Things had been going too smoothly this Summer but that ended on Sunday when I fell backwards on to a rock pile and broke my 6th rib. That’s the third rib I’ve broken in four years and it really sucks. I didn’t go to the hospital until Wednesday, hoping it was just a bruised lung […]

On an extremely spontaneous impulse we decided to stay the weekend at the house for the first time since leaving it on New Year’s Day. It’s been a long, harsh winter this year and having a couple of days of heat and blue sky was too irresistible. Unfortunately, the interior of the house is still […]

This issue of The Bushcraft Magazine is a particularly special one for me. Not only does it feature my latest true horror story from the woods (The Beast Beyond The Door), but it also has my latest article – Biker Bushcraft (a crossover between two activities I’m very passionate about, both of which go very […]

Yesterday was one of those days that really makes me appreciate my lifestyle choices. It was scorching hot, about 35 degrees Centigrade, and I’m in my country house. I spent the morning doing some finishing work on one of my hide paintings I’m currently working on, then moved into the garden to saw, sand and […]

  This year my old bike, Feisty, an Aprilia Pegaso 650, went past the MOT deadline and I was stuck looking for parts. I decided to sell her because she spent far more time in the garage (or in bits) than she did on the road. I needed something more reliable and, when my friend […]

This weekend I finally retired my old trail camera, an RD1000. I think it cost me about 70 GBP 4 years ago. It’s not the cheapest of trailcams but it’s certainly not a higher end one (such as a Bushnell, Browning or Moultrie). As I need a game camera merely to record the different species […]

This is a perfect example of what you don’t want to meet in the forest – a Wild Boar sow and her piglet (specifically, a ‘squeaker’). This was taken on an RD1000 trailcam outside my village in the Carpathian hills of north-eastern Slovakia. It always amazes me how the single-most cute creature on the planet, […]

Is Spring really here? The landscape says yes:   but the weather says no. It’s May and we’re still getting subzero temperatures at night and the occasional snow storm. Regardless, I put out my old trail cam in a much deeper part of the forest (about a 90 minute trip there and back) with the […]

Yesterday, we visited my sister-in-law to combine my name day and her birthday. In reality it was because the kids wanted to see their cousin’s new dog – a 5-month-old Czechoslovak Wolfdog named Jacky. For those who don’t know, a Wolfdog is a cross between a German Shepherd and a Carpathian Wolf. They’re a bit […]

The latest issue of Bushcraft Magazine is out and this time contains a bumper pack of my contributions First off is the cover, which is my photo of a bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) – I feel honoured the editor Steve chose that one. Then there’s my article about the realities of living out here during a […]