I started off at a good clip, bringing all the stress from work in with me. But when I noticed this scrape, it brought me back to where I was, starting to notice more around me, and "be here now" sorta mentality.
My goal for today was getting some materials to keep going in the OKC (one knife challenge) since I've done most that I could at home. This looked like a good candidate for a tri strick-and all harvested with the Eldris (Opinel saw was along like always, but I made myself not touch it-which got harder later, as you'll see....)
Coming across Elm leaves, I was reminded what great tinder they are, so I stuffed a few handfuls into my coat pocket-figure they could be good for some future friction fires, if I get so lucky.
And right beneath that were some fresh branches with a familiar green hue-sassafras! I cut a twig, peeled it, and chewed it for awhile.
One of my goals was to find the pieces for "wild" tent pegs, and I decided this was the piece.
So I cut two lengths. After cutting those lengths, I didn't want to cut anymore. But these were thick enough-so I batoned them in half. So here's some tarp peg "blanks"-progress on that to come in the OKC thread, hopefully.
And then I found a piece for the slingshot challenge! Rather fresh maple, I believe. What I DO know is that it was NOT fun with only the knife. This was the time when the saw was tempting!!
I got down to my spot for sitting....took some deep breaths.....taking it in. Sunset wasn't going to be far away, but I was going to take my time here. (I had also startled a deer when I almost got here, so that's always cool!_
DId what was probably my best tristick to date! It's crazy, since I'm pretty sure I did this with this knife is green wood before-but maybe I'm just getting more familiar with the Eldris! Finally got the dove tail notch to work nicely. Forgot that I was going to try to cut the piece to fit in....ah well. I left the tristick on the bench there, wondering what someone might think when they come across it tomorrow, or later.
I actually had some length left after the tristick!! Which was perfect....
Because, batoned in half, and then cut in half length-ways...I think these will be great toggles to go with the pegs I'll be making!
Just a shot of how much the woods has changed since I was out there last. Today seriously felt and looked a lot like when I was out back in January, or so. For a brief moment, I found myself thinking about antler sheds-and realizing how wrong I am for the time of year for that!
I also found some candidates for friction fire-bottom is a mullein stalk, and the rest are pieces from cotton wood (I think) so hopefully something here can go together!
Some other wildlife-this rabbit was pretty chill as I watched it for awhile! Definitely not as energetic as the squirrels crashing around everywhere!
So, that was it-hour and a half before dark to wander my little chunk of therapy. Got some good materials to keep my hands busy over the next few days, which should help keep the mind a bit more sane! Thanks for tagging along!
