How to read a tree; clues and patterns from roots to leaves. A new book by Tristan Gooley. Looking forward to this one.
https://www.booktopia.com.au/how-to-read-a-tree-tristan-gooley/book/9781615199433.html
https://www.booktopia.com.au/how-to-read-a-tree-tristan-gooley/book/9781529339598.html
Looks like there are two books in the series.
My LT Wright Sospes arrived today with special thx to Rob from Practical Survivor for shipping it over to me from the US, the way the postage is at the moment. Doesn’t weigh as much as I thought it would from the you-tube clips mentioning heft. Very well balanced, beautifully made.I don’t know why LT Wright stopped making the model. I would have liked the scandi ground version but the sabre was the last one I could find any where. I think the rocky mountain grip put people off purchasing but it feels great in the hand no hot spots and adds to the look. Ill enjoy testing it out later this week. Thx Dave for sending through the pics, the resolution is smaller than usual but my phone is playing up.
http://www.practicalsurvivor.com/
May have to copy and paste the link to Robs blog that seems to playing up too.
The age old question. Does size matter? I’m speaking of bushcraft knives of course! Ive had a theory for some time that I will be putting to the test very shortly in that a 6 inch bushcraft knife is far better than a four inch blade for Australian conditions. Ive watched many a you-tube clip of Bushcrafter’s overseas in the Northern Hemisphere making feather sticks and carving try sticks, even tent pegs, but try doing those on Aussie timbers which are much denser then I believe a larger blade would be more suited.
Ill be testing side by side a Mora Garberg and a Spyderco bushcraft with an LT Wright Sospes sabre grind with a Helle Nord. In everything from buttoning to finer carving chores to see if the larger blades can also be counted as bushcraft knives rather than be classed in the survival knife category.
Helle Nord
LT Wright Sospes
Spyderco Bushcraft
Mora Garberg
If one day I see a small bird and recognize it, a thin thread will form between me and the bird.If I just see it and don’t really recognize it, there is no thin thread. If I go out tomorrow and see and really recognize the same individual small bird again, the thread will thicken and strengthen just a little. Every-time I see and recognize that bird, the thread strengthens. Eventually it will grow into a string, then a cord and finally a rope. This is what it means to be a Bushman. We make ropes with all aspects of the creation in this way.
From “What The Robin knows” By Jon Young
‘The yearly calendar does not rely upon dates in months and weeks, or even an understanding of the solstices, but on key events that occur in the environment. These events involve specific plant flowerings and fruitings, and noticeable quirks of animal behaviour that occur only at certain times of the year. The calendar is not set rigidly in time, but responds to the triggers of the environment, a response to the Land of the D’harawal Peoples as they moved through the environment, observing the signs of these changes.’
Frances Bodkin, D’harawal Climate and Natural Resources
The six seasons within the annual cycle are:
The Time of Burrugin – Tugarah Tuli
Cold, frosty, short days (June / July)
This is the time when the male Burrugin (echidnas) form lines of up to ten as they follow the female through the woodlands in an effort to wear her down and mate with her. It is also the time when the Burringoa (Eucalyptus tereticornis) starts to produce flowers, indicating that it is a time to collect the nectar of certain plants for the ceremonies which will begin to take place during the next season. It is also a warning not to eat shellfish again until the Boo’kerrikin blooms.
The Time of Wiritjiribin – Tugarah Gunya’marri
Cold and windy (July / August)
The Wiritjiribin (lyrebird) calls ring out through the bushland as he builds his dancing mounds to attract his potential mates. It is the time of the flowering of the Marrai’uo (Acacia floribunda) which is a sign that the fish are running in the rivers. At the end of this time the Boo’kerrikin (Acacia decurrens) flowers, which indicates the end of the cold, windy weather, and the beginning of the gentle spring rains.
The Time of Ngoonungi – Murrai’yunggory
Cool, getting warmer (September / October)
The cold winds have now gone, and the days are starting to get warmer. The buds of the Waratah swell and redden, and the Ngoonungi (flying foxes) gather in vast numbers over D’harawal Lands as the sun sinks below the horizon and dusk falls. Gentle rains fall during this time, and the flowers bloom heavy with nectar. It is a time for ceremony, and the clans gather to celebrate a time of plenty.
The Time of Parra’dowee – Gooray’murrai
Warm and wet (November / December)
The time of the Parra’dowee (eel) signifies the time to prepare for the very hot weather which will, within the next two moons, scorch the land and the people. This is the time when it is unwise to camp near rivers; the weather is getting hotter and storms with heavy rain more frequent. The golden yellow flowers of the Kai’arrewan (Acacia binervia) indicate the beginning of the season, giving plenty of warning of the storms to come. In massive numbers the freshwater eels begin their long journey down the rivers and creeks and out to sea where they will mate and die.
The Time of Burran – Gadalung Marool
Hot and dry (January / February)
The staple diet during the time of Burran (the kangaroo) was fruit, seeds, and the roots and tubers of those plants which had finished flowering. It was also usually the hottest time of the year, and a time when the people did not wander far from their water source. This time of year is signified by the blooming of the Weetjellan (Acacia implexa) and indicates that the people were forbidden to eat meat or fish during this time.
The Time of Marraigang – Bana’marrai’yung
Wet, becoming cooler (March / April / May)
The time of the year when the cries of the Marrai’gang (Quoll) seeking his mate can be heard through the forests and woodlands. The Lillipilli ripens and food is plentiful, however, when the fruit begins to fall from the trees it is a sign that it is time to start moving from the highlands and plains down to the coastal areas. It is also the time to start mending cloaks or making new ones in preparation for the coming cold weather.
As detailed in Frances Bodkin and Lorraine Robertson’s book D’harawal Climate and Natural Resources.
Through out the week Sam our nature connection mentor has taken us through several installments of how to use sit spots. From thanking country to journalling. Awareness using fox walking and wide angle vision, bird language, concentric rings and baseline behaviors and body based awareness meditation and finally to day seven of gratitude and appreciation. Its been a very interesting journey over the past week, not only participating but also reading other peoples interpretations and sharing of their adventures on the Facebook group.
Sit spots help you learn how to engage nature as a mentor and guide and to use direct contact learning from the land it self, in order to help move away from the sense of seperation to a felt sense of belonging in today’s culture. I look forward to making it a journey of a life long pursuit to developing a sit spot wherever my adventures take me and to regularly practice.
Day 7 the practice of Gratitude & Appreciation as a closing ritual in today’s Sit Spot. To recognizing the end of the journey and the renewal as a wide awake, deeply connected earth being!
To look around and see something that attracts you and focus only on that and feel the organic gratitude and appreciation of itself and that aspect of nature and receive from the land and see what comes.Receptivity of the moment to moment flow. A good way to end the week.
“Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes.
Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation.”
Rumi
I awoke to a quietness among the birds outside my window. Unlike the usual chatter among the sparrows, the minor birds and of course the magpies. All was silent. Nothing alarmed me to start with . Maybe the change in weather? I didn’t even see them when I first went outside to prepare the maggies dog biscuits or again while waiting for my cuppa to brew. It was then I looked up and saw the kookaburras! Four of them, making their way along the power lines adjacent the vacant field looking for bugs and mice in the over grown grass. One came down and sat on the lines leading from the shed to the main power pole almost 20 feet from me. I stood there drinking my hot cup of tea watching them for almost 20 minutes, until the one closest to me flew straight threw the yard in front of me. The remainder moved further up the lines to more productive hunting grounds. The maggies returned and one in particular always flies down to greet me Ive named her piglet. Shes always hungry and I went back inside to see if there were any left over food scraps, since the biscuits weren’t soaked enough to feed them. Once again they had all disappeared. Looking up 15 feet in the power lines directly above me was another Kookaburra. I must have stood there watching people pass using the walking track unaware of what was going on above their heads as the kingfisher preened oblivious to all around. I had never realized how much of a calming effect of just standing there watching a kingfisher preen for 15 minutes would be. Until an alarm call from an erratic swallow alerted the kookaburra to some unknown menace and it disappeared as mysteriously as it first came to me.
I remember being told once that Australia actually had six seasons and not four. Bush Seasons in fact!Which ends up being an over simplification. I thought that will be easy looking up and researching. However that would depend on which part of the country you actually lived. All of them having different interpretations of calendar revolving around weather patterns and when differing species of animals and fish were available to hunt or plant species were ready to harvest. I couldn’t find much for the southern and eastern states but I’m still looking.
Gulumoerrgin/Larrakia people from the Darwin region in the Northern Territory
Ngan’gikurunggurr (Ngan’gi), MalakMalak and Wagiman people from the Daly River region in the Northern Territory
Tiwi people from the Tiwi Islands, north of Darwin in the Northern Territory
Kunwinjku people from western Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory
Gooniyandi and Walmajarri people from the Fitzroy River area in the Kimberley region of Western Australia
Ngadju people from the Great Western Woodlands region in south-west Western Australia
Kundjeyhmi people from the Ngurrungurrudjba (Yellow Water) region in Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory.
South West Climate Example
Birak | December – January
Known as the season of fire and the young, Birak is very hot and dry. Burning of scrub was once done to encourage new shoots to grow.
Bunuru | February – March
Long days and short nights signify Bunuru,the hottest of the six seasons. Traditionally this was, and still is, a great time for living and fishing by the coast, rivers and estuaries.
Djeran | April – May
Djeran is marked by cooler nights, dewy mornings and when leaves fall to the ground. Ngari (salmon) are prolific.
Makuru | June – July
Makuru is the coldest season with rain, storms and long nights. There is good hunting of yongka (kangaroo), wetj (emu), kaarda (goanna),
koomal (possum) and kwenda (bandicoot).
Djilba | August – September
Djilba is a transitional time of the year, with some very cold and clear days combined with warmer, rainy and windy days. You’ll notice budding djet (flowers) and koola (emu plum) start to fruit. It’s also a great time to catch some djildjit(fish).
Kambarang | October – November
Kambarang sees longer and warmer days and less rain. The djet are in full bloom and plants used for mereny (food), medicine, crafts, tools, kaal (fire) and ceremony are collected.
http://www.bom.gov.au/iwk/calendars/nyoongar.shtml
http://www.bom.gov.au/iwk/maung/
https://www.csiro.au/en/research/indigenous-science/Indigenous-knowledge/Calendars
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australian_seasons
http://www.bom.gov.au/iwk/climate_culture/Indig_seasons.shtml
https://www.australiassouthwest.com/south-west-inspo/six-seasons-south-west
Day three of the seven day sit spot challenge introduced us to Fox Walking and Owl Eyes. Owl Eyes is splatter or wide angle vision, where as fox walking is the way of walking to minimize impact when compared to heel to toe walking or defined as destination walking.
Fox Walking
“When you walk barefoot, the proper way is to place the outer edge (or “blade”) of your foot down first and roll inward, putting your heel down last. This means minimal impact, silent steps, and time to move your foot before committing it if there is a sharp rock underfoot”.
Owl Eyes
“Spread your arms out to your sides as wide and as far back as you can, while looking straight ahead. Expand your peripheral vision and wiggle your fingers. Move your hands forward until you can see your fingers wiggling in your peripheral vision. HOLD that right there, taking in the whole scene but not tunneling in on one object. You’re now in wide angle vision”.
I had arrived at my sit spot and stayed 30 meters away to dismount my bicycle and walk in and decided to try Fox Walking. I quickly discovered that you cant fox walk or as I was doing fox hobbling in thongs while using a bike to steady my bad knee. While I hobbled in to my usual sit spot. Surely it cant be this hard I thought.
Later when I returned home I was walking toward the door in bare feet and it hit me. This is how I normally walk. After years of walking bare foot, you soon discover you cant walk heel to toe without causing massive jarring. The reason I started walking barefoot 90% of the time is to place less stress on my back. Stepping with the blade of the foot is how I walk all the time..Dumbarse! Is all that came to mind.
When I started looking up on you-tube etc to find out more on owl eyes and fox walking I couldn’t find as much as I thought would be out there. Sam from Nature philosophy did a really good explanation of both. They should start a you-tube channel.
https://www.booktopia.com.au/rewilding-micah-mortali/book/9781683643258.html
I forgot it was a long weekend and headed to the gym first thing to find no one there. I was intending to start my sit spot later in the day. One of those mornings when its cold but you don’t mind it. I think fresh is the description used.
Came home and watched the first video from Nature Philosophy and headed off on the bike to my new sit spot. Since I had spent most of Sunday on pain killers and in bed and had no work out dis-morning decided to go the long way, which I regretted straight away.
More people out than usual being a public holiday. One lady was carrying her dog along the path. You could tell the dog was very old. I started thinking I should have done something like that for my staffy. Not carry her at 30 kilo, but she used to like riding my mobility scooter when I had to use one. I didn’t know these paths exited when she was still with me or I could have rented a scooter to take her on adventures. That was in my head the whole way there and some time after.
I started taking some photos of the area when I had the light and to settle down. It took about 15 minutes for the small scrub wrens and minor birds to make an appearance and dance across the pathway from one side to another. I could hear the fruit bats in the background, nothing seemed to disturb them.
I sat trying to pick out tinder material, food sources, building material. I couldn’t quite my mind. I wouldn’t let the calm seep in. I was amazed at how much noise people make walking along the pathway on the opposite side of the river. It was as thought they didn’t inhale to stop talking. I tried picking out alarm calls of birds, however the whole area went quite when joggers went by.
I had acknowledged country and as the distraction of mind chatter increased I tried to notice them, recognize them and witness them and then try and gather them in my breath, hold it and let them go with my breath out.
There were no sea eagles swooping down or foxes walking in front of me. Ive yet to see the tiger snakes in the area Ive been told about. Nothing special or out of the ordinary happening.
I watched as the fish rose in the river for bugs and as the leaves fell from the trees. The music from the many species of birds and I stopped trying to pick out warning calls from companion calls or picking out tree species.
Calmness never entered my body. I haven’t felt that for some time. Contentment started to seep in as the weather dropped and the light started to grow cold.
My hour was up as I reentered civilization and I couldn’t help notice how much destruction was attributed with society. I longed to live in a tipi again away from the ashphalt.
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