I had chantrelles for the first time in 2019 when i was in Inverness, they were soooooo tasty!!! I dont think I'll ever forget the flavor of them 😋 new here to your channel from Michigan and thoroughly enjoying your video's ❤😊❤
Another very enjoyable day-in-the-life-of the guy who lives in nirvana! Watched this initially while my wife had TV on, so used the auto-generated subtitles. Crystal-clear as your enunciation is, Sam, the RU-vid AI algorithms still struggle. According to the captions, you spent the night in your local photos with Derek (the video being generated with smoke, mirrors and green-screen stuff, then, in the comfort of your own home?). The forest gave you a round of 'applause' when the birch bark caught fire, and you didn't see one match all evening (which was fine, as you didn't actually need one). As for food, you ate, amongst other things, a garment stick, washed down with that foreign muck called whiskEy. The rest of the video was then dedicated to Father's Thoughts (hmmm, you've kept that under your cap…). Interesting, as well as depressing, to have the relative European forestation data all collated in one place. Would be equally fascinating if you could perhaps at some point put this in a historical perspective - i.e. look at why and when we lost so much of the original tree cover. Just a (forest) thought …!
Thanks as always for your comment Robert, I really appreciate it. Sounds like I had an interesting evening with Derek! I've made several references to the loss of forest throughout history in past videos but perhaps a more comprehensive summary would be useful 👍
@@HighlandWoodsman Yes, it's the value of an overview I was referring to. I remember as a kid learning fragments about Celts, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and Normans, but it took years before I could put them in the right order, with rough dates. As far as deforestation goes, I think it's probably just as complicated and much less clear-cut, what with (for example) waves of settlers clearing land for agriculture, massive consumption of timber by the shipbuilding industry (Empire and all that), the Industrial Revolution (demand for fuel, urban sprawl, environmental wrecking by railways - HS2-style), rapid population increase (need for food) ... In fact, it was only a trip to New Zealand that opened my eyes to the fact that at the start of last century nearly all the country's exports were of food to Britain. (Been there several times now - DON'T go, unless you're prepared never to return! If I were your age [sadly, a generation older] I wouldn't hesitate to emigrate ...)
Good to see you back in the woods 🌲🌲 Those chanterelles looked good… loved Darach’s wee drooling face! Those figures are crazy, especially the imports…there is no logical reason why we shouldn’t have more commercial forestry here!
Absobloodylutely!! It’s almost incomprehensible!! I’ve almost caught up with all of your uploads, and thinking back to your Canadian trip too … once again, comparing these different countries… like Canada, Norway, Sweden and marvelling at their amazing wildlife, breathtaking scenery/forestry… one cannot help but think, ‘where/how the hell did we go wrong?’ The answer is obvious, as you have mentioned it countless of times before … extremely despondent to say the least! (Maybe I shouldn’t use Canada as a comparison… as the land mass is extraordinarily large/vast compared to the island we live on …) 😞
Yeah it's true even if it's areas already turned into timber plantation they still had to clear the virgin forest at some point. We have all these certification schemes but it's hard to know if it's illegal timber or not. It's highly likely a good chunk of it is.
Great video Sam! Good to see you out there in the woods! The mushrooms looked delicious! I also enjoyed your forest thoughts session! Good stuff buddy!🌲🌲
thanks for letting us come along for another lovely trip into the birchwoods ,a real treat finding so mant of those delish mushrooms, brought back good memories of when i picked them with my lovely dad years ago ...happy days and good to see Darach too X
Great video and good to see you back in the woods. The woodland/forest stats are quite shocking. I am in the middle of reading The Book of Rewilding by Isabella Tree. Some really interesting points that jive with what you say and she uses Glen Affric as an example of how attempts are being made to return parts of Scotland back to there perceived original states. You may have read it already and it is a hefty tome, but worth a look if you have not done so. Keep the content coming and my 5yo daughter still has a crush on you…
As a mushroom lover that patch of chanterelle would have made my day if I came across it. Dry frying them first is a pro move I usually let the liquid that comes out boil away to nothing. A wee tip for next time is to cut some fat from your meat and add it to the pan to render down after the moisture boils off to get a few crispy edges on those bad boys. You confirmed my sceptic thoughts on the whole wood pellet thing. 60% from US is mental. 🤷♂️🤦
Ohhhh that's a good idea with the fat, will have to remember that one! They've honestly cleared huge areas of forest in USA to feed demand in Europe, makes no sense.
Great video. Thank you. I had to laugh at your dog Darroch watching you feed the fire with sticks. "Dad? Why are you burning what I consider to be toys???". You mentioned birch bark thickness. I was down at Strensall Barracks (Yorkshire) the other year, and the birch bark on the heath was the thickest I've ever seen. You could make cups, etc. I've never seen it that thick up here (Lothians). Thanks again.
Forest Thoughts. I love woodland. I'm lucky to have mixed woodlands (none ancient as far as I know) around me. We've the Hopetoun, Dundas, and Roseberry estates West, South, and East of us. The woods reach the shore of the Firth of Forth to the North. With shingle and sandy stretches (plus scary mudflats), I've the best of all worlds. And I appreciate it.
We've just moved to Somerset, and I dread to think what percentage of the trees down here are apple! We've got a nice patch of garden that we're trying to fill with wildflowers, but the old border firs have grown up into the powerlines, and probably need a trim now. Any ideas for a stonking great fast growing tree we could plant? Lovely video, very interesting/sad numbers at the end
Only here did we have an insustrial revolution, which led to the beginning of the loss of many forests around the times you mention; just look how many places there are called "furnace" in Scotland. The UK's critical shortage of timber during WW1 led to the creation of the Forestry commission soon afterwards. It was more difficult then they imagined, but eventually led to the sprawling conifer landscapes, although that is changing too in some areas, to more mixed planting, to the benefit of wildlife in general. Kielder forest is a sanctuary for red squirrels, as grey's cannot thrive there. I just got a DD tarp, bu thadn't thought of a mesh inner against midge, thanks !
If I'm absolutely honest I'm not at all shocked by those numbers! it's all back to front in my opinion! I've lived in the countryside almost all my life and during that time seen many changes. Moving on, It's great to see you back in the forest, I am partial to a drop of whisky but have to water it down with orange juice lol. I'll be checking out your latest blog shortly.
