Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Fires of the New Year

I was planning on making a video today, but when I arrived at my old debris hut, I found I had left the memory card to my camera at home, and while my house wasn't that far, I didn't feel like walking back to get a 1"x1" piece of plastic and metal. So I pulled out my basswood bowdrill and started an ember. For tinder I used some birch bark collected in Montana with Tulip Poplar in the center. For kindling, even though it's been wet and rainy around here recently, there was plenty of dead rose bushes, box elder twigs and dead grapevine. The fire produced is of the scout fire variety. Small, enough to keep you warm, provide you with spiritual comfort, some light, and easily extinguished if need be.
The debris hut I have is in very poor condition. The skeleton of the structure can be seen, and the ridgepole has snapped in half. It's also located in a wet area, so it has a tendency to rot away so by this time each year it needs to be pulled apart and reconstructed. I hope to get a series of pictures when I rebuild the hut to demonstrate how it's all put together.

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