simplification

There is so much talk now about the greenhouse effect, peak oil and the economic crisis. They all go together really, as far as I am concerned, and while I don't like to say 'I told you so' (well I do in someways, but that is not the point!) the 'greenies' and 'radicals' have been saying exactly this for a good 15-20 years (probably more - but I have been saying it for about that long).

I bought the latest Organic Gardener mag the other day (great mag if you are into that sort of stuff by the way), and one of my favourite writers Linda Cockburn wrote an article on the ways we need to challenge ourselves (all of us) to reduce our impact on the earth. Her family challenged themselves a few years ago to live for 6 months without spending money. Crazy maybe, but that is what we now being forced to do. Consumerism is such a big part of the whole big problem we now face. We buy so much junk, if you ever go to the rubbish tip your jaw drops. To think how many rubbish tips there are out there.... I think we live too easy - we just put stuff in the bin and its gone, we don't need to think about it. I guess we need to imagine what it would be like if there was no rubbish truck, I think we would all think more carefully about what we bring home, if we had no way of getting rid of it.... hmmm, if the oil goes then there wont be rubbish trucks.... although I guess there wont be supermarkets and shopping centres filled with crap either....

Anyway, I wanted to challenge ourselves a little. We already do some things - not enough as they reckon we ALL need to reduce our carbon footprint by 90% or so, that is to keep the earth roughly as it is, and I don't fancy living in an oven....

This year so far

• we have been baking our own bread - I hate the plastic bags associated with buying bread.
  
• We have only turned the TV on 2-3 times this year (I would love to see it gone for good - I hate how it sucks you in to watch stuff that you don't even want to watch.... and it spoils conversation etc).
  
• We already have solar power here, and buy green power too, for what we need to buy.
  
• I try not to buy too much stuff, and the kids are pretty much 90% dressed in 2nd stuff from the OP shop (and their clothes go back there once they have outgrown them), I mostly only buy from the OP shop too, but mostly don't buy myself clothes (hey I am a stay at home mum, so don't need nice stuff, it only gets covered in yoghurt or other stuff anyway). I want to make more of our own stuff too.
  
• we buy organic and locally grown food, and grow some of our own.
  

Not sure how else to cut back though. Any ideas? I think its important to communicate what we are all doing to make changes, as I think it helps inspire and give ideas to others. I don't think we do enough. And our renovation is certainly using up the 'good carbon karma' that we have gained on other things - but that is nearly over. I know that when we move to our farm, we will be better positioned to reduce our impact, so we are really working hard at that.


OK, now I will stop! Just call me the raving green lunatic!

I have just started propagating seedlings for the winter crops - peas, broccoli, beetroot, silverbeet etc. I seem to have so much more success with my winter crops. I am sad to report that this gardener is next to useless with the summer vegies.... I have yellow fingers it seems. But I am stubborn, and keep trying. Looking forward to the next Diggers Club catalouge, it has the garlic bulbs, fruit trees and other goodies that I am eagerly waiting for... hmm, come on postie!

Oh, and some other good news - any aussies out there who want to get into scything - Scythes Australia has just started up, and they are selling a limited range of Austrian blades at a reasonable price, we are excited, as we need a few more and the exchange rates have been terrible! And I have communicated with the people there, and they seem really lovely.

The enormity of it all

When I last posted the major fires had just burnt out large areas (including towns), they are still going, but not posing a very direct threat to anyone at the moment. That will all change as the weather warms up etc. When I last posted on the sunday morning there was no idea about how many had died - its 181 now, and rising.... Until laast night I had been very detatched from it all, looking at it from a perspective of how to better plan for fires in the future.

Last night I read what my friend in Hazelwood South went through on the saturday. It brought it home for me. Her comment of them cheering when the wind changed and spared them and their home, and how as they cheered others were dying, without even a chance to do anything. Fire razed her area, and caught so many unaware. Entire settlements like Calligne have been lost - only a few survivors. I went to uni at Churchill, one person there lost her house, but how many people I have met or seen in the halls lost their lives.... I don't yet know if anyone I know has died, I know some have lost their homes.

Its just bizarre, areas I know very well have been completely burnt, where I used to keep my horses, the roads I used to drive everyday to work, my workplace. I am so grateful that we have been spared, but so scared, it only takes one idiot - and there are SO many idiots in this world unfortunately....

On a positive, I am working on squares for a 'friendship blanket' for someone I know who lost her home. Its a small thing, but it feels nice to contribute, and I am sure she will be happy to have a lovely blanket handmade by a group of knitters who care. Knitters are good like that.

I guess what we have to take from this is that we need to enjoy every day for what it is, try our best to plan for disasters, but then get on with helping those that are suffering, in what ever way we can. Please everyone stay safe - these damn fires are still going.

fires

Around lunchtime yesterday - just before the burnt leaves started dropping.... It was incredible, got so dark, because of the smoke, and there was thunder - caused by the fire!

Yikes, yesterday was one interesting day! Fires basically raged over half the state, and were very close to our place. Our neighbours evacuated their place (a little extreme), but apparently a house in our town burnt down due to ember attack. There certainly were embers in the air, and they did put out an urgent threat warning for us, but thankfully the wind died down over night and it was very still.

I am wondering how people I know fared, some living right where the fires have burnt. My old workplace is likely trashed (I didn't enjoy working there, but still you don't really wish for this...). And its worse in other parts of Victoria. I've read that entire towns have been burnt out... Scary.

On the up side, our farm so far has been safe (fingers crossed), although I have been watching the CFA as there has been a grass fire up there.... Off today to check.

A friend of ours is off today to fight the fire that is burning very close to us. Good luck! Hoping for rain (still).

The heat is on!

Tomorrow is forcast to be a very hot 43C. Last week fires were burning only a few km'sto the east of the farm, those have been brought under control (after burning about 30 houses). Now to the west new fires are going, and its expected that they will be well and truly out of control, as the weather is just hellish... Its just so dry right now.

We are one of the few households that don't have airconditioning (by choice). Although our house is not well designed (can't get much worse really as far as keeping cool goes) its not too bad, if you keep the curtains closed, and keep the sun out. There is a small window at around 4pm or so when its still hot outside, but the house has heated up. We went to the pool for the first time last week to cool off after the 3rd or 4th 40+C day in a row... There will be a bit of this here tomorrow!

The kids in the kitchen sink, one sink each!

Keeping the kids cool is probably the hardest. That and the dogs, and the garden, arrghhh, come on autumn!

The kids are well. Our not so little boy is starting to say 'mum' and is very good at sitting up and reaching around himself - 9 months old now - but still not crawling! Our girl has proved herself to be an expert little puzzle doer - she is now doing 50 piece puzzles (for age 4)... such a clever thing, but such an insomniac!

This week, I caught up with one of the ladies from the local spinning group. We swapped some fleece. I gave her some alpaca fleece, and she gave me about 600g or so of sheep fleece half merino (the top staple) and some border leicester (the bottom one) - check out the staple length!!! Its around 30cm or so! I am looking forward to spinning some greasy fleece for a change.


Although that will have to wait till I finish some knitting - I have decided that there will be no spinning till I get a few bits knitted up. Just too much yarn here (yeah I know, no such thing!!)... Getting there.

Sourdough bread

One of my new years resolutions was to resume bread making. For years I made our bread, then for some reason, not sure what I stopped, and then got out of the habit of it. But this time, I've decided to give sourdough another go (I tried it a few times but failed to raise a leaven). This time I have had some sucess, although there is so much to learn about the craft of bread making. I recently bought this book, and it re-inspired me. Good 'real' bread is hard to find, the stuff (or should I say fluff) supermarkets sell, is not 'real' bread. Bread should be wholesome and nutritious.

I am concerned about what we humans are doing to our food and how that will affect us and our kids, so I am doing all I can to provide my family with good food. We mostly eat organic (unless we eat out), and yes it costs more, but you are what you eat, and pesticides can bioaccumulate so every bit counts. The other important thing about eating organic, is that by doing so, you are supporting farmers who (mostly) care about doing the right thing. I have worked on farms, and know many people that have worked on farms, and I KNOW that the right thing ISN'T always done, and sprays that shouldn't be used (because they are illegal) do get used, and that crops are picked when they have just been sprayed (even if there is a longer whitholding period). This doesn't happen all the time, but at the end of the day, its a business, and if the fruit needs to be picked, well too bad for 'right or wrong'....

Anyway, back to sourdough. I know people probably think making your own bread is too much work, but it really isn't that bad. Especially if you use sourdough rather that commercial yeast (because of the the longer proving (resting) periods), as you can leave it during the day while you are at work or whatever, knead it and bake it when you can. To make a starter all you need is flour and water and a glass or pottery type of bowl, and a tea towel or cloth. You mix flour and water to a batter consistency (check the web for the various recipes there are so many individual ways), and let it sit for a few days (feeding it more flour after a day or 2. It should start bubbling if the wild yeasts have colonised it.

my starter!

Then you mix this with you flour - I usually do about 1kg of flour (2 loaves) at a time - and salt, to a dough consistency, knead it for a few minutes, let it prove (rise) for however long it takes to double or a bit less (I left mine for most of the day, which seemed about right for it), knead it, shape it, put it in a tin or basket to prove again, slash and bake. This is just my version of it, but do read up before trying it as I may have forgotten something.

I have got to work on the whole slashing, as all I seem to get is cuts rather than the really cool looking loaves I have seen, oh well, practice makes perfect and we do eat alot of bread - so there will be plenty of practice!

The breads that you can create are truly works of art (once you get the hang of it), its very inspiring. And the best part is that its actually good for you!

Next on my list is to buy a flour mill and grind our own flour fresh, as freshly ground flour has alot more nutrients in it. (and yes on the one day in the future list is growing our own wheat, and yep you guessed it, cutting it with the scythe!!)

happy solstice, and the end of 2008

I want to wish everyone a very happy solstice (summer or winter depending on where you are in this great big world). Here in the southern hemisphere, its a time to celebrate the sun and be outdoors (although the weather hasn't been all that sunny - but the rain is well and truly welcome...). Although I'm not a Grinch, I find all the traditional christmas things a little silly in summer, they are symbols of winter, and were the traditions of the winter solstice - ever green trees, lights, fake snow, big filling roast dinners etc etc. We are a bit different, and want to celebrate the seasons, so for us, although its Christmas its a time for all things sunny and summery.

Anyway, I want to take the opportunity to look over the year that 2008 was. For us it was a year of great challenges, good and bad. Its been a year that has been driven very stronly by our goals, of where we want to end up in life, and of reducing our impact on the earth.


The biggest things to have changed my life this year are the arrival of our little boy in May, and the loss of my beloved pony Brandy in October (she had been with me for nearly 18 years). Both presented challenges to me, and have made me realise that I have more strength and courage than I have ever given myself credit for.

We have too much grass...

So we all wish you a good 'festive' time regardless of what you believe or what you do, enjoy a rest from the usual things and spend some time with those you care about.

My precious

I think that raspberries are just wonderful. They are nice to eat, but they are also SO easy to grow. I think that if I were in charge of the world I would make it compulsory for every house to have a small patch! My patch is a rather wild one, it started with just a few suckers that my mum gave me, and each year they multiply. I keep pulling them out of the path and planting them up at the farm or giving them away to others.

This year has been a good year for raspberries (well, actually, I can't think of when we had a BAD year for raspberries!!). I only watered them the first summer that I put them in, and occasionally a bucket of water from the washing machine, and yet we get bucket loads of berries, about 1kg every 2 days for a couple of weeks.

I've already made one batch of jam, and am about to make a second. Our daughter loves them, and helps pick them, and has eaten tonnes of them! The only down side is that each variety only fruits for a short while, so to have a long crop you need a few different varieties.