Nandarolondë

All righty then. Today I received the musket balls I had ordered from Track of the Wolf. There are 75 rounds, not 50, as I had thought. A good starting point. From this point forward I will scrounge lead and cast my own since I have a nice replica brass bag mold as well.

I have a good natural brown leather cartridge box; these have a wooden block drilled with holes for the paper cartridges. I am debating a bit of decoration, perhaps in the form of a good six pointed Ranger star....it may not be Tolkien, but a Ranger I am regardless of time and the star is a very good symbol.

The knife and belt axe sheaths are going to be completed today. I'll probably also cut a piece of red wool for the shooting bag and get that going.

I really need to do more work on the Ranger knapsack (which was used along with the haversack in many cases), and I need to get some green casein paint on the wooden canteen.

Dubbin for the shoe-packs, of course, and decide whether to line the leggings or not before sewing them up.

I need to wear my kit more; it is new and looks it. The only way to get that used look is to use it. A lot. Hard. Get it out in the weather, hike in it, camp, hunt. Guess I will provide something of a spectacle for folk in the area for a good long while. By the way, the old tactic of washing things multiple times does not work so well..and takes a great many more washings than one might think. Better to actually wear the stuff.

This year will see some seriously interesting hunting given I will be doing most of it in Colonial kit.

A good canoe and I could hunt the river in some places.

I am seriously considering moving North, into one of the other New England states. Vermont would do, but New Hampshire would be better as it has far more sanity in its laws. 'Live Free or Die' appeals to me, after all.

Pics of projects to come.

Siani