters are the same size (otherwise the smallest quarter will burn too fast).

I also did and experiment with four individual pieces of Birch pushed into the snow with a gap between each piece.

I was rather sceptical that this would work so well, but it did!

It burned much better than the pine log I had used the previous day.

This time, as well as cooking coffee I also made fried bannock bread.

The ingredients in my bannock were; flour, salt, water, honey, cheese and marmite.

I am thinking to also cook popcorn on Saturday.

 

Items I have made recently.

We have a lot more snow now and another 20cms is forecast to come tomorrow.

I haven’t been out and about much recently, but I have been busy making items to sell at a Christmas market this weekend.

I have used pig intestine to stitch the birch bark containers. I wrote about processing pig intestine here.

I am using the mystery braid a lot now in the leather armbands I make