well, i had another trip out there over the may day weekend. Mathilde's (my flatmate) boyfriend, Stephane was coming over for the weekend (from tolouse where they are both from) and i organised an outdoor adventure for them to see some of ireland. Mathilde has been here a few months and has only seen Dublin and a very brief visit to Cork. cant be having that. so i scrounged enough spare camp kit to keep them alive and made a deal with a local god to ensure good weather while we were on the go. Nathan took the time from his studies to come along too.
i chose the route between colooney and sligo along the sligo way as it has a very diverse set of environments and challenges.
at lunch we took a scramble. it was steep enough to really need to get hands-on.
it was pretty windy at the top.
we set out early as possible and were walking by twelve. the weather really worked out for us staying good right through our walk and until we got our roofs up. then it pissed down for a while, while i cooked dinner. it dried up enough for us to enjoy a fire that nathan got going for us.
inchworm. i dunno its real name. has a cute way of walking, but not popular with gardeners.
bog cotton. it is a rare find and great tinder.
all in all i think it went smashingly. everyone was pushed physically. myself and nat were kept challenged by the weight of our packs, but no one was pushed beyond their capabilities. i think... lol. when we got to sligo we ate a massive feed at the belfry bar. Stephane sure can put away food!!!
hopefully we gave our french guests a good time. i know nat and i enjoyed having them out with us, and look forward to our holiday in tolouse to see them at some stage in the future. even if the heat kills us.
i think some people were tired, and it was not the bear.
when i got our guests onto the train back to dublin i borrowed a bicycle and headed out to my mothers place where i had a few bushcrafty experiments waiting attention.
i had a solution of rusty wire wool that was soaking in a jar of vinegar. you paint this solution onto veg tan leather and it changes the colour of the leather to a rich black. it is an effect that goes right through the leather. i treated my home made sheathes with it. came out lovely.
i also had some newzealand flax (harvested from the public green in the village) soaking in water to try ret out the fibres. turns out it does not ret too effectively, so i just had to scrape the fibres free. it has good fine fibre which i am spinning into thread at the moment.
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