Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?  And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, niether be ye of doubtful mind.

Luke 12:27-29 kjv

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 



Day hike

My Dad and two younger brothers decided to take a hike last Sunday afternoon.  So we went to South Cumberland Recreation Area; also known as Savage Gulf, or Stone Door.  This area mainly consists of a large "gulf", or ravine that is in the shape of a crows foot.  It also has several nice water falls, and many hiking trails.  Some of the trails are very tough to hike, and Fiery Gizzard trail, which is not actually in the park itself, is supposed to be the roughest trial in Tennessee.  We only hiked a short distance but we had a good time.  The weather was wonderful, It was one of the first days that really felt like fall.  The breeze was very refreshing on top of the cliffs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is my Backpack, hat, and Walking stick.  My Grand Father gave me this walking stick and I really like it, it is made of Dog Wood, and it is a good stout stick.

 

 

 

 

 

This is the Stone door, it is 100ft deep and about 10ft wide, and it was used by the Indians as a passage to the bottom of the gorge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is me.

 

 

And this is my brother if you can see him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I believe this is Maple-leaf Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium).  But if it is not then please leave a comment.  Also if you know if the berries are edible then please let me know.

 

 

 

Ramaria formosa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope I can go back later this fall when the leaves have turned color.

 

 

 

Sunset

 

 

 

My camera had condensation on the lens, so the picture had a misty look to it.

I enjoy trying to get nice sunset pictures but it can be a little difficult.

 

 

 

 



Wooden cup

I had already been making spoons for a while, when I decided to make a wooden cup.

This is what I came up with.  It is a little small but I like it. This is the second one I made, the first broke while I was working on it.



 

 

 

I tried to make in the style of  a Kuksa, a Finnish cup. I do not know if I made it quite in that way or not.

 

 

 

I have not had a chance to use it  yet, but I hope to take it on my next camping trip.  If you have any special drinks or foods that you like to use a wooden cup for, I would like to hear about them.  I would like to eventually have a more primitive cooking outfit.

Favorite gear

In response to the request of the Weekend woodsman, I am posting three of my favorite woodcraft items.  I say "favorite", but I have many tools, weapons, bags, and other things that I enjoy.  It's hard to choose.  I chose these three because I have searched for something like them for a long time.  I have been trying out different camping gear for a while.  And I will probably find something in the future that suits me better.  I have posted some about these items before so I hope I am not boring you.

 

 

 

 

I searched a long time for a sleeping bag or bed of some kind that worked for me.  Every thing I tried was not quite right.  Then a friend of mine had a wool blanket very similar to this, so I decided to give it a try.  So I a bought this one for around twenty or thirty dollars.  It is thin but very, very warm and it is light.  It weighs about three and a half pounds.  I usually carry some other blanket or sheet with it, but it is just right by itself if its warm enough; like it often is where I live.

 

 

 

 

 

I like this knife because it  has most of the qualities that I want in a knife, plus it was made by a friend.  I like its size, shape, and color.  The blade has that feel like you can carve anything short of  granite.  I made the sheath out of cow hide and artificial sinew, and it holds the knife in just by being a bit snug around the handle. The handle is made of walnut.

 

 

 

It has a nice feel to it.

 

 

 

This backpack is one of my favorites.  I have several backpacks including a nice Kelty backpack on a pack frame, and the Swedish rucksack.  This pack however has some qualities which are especially useful to me.  I like its smaller size, especially since I do lots of short walks around our property and need something to carry books or my camera.  I also have a haversack that I use for this purpose more than anything, but if I need something a little bigger this is what I use. I also like that it is somewhat rigid and holds its shape, this makes packing and carrying so much more pleasant.  It also has many straps that I can use for strapping blankets to or other things that are to big to fit inside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I am not sure of the dimensions.

Thanks for looking.  I have many more projects that I have done that I will post as soon as I get the time.

 

 

 

 

 



 

 



Thought you might like this picture of the sunset.



Woodpecker

I found this young woodpecker in a bush, apparently he was caught, and he was to young to fly.  I think it is a Red Bellied woodpecker, (Centurus carolinus).  I was very surprised at how large and sharp it's claws were, but being a woodpecker, I suppose it needs them even at an early age.  I think it tried to fly from it's nest and was unsuccessful.  There were many woodpecker holes nearby.

It wasn't quite as hard to catch it as I thought it might be, but once I did, it started to struggle, peck, and scratch at me.  It took a little work to get it calmed down. 

This is how I found it.