The ice has now broken up on the rivers
Although the majority of lakes are still iced over.
There are varying amounts of snow in the forest.
I found a spot in the forest where a Capercaillie had been sleeping during the winter.
The Birch buds have started opening, so I am collecting Birch sap.
I love having a twig stove with me so that I can make a little fire and make coffee.
I’ve had Covid, and it has taken three weeks for me to start feeling better again. I have not felt like doing much at all, so I have little to write about.
So far, May has been an unusually cold month. The first of May is that date that we must change from summer to winter wheels, but as you can see in this photo, we still have a lot of snow.
I hope next I will have more to write about.
Today, I have made a firesteel necklace using Reindeer leather.
Hope everyone had a good Easter break. April has been warm and sunny and the snow is melting fast.
I had made the decision a while back to sell both of our snowmobiles as I just can’t afford to run and maintain them when considering how little we use them.
With some of the money from the sales, I purchased a 2015 Honda sportrex 90 for Kelly to use.
Our first trip out was to a lean-to in the forest where we made lunch on my g2 firebox stove.
We painted some eggs during Easter weekend
Baked iced cinnamon buns
And made our own caramel sweets.
I have been sick with the flu for the last ten days. I haven’t felt like doing much at all, but I have made this necklace that holds 8 strike anywhere matches. I used a piece of leather, a small glass tube, and Gorilla tape to make it.
I have been using this chest pack for a year now, and I am very pleased with it. It is made from 500d Cordura, and the back is covered with 3d mesh.
Here is the list of items that I carry in my chest pack.
On the outside, I have a pair of gloves, a whistle, a firesteel striker/bottle opener, a Kleen canteen single walled water bottle, in which I have dehydrated towels for washing and cleaning, instant coffee packets and a tube which holds my medications and has Gorilla tape around the outside. The kleenex canteen allows me to boil water on a fire.
This is the main compartment in the pack.
In the bottom, I have a small neck-knife and a folding saw. In one side of the compartment, I have a sharpening kit, a titanium spoon, a signal mirror, a Victorinox credit card multitool, a magnifying glass, a pair of reading glasses, some basic first aid items and a collapsible mug.
On the other side, I have a 1 litre collapsible water bottle, my asthma inhaler, a lighter and a leatherman wave multitool with a firesteel attached.
This is the second compartment.
This holds a dry bag and some cord.
Plus fishing equipment.
For me, the pack isn’t a survival pack. It is a pack that contains the items I use on a regular basis and now have readily to hand. If I am hiking, having the pack with me reduces the weight considerably in my rucksack.
I have been spending quite a bit of time icefishing, but seem to be the only person not catching anything.
I love my G2 original firebox stove. It is nice to be able to be on the ice and make fire for coffee and food.
During the last week, we have had about a half metre of snow, so I have been busy clearing snow with my atv and plough. Unfortunately, I am having problems with the winch solenoid, so I have ordered a new one so that I can replace the old one.
As I write this, the temperature is -32 c. We are not used to extreme cold this winter as it has been very mild.
Last week, it was +5 and myself and Kelly were out on a snowshoe tour.
Last Saturday, I spent 5 hours icefishing, but caught nothing.
I have also been drying vegetables in case of a food shortage or other crisis.
It has been just below or above freezing for almost three weeks. It feels more like late March than early February. With a lot of clear skies, we have had nice sunsets.
Last Saturday, we had the first bbq of the year. I made sausages and chips in a frying pan.
Myself and Kelly have been out touring with our skis as well.
We have had a fox visiting the garden, but I haven’t managed to get a good photo of him.
Today, as I write this, the temperature has been +3 degrees. Temperatures can fluctuate 15 to 20 degrees during a 24-hour period. We have also had a lot of snow, and although it is a metre deep, it is still less than we would usually have at this time. At least the sun is now starting to appear above the horizon again.
With extremely high electric prices, I am using the woodstove to cook food and help heat the house.
Pasties are my favourite food to bake at the moment.
I have also been making some Reindeer skin coffee bags.
I have now made an icefishing rod stand for the rod that I made recently. I have used two metal shelf brackets, a piece of plywood, and a piece of waste pipe to construct it.
I have also designed a simple “jaw-jacker” so that the hook sets itself when I get a bite. I used a 3mm thick piece of wood to make it. The piece of wood is 8cm long.
The fishing line is laid over the screw that you see in the picture above. The notch that I have carved sits in the outer most eye of the rod. When set, it looks like this.
And here is how it works.
We have been fishing once but had no bites.
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