August 2014 – Carpathian Adventure

Giant ant hill

The bane of bushcraft in my local forest – giant ant hills teeming with millions of large wood ants. Each time I kneel to photograph fungi or some other photogenic flora and fauna, massive ants crawl over my legs. You’d be amazed at where they can bite… and they bite hard. A hammock would beContinue reading “Giant ant hill”

Great Egret

I had a bit of a surprise when I saw this immense white bird standing in the stream. Looking like a giant white heron, the Great Egret (Ardea alba) was obviously lost and far from its native territory hundreds of miles to the south west in Hungary. Sadly, it moved before I could get theContinue reading “Great Egret”

It’s good to be home

After the trip to Croatia and then the UK this summer, I was glad to have a little time back in the village in Slovakia to go off to the hills and forest and reconnect. The weather’s been awful so I had to time my walks between heavy rainstorms. This is the view from theContinue reading “It’s good to be home”

Carpathian hill pasture

The hills are alive with flowers and insects. One thing I really noticed while camping in the woods in the UK earlier this month is the utter lack of insects, apart from the odd hornet. Out here, the ground crawls and the air buzzes with them.

Dead Smooth Snake

We’ve had a lot of smooth snakes (Coronella austriaca) this year. Until you get close enough to see the stripe through their eye, they resemble adders. This one was lying dead just outside my front gate. I would have taken its skin but the wound on its belly was full of wriggling things…

From ‘Consolations of the Forest’…

“In What Am I Doing Here? Bruce Chatwin quotes Jünger quoting Stendhal: ‘The art of civilization consists in combining the most delicate pleasures with the constant presence of danger.’ An observation that echoes Élysée’s injunction. The essential thing is to live one’s life with a brave hand on the tiller, swinging boldly between contrasting worlds. BalancingContinue reading “From ‘Consolations of the Forest’…”

Moel Famau

During our trip to the UK we stayed over at a friend’s house in Mold in North Wales. He and his family took me and mine up the mountain Moel Famau. Despite it being the middle of August, the weather was horrific. The rain lashed horizontally in sheets, the wind roared and a thick fogContinue reading “Moel Famau”

Wilderness Gathering 2014

I’ve just returned from the UK after a gruelling 33 hour drive. My family and I went to the Wilderness Gathering at Bison Farm in Wiltshire. Absolutely superb event. Very relaxed and lots of skills to learn from experts. I gave a couple of lectures on life in the bush out in the Carpathians andContinue reading “Wilderness Gathering 2014”