July - September 2023: Hammocking heaven
I washed, UV blocked and waterproofed my tent in preparation for a two-week wild camp near Oslo, Norway if only I could simply go for it: Michael Sealey, during one of his hypnotherapy YouTube videos, reflected that if you spend your time trying to draw the perfect circle, you become the circle. I’m glad, though, that I’ve taken the time to test out all of my outdoor equipment and clothing on overnight and day camps in the garden and locally so that I might feel more secure both physically and psychologically when I do venture further afield.
Tips for solo camping gathered from hands-on experience:
Take anti-bacterial wet wipes instead of washing-up liquid.
If you feel dead tired, stop! Rest for a while and replenish or leave.
When it’s raining, don’t have the tent footprint outside the bounds of the tent flysheet because it gives worms, slugs and snails easy access to your living quarters and any food scraps.
If you’re looking for respite from a toxic environment and are fortunate enough to find a tranquil spot in nature to spend a few hours, notice how quickly you’ll start to feel the real you coming back.
Don’t purchase pots and pans for cooking over an open fire with unless they’ve been designed specifically for that purpose.
I invented Windy Claybury Woods Symbol based on the Buddhist symbol, ‘Durva - The Durva Grass’. This grass is known for its durability and is connected to immortality. A night jogger running with a headtorch startled me as I stealth camped overnight here in Claybury again among the holly and ivy. I felt as if I’d entered butterflyhood and heard an owl hoot for the first time.
“The object of art is not to make salable pictures. It is to save yourself... The thing of course, is to make yourself alive. Most people remain all their lives in a stupor. The point of being an artist is that you may live.”
In a Hospital Hill Wood clearing, I set up my hammock and laid gazing up into a tree with four trunks - bliss! With practice I’m gaining more of a sense of what running a campsite is all about.
A stunning yellow crescent moon glided across the sky to shine directly over me in my comfy bivvy during the September heatwave.
The star of the show this year regarding the food and drink I make with organic fruit and veg, has been plum juice with cardamom, ginger and cinnamon, closely followed by sugar-free chunky fig, orange rind and vanilla jam. I can also recommend raw rhubarb and fig kombucha.
The passing of British and French actress and singer, Jane Birkin saddened me greatly: the fact that we’re both artists and love Paris and our pets… a kindred spirit? Here is the last video that was posted on her YouTube channel; what a gift!
I was proud to have mastered my first Russian knot using a stick to keep it in place, Dutch lacing, and a ridgeline for an A-frame tarp shelter. Figure-of-four sliding knots to kept the guylines in place, protected my hammock from the elements.