Escape

Sometimes Jean and I talk about why we lead the life we do. Growing our own food, careful with expenditure, not being wasteful, recycling, reusing, living frugally and simply. It's not as if we can't afford to be splash out on things. And it isn't always easy. Getting out in the garden when its hot and humid isn't the most pleasant thing to do. But if we don't plod along jobs fall behind and you get gaps in the food chain. And things get out of control. Not that they are ever that much in control.

The day before yesterday we ran the mower over the lawn which after all the heavy rain was getting a bit long. All that needed doing next was the edges and the areas where the ride on mower doesn't fit. Jean had said to herself if she spotted a snake she'd get stuck into it. Well the Brown was more scared of me than I was of it but as it turned out I was on the way into the garden shed to get the whipper snipper. That snake has good timing.

We don't do a lot of things that our friends do. They travel a lot, they change cars frequently, they buy lots of new toys. They eat out. We were lucky in the past to have eaten at some of the best restaurants but find what we prepare at home is as good if not better in terms of quality and freshness. We spend months discussing whether we would really use a $50 e-reader. And our car begins to fall apart from just age before we replace it. We don't mind local travel i.e. taking the dogs for a drive. But with responsibility for chickens and gardens it prevents us from being away too long. Yes we could get a baby sitter but then the trouble with dogs is they miss the pack leaders and we miss them. Maybe when they leave home we might venture out for longer trips.

 

So many friends and acquaintances refuse to modify their lifestyles and take responsibility for their own wellbeing. They are content to consume medications rather than give up junk food and embark on even the most modest exercise program.

 

The world today is built on sand in terms of a growth economy based on devouring resources. There is a lack of honesty and consideration of others. Greed pervades and there is no appreciation for quality just a scrabbling for more. Rushing from one consumption event to another.

 

We get a lot of pleasure, when the wine turns out really well, when the Tomatoes are fresh and abundant, when there is success with a cheese. All those little events throughout the cycles of the year bring satisfaction and enjoyment. And they are tangible and reoccurring but always slightly different and raise expectations. But it is more than just that. I suppose John and Jean are just escaping from the artifice of the today's society.

 

"The noise and din of the town still ringing in his ears ... died away in the night, the peace of the hills and open fields soothed and quietened ..."

 

'The Country Child'

Alison Uttley

Consumption and Christmas

In our household we don't give Christmas or birthday presents. This is not a hard and fast rule as sometimes something that one of us wants/needs coincides with one of these events and it gets a simple gift wrapping from the recycled wrapping drawer. When Jean's mum visits at Christmas she does get a token gift left under the tree just to make her feel welcome on this annual visit. And she always brings gifts for the four legged children (easily pleased with food) and being people who don't need anything we get some crisp new currency which Jean appropriates and banks as savings.

We're not Scrooges it's just that these milestone days force people to buy large quantities rubbish which not long after the event is discarded or finds the back of a closet. Fine if you can match the timing with something that is needed but usually we struggle to find anything useful. A lot of our friends acquire expensive trinkets during the year and when an event day arrives up goes the ante and a whoppingly expensive toy is purchased. A Kindle to keep the Ipad company or a Shuffle to keep in the draw with the Nano which was replaced with the Iphone.

We don't have mobile phones. I've worked on farm jobs with people who have them and observed the productivity decline with inane calls received and I've overheard those idiotic conversations in the supermarket which result from not keeping a shopping list. We have a friend who continually gets calls from her spouse “where are you now?”. “About two metres west of where I was 10 minutes ago”.

In a Mel Gibson movie “We were Soldiers” the Gunnery sergeant is asked if he need a gun during a serious confrontation with the opposing side. “When I need a gun I won't have any trouble finding one” is his response as he goes about rallying the men and directing the defence. My thoughts about mobile phones in our daily movements about HHF is “when I need a mobile phone I won't have any trouble finding one”.. Don't misunderstand. They are the most marvellous invention used appropriately in the appropriate situations. Which is not texting at 100 KPH on the freeway.

I do have an MP3 player. It's a cheap one $30. Slashing paddocks is a boring job and listening to an educational podcast simultaneously is a very Permaculture rule – Function Stacking.

Back to the topic of gifts. We always discuss the value of acquiring an item before we buy just to make sure it's not a frivolous spur of the moment thing. When the other agrees it's a wise purchase it always feels like a gift. So our year is littered with gifts rather than occupying one or two occasions.

And then there is the topic of Christmas decorations. The over the top volume of decorations people buy (and throw away) each year. Those little electric Santas that wobble about and HO HO HO their way into the rubbish bin. It is like the government/business cry to grow the economy more each year. Bigger and more elaborate each time. The previous year's is not good enough.

I think is rather nice to enact the childhood by erecting a tree and decorating it. We still use the same tinsel and baubles that we used 25 years ago. The tree is a suitably shaped branch from one of our Casuarinas mounted in a bucket of rocks. After the event it becomes firewood and the decorations are packed away for next year. Does anyone remember buying crepe paper cutting it and weaving long chains to hang from the ceiling?

What ever happened to moderation and the art of spending time making your own decorations. The joy of simple things.

Getting Up Early

There is something about Spring that stirs the mind and body. For weeks now I've been busting to wake up early. Sometimes I'll wake at 3 or 4 am and look at the bedside clock and think "Bugger too early" and go back to sleep. Then when the clock gets to 5 am and the first signs of daylight are just appearing I'll leap out of bed to make coffee and feed the two cats who run into the laundry and wait by their food dish. If you don't feed them immediately they harass your legs until you do.

Morning coffee is a latte made entirely on milk. Very filling which allows breakfast to be put off until mid morning and on fast days gets you through the day with only a few thoughts of food at meal times. The routine of fasting on Mondays and Thursdays has become second nature and nowhere as difficult as it was at first.

Rather than count sheep after turning off the light at night the mind turns to planning the next day. What jobs have to be done over the river at our paid work and then the endless (and enjoyable) list of tasks to be completed at home. As well as maintaining our personal lists (on scraps of paper scattered in the kitchen there is the mental review of changing priorities and added tasks. One job often leads to or has a precursor task such as making the latest compost meant the pile of pruning's that had  been sitting around for weeks could be put through the mulcher. I suppose a lot of normal people would not enjoy this daily work load but I love it.

This is the breather hole in the latest compost pile. Every now and then a huge wisp of warm steam wafts out. Unfortunately it requires better photography skills to capture the moment. 

In the cold frame another batch of seeds have germinated. Some dry pumpkin and more Rockmelon and Watermelon. All these will be in the ground in the next 24 hours. The weather forecast looks promising with some showers of rain promised over the next 1-4 days.

The garbage collection in our area is every Thursday morning about 4 am. In terms of measuring consumption and waste it was pleasing to note that the recycling bin which is collected every two weeks was only 2/3 full after a month. And the general rubbish bin collected every week was 1/3 full and hasn't been put out for at least 6 weeks. I wonder how long it will be before councils put barcodes on our rubbish bins and start charging for usage. I suppose never. The collection contractors wouldn't be happy with the reduction in income and it might encourage householders to dispose of their waste inappropriately. Reducing landfill costs might not be that high in the priorities. Easier to slip in some more costs in the annual rates rather than address behaviours.