puppy's world

Ive been waiting for a couple of months for canon to get their act together and get their latest DSLR out.And last night when i got home there was the little red card from the ever helpful post office saying that i needed to go and pick up a parcel.So this morning i wandered over to the depot and there it was my new shiny canon 450d DSLR.

Now i just need to get out and about and give it a good work out and see what i can produce

forgot to mention that i found a few St Georges mushrooms or Mousseron if you come from acoss the channel.Ive always been on the look out for these and it was the first time that i have found any.Anyways i hada omelette with them with wild garlic and tomatoes as well and jooly nice it was.So if you are out and about this weekend keep alook out for them,and the bonus is that there are no other mushrooms about this time of year[ do use a book for identification though]

So it was a day to get outside on Saturday and get some miles under my feet and enjoy the joys of spring.I caught a train to Eridge in Kent and from there i wandered through lovely southern English farmland and woods full of vibrant bluebells up on to the heathland of Ashdown forest before turning and heading for East Grinstead.

The walk was a real classic wildlife walk with a good list of beasties seen as well as the trees breaking in to the luminous green of spring and the woods and hedgerows ablaze with the spring flowers.Bluebells were everywhere,all the woods were carpeted with such an amazing blue,the natural world still amazes me.

Wildlife seen on the walk,well 9 Roe deer,a very loud shrew/vole who gave himself away,a buzzard,the first i have seen in southern england,though i do believe they breed here now,a sparrowhawk,goldfinch,great tit,blue tits, chaffinch,blackbirds,a thrush, a green woodpecker and a grass snake.I also heard the first swallows/swifts of the year and two cuckoo's.

I managed to clock up about 17 miles of walking and even got a pint of Harvey's in,not bad for a day walk and very happy to have made it out.

The rest of the weekend i have been pottering about in the garden sowing seeds and potting on other seedlings etc,and tonight the BBQ will be used for the first time this year.Ill be grilling Red Dorade over the coals with purple sprouting broccoli,new potatoes and grilled spanish peppers,yum now iam hungrey

So leading on from a previous post on kit Ive done a run down of my meagre cooking system and why i like it.

So ill start of with my stoves[ i only have two at the moment!]I use a MSR pocket rocket.I first got it a good few years back mainly because it was cheap and lightesh in weight [ 85g ]and Ive stuck by it ever since as it does everything that a stove should do.It boils water very quickly and is great for simmering too.

The other stove is the MSR superfly which i bought when i blew up my whisperlite the day before i started my walk across the alps on the GR5.It turned out to be a good buy as you can use the non screw canisters which are every where in europe.It weighs in at 131g.

Next up is my cooking pot.I use  Tibetean 900 Ti  pot with lid which weighs 97g , which is the perfect size for me and the lid is tight fitting and a snowpeak single walled Ti mug which weighs 78g.`I have a mug and pot as i like to be able to boil water and drink a hot drink at the same time.During the day i use the mug as a pot to boil water for a hot drink and use the pot when iam in camp.I use a old wooden spoon that was bought in Turkey and weighs 15g but with a bit more sanding will weigh less also i have a mugmate for real coffee in the morning which weighs 18g.Also i use a homemade pot cosy weighing 35g  and a piece of aluminium foil [11g] is used as a wind shield

So the total weight of my kitchen is 321g not including fuel

 

 

So Ive just seen the BBC natural world documentary on the Alladale estate experiment to re wild Scotland with Wolves, Elk, Bear, Boar.Now iam going to step above the parapet and iam sure ill get flamed for it but i feel it needs to be said.I know the BBC did not give a very fair hearing to the sides who are against this project but,and here we go.

I think the guy has a very good idea.I for one would love to see these wild creatures released into Scotland and i know it would be behind a fence but if it worked and the land started to change back to its original state.And don't forget the landscape of Britain is man made, and i think that we forget this sometimes.It could set a ball rolling for the regeneration of Scotland to a more natural state.I believe that man and Wolves can live side by side but our attitude to this wonderful beast has to change,and only when our attitude changes could the fences come down.The other thing that generally happens with wildlife and fences is that all you need is a power cut and or a big storm the fence comes down and next thing you know is that the beasties have escaped and you really do have a wild Scotland

Now i know that the people of Scotland have fought to get the access rights that exist in Scotland and a fence around his land would be denying people there rights but if Paul Lister agreed to return the land to the government of Scotland once the project had reached its goals,i.e  the reintroducing of once lost native species and the regeneration of the native flora as the Tompkins were reported to be doing in Argentine with their land.A national Park with Wolves, Bears, Elk etc now wouldn't that be a great idea.

Right iam off to get the flak jacket and tin helmet and find a big deep hole to hide in