Back in the forests of the Carpathian Mountains of East Slovakia, this time looking for birch bolete and cep (porcini) mushrooms. After seeing the prices of cep (and we’re not going to even mention black or white truffles) in the Italian speaking Istria region of Croatia, and how much visitors are charged to spend aContinue reading “Mushroom Picking – Experience Nature and Understand Who You Are”
Tag Archives: off grid living
Building Walls and Levelling Hills – reconstructing a country cottage and garden
Major reconstruction at the village house. I’m quite a laissez faire sort of person, and I do like having a wild garden, but when functionality ceases to function it’s time to make some changes. In this case it was some quite major and expensive changes to the front of the property. We also had toContinue reading “Building Walls and Levelling Hills – reconstructing a country cottage and garden”
Snow Trench – The Quickest Winter Survival Shelter?
A blizzard is coming in and you’re out there in the wilderness. You need to quickly build some sort of shelter to protect you from the elements, snow, windchill and freezing temperatures, to keep you safe during the night. Using only the basic equipment most hikers or outdoors adventurers would have on them, I showContinue reading “Snow Trench – The Quickest Winter Survival Shelter?”
Stop Wasting Money On Stuff You Don’t Need – The Earth Ultimately Pays For It
Many of us have been hit hard financially by the pandemic, yet our mindset is still focused on constantly buying new and expensive goods and foods that we don’t really need. In this video I give some reasons why we should be changing our mindset – for our sake, and for the sake of theContinue reading “Stop Wasting Money On Stuff You Don’t Need – The Earth Ultimately Pays For It”
New green ceramic wood stove
This week I realized an aim I’ve had for several years – to have a wood stove which cooks and heats. When we first bought the house it had one of the old, traditional brick and ceramic sit-on stoves, a giant contraption. Unfortunately, I tore it down and replaced it with a modern fireplace whichContinue reading “New green ceramic wood stove”
Parasol Mushroom – start of mushroom season
Last year we had a historic mushroom season. Edible and other fungii grew in unbelievable abundance from the beginning of summer until the start of winter. however, this year is not the same. There are virtually no mushrooms about and it has been forecasted that there won’t be. This is due to two factors –Continue reading “Parasol Mushroom – start of mushroom season”
Trailcam IR Critters – Edible Dormouse and Pine Marten
This is a video I made using the Redleaf 1000 trailcam in my attic and garden. It shows the Edible Dormouse and the Pine Marten in better quality than the photos.
It’s cold already….
This season is somewhat like Limbo – the colours of Autumn have gone as all the leaves have fallen, yet the white of Winter has yet to arrive. Instead, the temperature has dropped uncomfortably low (-8 C in the mornings) and the land looks dead. It takes a huge effort to even venture outdoors. I’dContinue reading “It’s cold already….”
Twin mushrooms
The mushroom season continues and the forest is now thick with them thanks to the alternating heatwave and rainstorms. These are two Birch Boletes, one of the two fungi we forage for. There’s an old saying locally that when you find one look for its brother….
Mowing with a scythe, Slovakia
It’s that time of year again when the overgrown bush needs to be scythed. Backbreaking work in the boiling heat, palms blistered and clouds of mosquitoes and horseflies biting. The joys of traditional Carpathian life.
