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 […]

Veles, my English Bullmastiff, has died. He was born on April 30th (Walpurgisnacht) 2007. Next month he would have been 10, which is a fairly good innings for a molosser. He was named after Veles, the Slavonic god of the forest, animals and the underworld. He was a really sweet dog and very soft with […]

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 […]

I’ve just completed two paintings that I’ve been wanting to try my hand at for a very long time – hide art. The paintings are done in acrylic on wild boar hide strung onto ash wood frames. The process of fetching the wood from the forest, carrying it home, debarking it, drying it, painting the […]

Ok, so I was wrong about it being the end of Winter. The temperature does climb a little above zero during the day (3 degrees centigrade feels tropical) but then it plummets to minus 10 at night, which means that everything that’s melt becomes ice. Walking is a nightmare as the ground, pavement and roads […]

Months of snow and ice and now the melt begins. Temperatures are finally hovering above zero, which means endless slush and dense, dense fog akin to the pea soupers of Victorian London. Creepy but cool. Already, thoughts have turned to the tasks awaiting in Spring, and this year will be scary as we’re unsure what […]

I decided to write this review because of all the hassles I’ve had finding a pair of Winter boots which can be used both in the bush and in an urban setting. Price-wise they’re medium range. Last year I bought a pair of Lidl snowboots for 20 Euros and the sole and upper separated within […]

This year we’ve got the harshest, most wintery winter we’ve had for many a year. Real snow for several months, Arctic temperatures and bitterly cold wind. The world is white, white, white. Life changes when all is snow and ice. Even walking is different, and driving more so. We haven’t seen temperatures above zero for […]