SUMMER TIME

This year, there seems to be more time to sit in the garden and let the world go by. having talked about weather prediction I found a small book in the library and this is what it says about this time of the year.....


Calm weather in June, sets the corn in tune.

A dry May and dripping June, brings everything in tune.


July and August are some of the wettest months of the year in the UK ( thats interesting because I always looked at them as being hot and sunny!).

There was very little to say about the months probably because people were too busy harvesting.

However watch the following dates:

St Mary's Day on the 2nd July

It is said that if it rains on this day it will rain for a month.

St Swithins Day on the 15th July

Oh St Swithins Day, if thou'll be fair
For forty days shall rain nae mair
but if St Swithin's thou be wet
For forty days it raineth yet.

Just shows that my usual expectation of a warm and sunny summer are an illusion here. However, it will all be good for the garden and the harvest.

A nice suprise this year is that my purple sprouting broccoli which I planted in May is now in flower which usually does not happen. A surprise harvest, unusual for this season but then very welcome alternative to lettuce.


I have invested in a 5 year diary which will enable me to check how things compare year by year.

I am strawberry picking later today, some for freezing so we can use them in smoothies and winter fruit salads and some for jam making. I am very fond of strawberries in season.

THE GIFT OF LIFE

Today, creative muse in the garden gave rise to a poem to share.

I give life to being alive in an indescribable way
I am energy in the current that flows between each of us
I gift my passion where my soul guides its necessity,
I flow with the current of love that holds my soul.
I float in the present, creatively alive, giving birth to colour
I see the gifts of nature in every encounter

I am one being, being one with all, yet authentically a part,
insignificantly one, yet at one with the universe
At peace…..being……alive in the present
I am for giving
A gift
A sense of compassion
Timeless
Endless


I am stillness
I am peace
I am gratitude

©2006 All Rights Reserved by Angora

IRONY OF TRANSPORT

I must get out more, obviously as I am getting out of practice. What happens when you only take your car on long journeys once in a blue moon......you get a speeding ticket. It was a hot day, I was tired and....on the way back from a lovely Spinning, Dyers and Weavers meeting and talk on Japanese textiles. Thats about the only long distance driving I do and it is about 15 mile away from home. Despite that, I must have missed the 30 mile per hour spot and passed it , as it says at 41mph. Probably not as fast as the man who raced past me some minutes before. Anyhow, the point I want to make is that in 25 years of driving this is my first driving offence, I used to do between 10,000 and 30,000 miles per year on business and now that I am downshifting, it appears I have been noticed for the wrong reasons....maybe it was my time to get unlucky on this or I am just out of practice noticing the yellow boxes in the hedgerow. The laws of probability obviously change when you diminish your driving distance. I cannot walk that distance so will try and share the journey with someone else. Expensive trip out. Kicking myself here while at the same time takeing responsibility as it was me after all. Cannot help muttering something unmentionable at the same time....I am no saint only human after all.

SLUGS AND TOADS REJOICE

They seemed to as long awaited rain has fallen all night. On a small garden visit yesterday, my evening walk to catch the smells of honeysuckle and roses that pervades the air, I noticed 2 toads, venturing out.....a few minutes later it began to rain. I wonder whether its their idea of sunbathing...they must find it really hard when the sun shines constantly and there is not enough moisture in the air.
Today, the slugs are rejoicing as they can again slide easily over the paths instead of having to stay wherever they are due to dry conditions.
Both of course need each other. Slugs are toads food and I am quite happy to have them in my garden, shows signs of good organic wildlife that supports our soil.
Whatever they do, I like to watch them and notice. I am happy to share in the wonder.

EGG ON TOAST -v- Breakfast cereals

The battle has been going on for months, whereby packets of cereal have been commanded by small people with commands such as :

Mum, can you buy this cereal, because it has a toy in it, and I want it.

This ploy has been declining, although it has been a slow process and made me aware of the amount of consumer messages my children unconsciously pick up from the TV. The tactics I used were not the same, no messages of what is bad in the cereal but rather of providing a gentle alternative to what was on offer.

• I no longer shop with the children in the store.
• I buy on line once a month and get it delivered at the house ( staple goods).
• I shop locally and am reducing the amount of meat we eat.
• We have chickens
• We bake our own bread so I know what goes in it.

To my amazement, cereals in packets with bright colour and toys no longer have an appeal.

Today, my son said:

Mum, can I make myself egg on toast today.

This is an amazing statement for many reasons.

• It voices a deliberate choice of egg on toast, a natural product with ingredients made at home or carefully sourced.
• It seems to state a preference as to any cereals that might be on the shelf still.
• The emphasis of ' can I make' means that he has chosen to make his breakfast himself.

These are small little triumphs in my mind, but I think I amongst the family had lost the ability to check what nutrition I need for my body today, what is available and how I can produce it with the resources available to me.

We have also changed from buying one sort of bread to producing 5 different loaves at home and we are still experimenting with more ingredients. Some come out fine, others not but then thats the fun of it all.

If you are interested in what is happening with food, you might want to check out the deliberate agrarian's article...but be warned it might scare you a little.

ELDERFLOWER CORDIAL

Havings just bottled 3 lots and 8 oz of green beans I thought I would share the recipe with you.

ELDERFLOWER CORDIAL

25 elderflower heads ( wash)
1.5 litres if boiling water
1.5 kg sugar
2 unwaxed lemons, sliced
2 oz ( 50g) citric acid

Disolve sugar in boiling water and leave to cool.Stir in the citric acid and add elderflowers and sliced lemons. Cover and leave for 3 days, stirring occassionally. Strain and poor into clean sterilised bottles and then seal. Store in a cool place.

I also put some in plastic bottles, leaving some headroom and put them in the freezer, keeping a bottle on hand for cool summer drinks.

Enjoy

WEATHER PREDICTION

Whilst at home, eating food in season and working in the garden, hands in the earth, I recognise certain rhythms that I have lost track of. The natural rhytms that surrounds us, the natural order and cycle of things and how I amongst many, have chosen to change these over time.

Years go by and we celebrate the start of a New Year in many different ways, depending on our culture. We know a new year starts, because our calendar tells us but previous civilizations did not have the comfort of yearly produced works that hang on their kitchen wall, they looked for other signs.

The seasons can give us an indication as to what is happening. We all know what spring, summer, fall and winter feel like.....although the effects of global warming are blurring distinctive boundaries that existed in the past. Traditionally, plants are sewn at certain times, and yet, this year spring was delayed and although the packet said my courgettes should be planted in April and May, the effects of a delayed spring showed on plants that would shiver and not thrive until their time for development was right to enable them to grow. Our wishes as consumers to eat strawberries all year long mean that these conditions for optimal growth have to be stimulated and replicated and the natural order of things disturbed. Of course, my strawberry season will be different to the zone you live in, and we might be able to trade and prolong our season, but that means that the strawberries need to travel and use different global resources.

Hence my wish to eat seasonally and to have a succession of fruit and vegetables that my body needs to live in the place I live in. I can prolong my strawberry season by having and indoor and outdoor crop but for the outdoor crop I need the plants to be pollinated by insects which will be at the mercy of the weather patterns.

I have lost the ability to read weather patterns as my ancestors did. There are many songs and rhymes in childhood that talk about when plants are planted and that knowledge has also been long lost, and maybe is not appropriate in a changing global climate either, as there is definitely a change happening.

I am starting a garden diary which will track the seeds I plant and whether this is the ultimate time to do so, trial and error will show whether I get it right or whether things can be improved. This could also track changes on a global scale in my local environment. If I had paid attention locally that the swallows came 3 weeks later than last year, I might have recognised that my planting schedule for optimum production in tune with nature would be 3 weeks late. From spending time with my cats on a daily basis, I can predict the amount of rain that is coming and its timescale. If my cats do not leave the kitchen, all gardening plans should be put on hold as it is sure to be cold and rain heavily. If they stay around the house, around the boundaries, I know that it is likely to rain that day and planting would be good no watering needed as it is coming later. I can only speak for what I find in my own garden and climate but apparently they have not lost the ability to venture our or not as the case may be, depending on what is in their awareness.

Again, when the swallows, meet and leave, I will know that fall is being announced. The quality of light changes, the plants all react to the seasons and I am not certain what makes me so confident that I can overcome all of that. I too need a time of hope and growth, of warmth and fun, of preparation of hibernation and a time of rest and reflection to observe the rhytms in my life. There are periods in our life childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, parenthood, middle age, and so on that each have a flavour, each bring us wisdom of another kind and we cannot spend all our time in childhood and ignore that we too are working towards reaping the rewards of what we have sewn in the past.

Its a reflection worth doing, finding your place in the sun now, seeing what it is you are wanting to achieve and working towards a happy harvest. I wish you sunshine, a good foundation to enable you to grow roots and reach your potential.

As for me, I am going to go out and survey what the garden tells me, bottle my elderflower cordial, enjoy my glass of fresh mint tea and pick a salad for lunch.

What are you doing today, what is your rhytm, what is natural for you?

ICEBERG

Not lettuce this time but a lovely climbing rose which clambers in between the honeysuckle that currently perfumes the air.
Apart from being my own greengrocer this year, I also would like to grow enough flowers to bring natural scents into the house. Its a work in progress.....

Also installed now are 2 waterbutts to collect rainwater which will help us water the plants if we ever get a drought order and are unable to use the water from the water company. This is the beginning of water saving measures. There is another water butt to be installed near the patio, to enable us to water the tubs there. Phase one of water conservation. The next one is more complicated and requires some different equipment.
If you saw the programme about the Strawbridge family you might have seen that they managed to do a lot because they were able to invest a huge amount of capital into their venture. Here we only put in what we are saving in other ways, so its likely to be an organic process.
I managed to barter some more plants and have been given a small contract to grow seedlings for other people next year. Its a start.

Its important at this time to walk around the garden and look out for pests such as white cabbage fly, you will see small white dots on the bottom leaves, smallinsh larvae which if you ared not careful will end up being lovely caterpillars. They eat and strip your crop bear. Organic remedy for me is to pick the lower leaves and give them to the chickens. Then water and spray the plant and wants in between them. Its looking good.

CHECKING IN

Wow, time certainly flies....apologies if you thought I had vanished, its just that the garden really is vety enjoyable to be in, the sun is shining and I simply need to catch up with the planting.
This is a corner bed which is quite shady and in which I have chosen to plant the summer lettuces and some beetroot, hopefully both will flourish.
We are eating potatoes, peas and green beans now, some courgettes on the menu and I am hopeful that the succession planting will pay off.
I have discovered that we have a lot of elferflower in the garden and am going to try and find a recipe for elderflower cordial. Its very refreshing and a great thirst quencher in high summer when I can find another time to put my feet up and admire the garden.

REDUCING LAUNDRY

How can you make your laundry load lighter......and save on washing powder, water and electricity.....

• Reduce the amount that needs washing.
• Wear your clothes more often ( i.e. if it is not visibly dirty, smells put it away)
• When tidying bedrooms, tell the kids not to just dump the clothes in the basket if they could be refolded and put away.
• Kids have showers and sleep in clean bedclothes so new pyamas are not needed every day.
• Give each person in the household a dedicated towel and keep a spare one, wash when necessary.
• have less clothes in the wardrobe, less choice means less washing.
• When you come home having worn your jacket or dress once, dont automatically put it in the washer, check that it is dirty......and if not....put away.

That should save on a lot of washing in the house......instead of 3 load per day we are down to 2 and am still working on reducing that too.

At work

There seems a million and 1 things to do in the garden at the moment, so there seems little time to post. I want to keep up with the garden at the moment as my meals depend on it. Still salad galore which is great, some new potatoes fresh to eat, strawberries at breakfast time and plenty of eggs. Next should be green beans to add a little variety and then I will be able to have nicoise salad:

bed of lettuce leaves
some tomatoes
hard boiled eggs
steamed green beans
cold cooked potatoes
1 tin of tuna
pour over vinaigrette sauce ( oil and vinegar)

enjoy with a chunk of home made bread.

Something to look forward to for a nice summer lunch in the garden.
I also spotted the roses are coming in bloom, white, red, pink and apricot. Its looking very pleasing.......when you get time to sit still.

The weeds are doing great to and thats where I am off to, to weed, hoe and find me some weeds to pull.

It may be a simple life, but it is hard work. Very satisfying though....

HOME MADE LEMONADE

Its that weather, you can see yourself with a refreshing drink in the garden. This is what the boys did yesterday:

• Take 4 lemons, peel them in a bowl ,( the zest not the white bits,
• add 100g or 4 oz of fine white sugar.
• top up with 750ml boiling water.
• Stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar is disolved.
• leave to cool.
• when cool, sieve out the bits of peel
• add squeezed lemon juice
• store in the fridge until ready to use.

PS you could add some sparkle in it by diluting with sparkling water when you serve.

Cheers!

CATCH THE SUN

Its lovely out here in the garden, my plants are bathing in the sun and so am I in moderation. The seedlings are continuing to grow and this morning, we had our granola with a sprinkling of strawberries from the polytunnel. The harvest is beginning to show, yesterday was my DH's birthday and we had some fresh potatoes, peas and some salad form the garden. I really love the idea fresh from fork to plate, gathering what is in the garden, cooking it and enjoying a burst of freshness and taste.
Today the boys spent some more time in the little pool they bought, a bit of sunbathing and working on the craft room. Its a new idea, more time, means we can do more arts and crafts and so we are dedicating a space to this. Its all taking shape and I feel as if I am beginning to live the downshifting life.
I also now receive the Countryside magazine which although from the USA is geared towards the homesteaders life style and the articles are pertinent to this way of life.
I remember the cold days in winter and relish the warm ones of summer. I am continuing to tidy up cupboards to make space for some of the canning I hope to do this year with whatever I can harvest from the garden and local farms.

LIGHTBULB MOMENT

It came yesterday and it was a pleasant surprise. The electricity bill, online now as I want to save paper. I do not usually get excited at bills arriving on my doorstep but I wanted to see whether the changes we had made, had in fact had an impact somewhere like on the bill for all to see. It did, bearing in mind that this is for the last 3 months, our supply has gone down to such an extent that I am still in credit after paying the bill off so hopefully, even though prices are going up, my monthly contribution will stay the same. I can therefore say that the lightbulb changes do make a difference as well as turning off the lights and generally being more efficient in our use.

I have also stopped buying computer games. For many reasons, mainly because they cost a lot, rob my kids from family time and they are addictive, I want them to do better things than think a life can be zapped and started all over again when you press a button. I am renting them for the moment so they get a chance to wean themselves off the buying consumer wagon and gradually reduce the use. It also means they can have a better choice, i.e. play with them and then decide whether they are any good.( and I can censure the games as they have to be ordered via me!) They also have to wait for them to arrive which is also good as it means they do not expect instant gratification. I no longer have to go to town in the car using petrol as they arrive by post. This is the in between step. I also no longer will be encouraging games boxes into the house reducing clutter.

I personally do not spend time watching TV on a regular basis, even with 46 channels there is little to tempt me, I am now more in favour of fresh air, reading and enjoying my relationships.

So who would have thought that changing your lightbulbs would have such interesting effects. I dare you, change a lightbulb, change your life and help the planet.

By the way, the boys and I went into town to buy Dad's birthday gifts and the message is getting through, he will getting real useful stuff.......well thought out by the boys as well as handmade cards and a lovely home made birthday cake. I am looking forward to the day very much, I will be cooking his fav meal from scratch and we will really celebrate him and not be rushed into consuming. It was my monthly trip to town, to buy stuff, such as school trousers, spiced tea, school socks and birthday pressies which I cannot get locally. I have become a very focussed shopper, once a month. It feels satisfying.

One of the boys spent some money on a blow up pool, which they have been thoroughly enjoying putting together, filling with cold water and screaming the neighbourhood down..........sad about the fact its plastic, but then again, they have spent 3 hours working things out and splashing in there enjoying themselves. Just think, they could have been playing competitive computer games instead......there is progress. The message is slowly trickling in. Well I am confident that if the media can master advertising drip drip effect, I should have no problem parenting using the same style.

MAY UPDATE

Its going to be tight, I have another 40 miles in my fuel tank and am beginning to feel fuel deprived. Not really but it just goes to show that managing on one tank of fuel is challenging. Its done wonders for our budget though and I am pleased with the fact that we have spent more thinking time than automatic behaviour, jumping in our cars and going out. This will be continued in June I think.

On clothes, I have far too many, will be giving some away again, and have decided to make notes in my diary about the things that I really need and then I can keep a lookout in the charity shops or make plans to make the items myself if that is feasible. I saw an article on how to make kitchen aprons from curtains which sounds feasible but again, I have 4 aprons and need only 2!
My yarn shash also has been put on hold, no more buying and it is pleasing to see what is happening and what space it is creating. I decided that my dog needs a new blanket and I will be using up all those bits and bobs I have saved from projects over the years. It will be gaudy I am sure but then as long as it is cosy the dog will not mind. It will keep me busy also.

To make changes this month I have had to look at the behaviour I have automatically taken on, which is probably induced by watching and reading ads a lot of the time. I have struggled in the past with' having the perfect bidy' but if it fits and I am comfortable in it......

The gardening has become my earth gym and I am quite contented at the moment. That is a first too......always on the lookout for the next adrenaline rush at work, and now I am just happy standing in the polytunnel munching on the odd strawberry that ripens. Feels good.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Why do we buy certain things and how come we can do so and simply be unaware that we are adding to some consumer addiction.
Its still raining by the way so am focussed on the inside of the house for the moment. I am glad it is raining as the garden really needs it and can turn my hand to my summer and winter clothing. I felt an urge to go and get the colourful summer things out and take a stock of what is actually in my wardrobe. I have managed to fill a complete bin bag with clothing to go to the charity shop; items such as coats that moved with us here 3 years ago and have been hanging in a closet, as well as a suit my husband has not worn for 15 years. I could hang onto it if it was of a certain quality but even that is dubious.
What I gathered from the clearing up is that I have a fetish of black trousers. I have 10 in my collection. How many can I wear at a given time, 1 actually. So I have made a little note in my diary about things not to buy, such as black trousers, coats and black and blue skirts as again, I have a large collection of those in any possible black you can imagine. ( There is only 1 black colour actually). The styles are a little different but they are basically still the same item. When my friend emptied her wardrobe and I had a portion of it, yes you guessed it, I went for the black trousers bringing home another 3 pairs.
How many items does one need in a working wardrobe? Anyone any suggestions as if I could just create a capsule wardrobe that suited me and that was flexible, I might only need a few items each season if I wanted to have something in the fashion colour of the day. That in itself is debatable at the moment.
Do any of you have a list of clothes?

RAIN, RAIN WELCOME RAIN

Its been raining now for 3 days, which in a way is great as the plants really need it but it hampers any work outside in the garden.
Lettuce is still on the menu most days, and the chickens are enjoying eating fresh greens that are going over. I need to really manage the amount I grow as a pinch of lettuce seeds every 14 days should be enough to last a family on lettuce. Potatoes should be ready soon and that will be a welcome surprise.
The first strawberry in the tunnel was lovely, not enough there to make a dish with, but the occasional one on my granola makes a welcome change.
Monday's is my ' get the house straight' day and I have been up there polishing mirrors, cleaning out bins and recycling the rubbish. Any moment now, the sun will shine and I will be out there again.
I am enjoying the new way of life, a little slower, a smaller life and the stress is dropping away. I just did not realise how tense I was..........the here and now is on the menu and here and now is simply great.

UNIQUENESS

I have forgotten how to play. Not only cricket with my boys, or the game of 'monopoly' but to spend time doing what gives me a feeling of wellbeing and peace and joy. So yesterday, I got my big pot out, some yarn and dyed it. It started with white yarn, blue, yellow and red colouring and have ended up with something completely merged, different and unique. Maybe that's how life works out for each of us, take a life, add some colour and you get a unique person. All I had to do was to provide the right environment, softly tend to it and stand back in awe that what I thought would happen actually had not and what I was presented with was a unique colourway. I will never look at my children in the same way.

On a more serious note, I am preparing plants for the village plant sale this weekend, adding to community and hopefully will bring back some plants I do not have in the garden. I have 25 tomatoe plants left, some purple sprouted and red cabbage plants and just cannot bring myself to put them on the compost heap. I am sure it will help some of those ' busy' folk who buy plants. I had fun tending to them but 25 left over is just too much. I have made a note not to plant so many seedling out next year but then you never know do you? There is plenty to do in the garden at the moment but its looking good.

Today I am cultivating and nurturing relationships in my life, sharing soup with a friend so we can catch up with what is happening in our lives. Not far away as my fuel allowance is carefully running out and this trip will be combined with a plastic bottle recycling trip.

BLOSSOM FESTIVAL

Not sure whether its just me and the winter was really awful, but the festival of blossoms around us is breathtaking. ( probably also not that good for asthma sufferers), but wisteria is great, apple blossoms are plentiful and everything looks simply great. Rain in April. Flowers in May.

I love May, its really makes me feel that spring is here and so for the moment I am enjoying in wonder and awe, the beauty that surrounds me. Most of all, watching all these colours and feeling inspired is entirely free!

HAPPINESS AND PASSION

There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique.
And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable it is, nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware of urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open.

Martha Graham as told to Choreographer Agnes de Mille in Dance to the Piper.
Source : The Circle of Simplicity by Cecile Andrews

The above spoke to me when I was reading it and wondering what had happened to my joy and happiness and what I had done over the years to compensate. I had to go back in memory to when I was about 6 and completely care free and when my passion for nature and all things tactile was apparent. Gardening, cooking, music, singing, spinning, weaving, crochet, sewing etc all flourished as well as a great sense of compassion. I can pinpoint when it went by the way.......when school came to the forefront and expectations to do this and that. Suppressing all these ideas and energy eventually was not good for me. I have asked myself over the last year why I go shopping, watched TV and spent so much time on the internet. What I am in denial of? For me personally I was denying the things that made me happy, that made me feel connected and that used the unique talents I was given in this lifetime. I am still decluttering and spending time dealing with mistakes pre downshifting. We all have the opportunity to reassess, make different goals and strive towards an authentic expression of how we live.

My son spends much time on the internet talking to his friends .....and it takes some persuasion to get him out there on his bike, playing football and enjoying the sunshine when it is here. Yesterday he went out with a friend and they came back completely soaked to the skin after having fun 'river jumping'. I saw a glimpse of happiness and a carefree child, more worried about how I was going to react to wet trousers, soaked shoes and a child walking barefoot in the house making marks on the floor. How did we get to this?

Add to that the emotional expressions we are no longer encouraged to do, we are not encouraged to talk, to deal with conflicts by words and not deeds etc........can we change this.

My DS who is beginning to formulate an opinion on the world came out with the following comment :

I think Western Europe and the USA will be third world countries in the future, maybe having had everything they could from the earth but missing the point.

He was, I think, explaining that we are missing the point that people come first, then money and then things. Happiness ,is that in anyone's country quota?