Issue # 63 The Misc Adventures Digest
Spring is here, apparently. Plus a film to share and tree planting as a physical manifestation of hope.
Hello there! Happy Spring! Except it doesn’t really feel very much like spring here. Sure, there are phenological seasonal signs everywhere - tiny green shoots popping up, buds swelling and thickening ready to burst, a few yellow flowers are doing their best to liven the mood, but the weather has some catching up to do as we continue to wallow in thick mud and gloom.
The days are longer at least, and wild things are responding accordingly - the first chiff chaffs have arrived, saying their names loudly on repeat in case we had forgotten, in brief sunny interludes bumblebees labour through the air and I have heard rumours of butterflies on the wing but have yet to see my first brimstone of the year. It is always a brimstone. Despite these things, the mood is very much winter, outside the window and in our hearts and minds. We are doing our best to find spring joys; drinking birch sap and foraging fresh green leaves as we always do, yet it is the sun’s warmth and light that we crave. How long until we can lift our weary heads and bask in its orange glow? Not too much longer I hope…
In these dark times, hope is important. If ever there was a physical manifestation of hope, planting a tree is a good one. Each new tree in the ground shows that we believe in positive change, it shows that we believe the sun will rise and the rains will fall just as they always have done, it shows that we believe this little sapling will not only come into leaf in spring, but that it will live for long enough to grow into something tall and mighty, capable of supporting life and creating community. To that end, it was good to be out with friends at the weekend planting and checking trees at Robinson Place Farm in Great Langdale. Jenny is doing many good things for Nature on her farm, including restoring wood pasture and traditional hay meadows and it’s a joy to be able to lend a hand and catch up with friends at the same time.
Another thing to share
You might remember a while back I went out with a small crew from Fjällräven to test out a route for the UK version of the Fjällräven Classic. Well, there’s a little film (shot by Pete Naylor) out from our wild and windy adventure to promote the event. Taking part in the Swedish Fjällräven Classic way back in 2011 was a major catalyst for us to start making Nature and adventure a much bigger part of our lives, so to be invited to help promote this year’s Classic feels like significant marker of how far we’ve come.
Some housekeeping and new things to read
We recently added a bunch of previously unpublished articles exclusively for paid subscribers, but now we’ve decided to remove the paywall from all of our writing and make it accessible to everyone. That means there are no extra bonuses for opting to go paid - the pressure to create extra content to entice paid subscribers was taking the joy out of writing and whilst I believe in getting paid for the work we create, I really don’t like the idea that those of us who can’t afford a gazillion subscriptions to things end up feeling excluded. That said, you can absolutely still upgrade to a paid subscription - you just won’t get anything extra for it. Other than our eternal gratitude and the warm fuzzy feeling of knowing you are supporting us on our journey, which is totally worth £4 a month.
Here are some previously paywalled pieces for you to read:
Well, I think that’s all for this week. How is spring shaping up where you are?
With warmest wishes,
Andrew, Emma and Benji
x
We have been teased with bouts of sunshine bringing warmth and hopefully a taste of things to come. Spring definitely brings a sense of hope and delight in the joy of Natures new beginnings. 💚💛
It seems like spring happened all within one week here! The cherry tree in my yard bloomed and the next thing I knew the leaves were popping on all of the trees, the weeds are growing, the bees are out, and pollen is EVERYWHERE!!