Sunday 20 March 2011

The Birch sap is rising here on Dartmoor...Spring has arrived.


The Birch sap is rising here on Dartmoor.
 I have selected my tree and pushed the blade of my MaChris into the bark.
You can see the sap drip from the hilt. 
This indicates the sap is rising...


I then drill a hole and drive a Hazel spial into it...
I have shaped the spial as an open ended trough...


The short film shows the sap dripping into one of my Birch Kuksa...


 I carefully hang one of my old surplus water bladders over the end, and catch the sap for use later in the year when the Elderflower is blooming. Sarah makes the most wonderful cordial from the flowers.
I may boil some down for syrup depending on the yield...


Happy Days...J








Carving a Dragon Kuksa.

Carving a Dragon Kuksa.  I have been carving Kuksa from green Birch for 15 years or so, I’m self taught. From the beginning, I limited mysel...