Out and About

I woke up this morning and decided I needed to get out... I had a couple things I wanted to do and the days don't get much better, weather wise, than today...




I saw a bald eagle across the river. Fairly rare around here during this time of year. We do get some every winter, from mid November to early-mid March when the ice breakups begin happening up North. I watched him for a while and decided to take a picture. Of course, this is when he decides it's time to leave...



I also saw a woodpecker and an osprey. The woodpecker is a little hard to see against the grayness of the cottonwood trunk.








And the osprey made his presence known with his unique call. Good place for fishing brother, the Boise river flows through a deep channel along this stretch and the gin clear water was broken by an occasional trout sipping a midge off the surface film.





One of my duties out on my walkabout was to review a bow, so I took a lot of pictures and just generally wandered about. Spring is here, one of top four favorite seasons! It was a little breazy, the sun was out and I soaked up its warmth, as did these flowers...


I also wanted to do some head to head competition of a couple knives. I love my Kellam Puukko. Probably the sharpest knife I have ever had. After being battoned through a evenings worth of firewood, it still shaves. I also am in love with my Jarvenpaa Puukko. It has a pseudo Scandinavian grind and great ergonomics for my small hands. Currently it is my favorite and I used it to start a little fire to heat some water for a spot of tea...























Hang with me here, I am still getting a hang of moving the pictures and rearranging everything.


Just like I thought, the Kellam cut easier with it's extreme sharpness (and all I have had to do is strop it now and then) but the Jarvenpaa just seemed more comfortable. I also like the Jarvenpaa's sheath better. It has a snug fit without being too tight and being a dangler type sheath it just works for me. The fit and finish on the knife is perhaps a bit utilitarian. The end cap is ground down but not polished and the edge is a bit abrupt, as is the wood to ferrule junction. The curly birch is great and has a nice warmth to it. I should also mention I cut off the "fishtail" on the sheath's bottom junction.


I also played around with another one of my favorite knives, my hunting neck knife. I bought it from the famous G. Fred Asbell here at the Trad West Expo a couple years ago. I made up a little sheath for it and included a little ferro rod/ magnesium fire starter. It is always on me in the backcountry... I can start a fire or whittle a squirrel trap if need be and the necklace provides some 550 cord if I need it.



I'll leave you with this, until next time, get out there.