resolutions for 2007

I never really make resolutions but I like to think about what phsyical things I want to achieve for the new year, so here goes

Finish work in house tile floor skirting etc

Finish the shed/workshop which will be used to store tools bikes and homebrew, it’s an ideal place as it faces north and is always in the shade. It is also a better place for a water butt as our garden is on a slope so having the butt at the top will mean I will be able to connect a hose pipe.

Build a rain water catchment system, collecting water from the roof into a storage tank to be used to flush the downstairs toilet and possibly the washing machine, if I can find a cheap filter. This would be our biggest step towards self-sufficiency.

Reapply to the council to try and purchase the garden behind mine.

Build a wall at the front of the house, as it was taken down when we had the extention build to allow skips and bricks etc to be delivered. At the moment it is just layed to gravel and a waste of space, I want it to be another part of our permaculture garden, growing veg and bigger herbs like bay. I want people to see from the street that a front garden can be just as productive as a back garden.

I think thats enough for now, there are many things that I want to do but actions are better than words so I’ll keep it simple for now and get these out of the way first, partly because they were the things that I said I would get done this year. This is the reason I don’t make resolutions as when I don’t stick to them I have guilt as well as the fact that I have failed. Not getting something finished can be bad enough without feeling guilty about it.

Anyway happy new year, and if you do make resolutions don’t feel bad when you don’t stick to them, you can always make them again next year.

sunset

There was much excitement yesterday somebody in the house shouted ”look at the sun”, so we all ran upstairs to see it big and bright but behind enough cloud to be able to focus on it. Who said you need to live in the country to have beautiful views.

potatoes to the door

A little old man in a boiler suit and flat cap, just knocked on the door asking if I wanted a sack of potatoes, for £5 I said yes please. The strange thing was I did not see him knock on any other doors just mine, our house must just look the type. Perhaps word is spreading of our ethical principals and farmers are bringing their produce straight to me. Regretfully he was not interested in bartering potatoes for cider, and no he didn’t taste it first, I think with it being the festive season he was just interested in cold hard cash, but I’ll keep trying.

Barter economy

My friends father shoots rabbits locally and will often bring me round a fresh one from time to time. There will be a knock at the door and a guy with a smile on his face holding up a plastic bag, it always makes me laugh, there needs to be no words. However due to the recent cider being bottled I was able to offer payment, one bottle one rabbit. He normally gives it to me for nothing but I wanted to offer something this time.

I just hope that it will work when the game keeper my wife knows brings us some pheasants, I think it will be harder to convince him.

Christmas eve

The house was full, family, friends, was I toasting the festive season no I was upstairs washing bottles in the bath and bottling up the cider, now thats commitment. Merry Christmas to you all.

I ended up with 30 bottles but I’m sure I should have had more, thats why you should never leave a barrel unattended when drunk friends are round.

slowly changing

Buying organic or local produce has become second nature to me now, but it seems that the rest of the region is following suit. It may be a slow change but at least habbits are changing for the better. In our local paper it reports that our local farm shop owner
Mrs Jackson said:

“I have noticed an increase in the number of people we have had coming out here to visit the farm, especially since we were featured on UK Food.

“Across the region there has been a big increase in the number of people interested in organic local food and in cooking an organic Christmas dinner.

“Eating organic is the only way to be sure your food is free of chemicals and additives and if you buy locally as well you are sure the ingredients are the freshest possible.”

What is encouraging is that people are starting to make an impact on the organic market but is it because people are thinking about where their food comes from, or is it just the fact that the media monster has said so. Peoples habbits are changing but are we really making a conscious effort to be an ethical shopper ? or just following another trend ?

Most of this change in attitude must be put down to the media in the last year there has been much more coverage of green issues, every day now there seems to be be a radio programme or newspaper article, telling us what we should be doing, it’s unfortunate that eating ethically has to become fashionable before it can be accepted by the masses?

our horse sally

This is our horse Sally, we have had her for three years now and although she is not around the house she is deffinatly part of the family. She’s a clydesdale 15.3 mare, with a big nose. She is mainly my wifes responsability as I don’t ride but I am told that I would be more interested if she were pulling a plough.

For the past few years our daughter has been learning to ride and I am so proud at the way she has developed her confidence and ability as a rider. Also from my point of view, it’s a great way to get some experience of animal husbandry, when living in an urban environment, also I am never short of manure for the garden and who knows when peak oil hits we know how we will be getting around.

cold but beautiful

These photos were taken today at Normanby Hall country park.

voluntary hard-work

Voluntary simplicity, downshifting, low impact what ever you want to call it, sometimes feels like alot more hard-work than the name implies. Much of the way in which I choose to live requires me to break with the norm, to leave behind accepted behaviour. I often feel resentful at having to explain my reasons for not wanting to do something or why I choose to do without. Even psyically the attempt to be an ethical shopper requires me to travel further, rather than aquiring everything from one place. Sometimes I have to keep reminding myself that it’s worth it, there is no prize for being an ethical shopper or reducing your eco footprint.

However there is also part of me who enjoys the challenge, finding the lowest price the most local produce. Our lives in the western world are no longer a struggle, but why should food etc be so easily obtained. So often you here” I would buy organic but it’s too expensive” or ”they don’t sell it here”, my argument is, that it’s not an organic chicken thats expensive, it’s the factory reared chicken thats too cheep (sorry bad joke). I get such a good feeling walking with my son, visiting the differnt shops talking to people who actually know where there produce comes from. Perhaps people would have a greater respect for there food and their environment if they were forced to be more envolved in it.

creating green corridors

It’s not just the people in the community we should be thinking about, wildlife in the garden is essential to Permaculture and organic growing. Not just giving things like hedgehogs the ability to move from garden to garden but if you are trying to garden organic but your nextdoor neighbour sprays chemicals all over, you have a problem.

Town planners should make biodiversity a core consideration
within urban and suburban regeneration plans and purposefully
create ‘green networks’, reveals the Wild About Gardens Discovery
Survey, carried out by The Wildlife Trusts (TWT) and the Royal
Horticultural Society (RHS) in partnership with Ribena.

According to the findings, garden owners are responding to
wildlife gardening advice and taking action but there is still
considerable room for improvement, even among the most
wildlife-friendly gardeners. The survey’s findings that
mini-habitats are spread between different gardens emphasises the
importance of making it easier for wildlife to move within a
connected network of ‘green corridors’ by using trees, ponds and
hedgerows, and providing a greater variety of food sources from
nectar, berry and seed-producing plants.

Simon Thornton-Wood, Director of Science and Learning for the
RHS, explains: “Developers should be careful not to create ‘token
gesture’ green spaces in anticipation they might provide real
benefit for wildlife. From our preliminary findings we looked at
the gardens that recorded sightings of all five of our key
species and found that they nearly all had tall trees, but only a
third shared other important features such as ponds, woodpiles
and long grass. Not everyone, especially those with small
gardens, has the room for the ultimate checklist of features
which means that neighbours need to pull together to help improve
wildlife communities as well as social ones. Individuals who
have created a wildlife oasis in a conservation desert provide a
welcome refuge but its value multiplies when connected to
neighbouring habitats, as last month’s Stern Report touched upon
by calling for greater linkage of ‘green’ habitats to better
accommodate species movement.”

Over 1,500 garden owners responded to the survey between 2 and 17
September to help investigate links between garden habitats,
gardening practices and key garden species. Participants were
asked to complete an inventory of types of plants and features in
their garden including the garden’s location, their gardening
practices, and whether the following species visited their garden
within the two-week survey period: Hedgehog, Goldfinch, Common
Frog, Toad, Bumblebee, and specifically the Brown Bumblebee. The
data is being analysed in depth with more comprehensive findings
to be released next year.

Stephanie Hilborne, Chief Executive of The Wildlife Trusts,
added: “The survey showed whilst wildlife gardeners are busy
supporting the ‘attractive’ species such as birds, hedgehogs and
frogs, they’re not so aware of the need to encourage
invertebrates, with the possible exception of butterflies,
through planting buddleia and sedum. The importance of varying
ground cover and shrubs should not be underestimated in
supporting the less popular ‘creepy crawlies’ which play a vital
role in the food chain and in making gardens effective as
self-sustaining wildlife habitats. These are the sort of
perceptions the RHS and The Wildlife Trusts hope to change
through Wild About Gardens or through www.wildaboutgardens.org.”

Other preliminary findings from the survey include:

* Gardens with seed or nut-producing plants were over three
times more likely to attract goldfinches than those with none
(72% compared to 22%).

* Nearly twice as many participants who owned a garden pond
spotted frogs during the survey period than those without.

* Gardens with a larger area of long grass (over four square
metres) were more likely to attract brown bumblebees.

* London gardens recorded the lowest average number of sightings
of hedgehogs and frogs compared to the rest of the UK.

* Toads were found to be in gardens frequented by frogs but
seldom in gardens without frogs (toads were spotted by 25% of
garden owners, frogs by 58%).

(All five key species were chosen due to their decline or
fluctuation in number over the past few years.)

According to the survey, compared to other UK regions, gardens in
the East Midlands were the most wildlife-rich. Gardeners in the
East Midlands scored higher than the UK average for all the six
species bar the brown bumblebee, and sightings of hedgehogs and
goldfinches were highest in the East Midlands. Rachel Shaw,
Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust PR Officer, commented: “Over recent
years gardens in both built-up areas and within areas of
intensive farmland have become increasingly important for
wildlife in Lincolnshire. The survey results are very
encouraging but there is still room for improvement. Gardening
practices which are detrimental to biodiversity, such as the use
of fertilisers and pesticides, and a preference for an
‘over-tidy’ garden, are still all too common. We would also
encourage developers to incorporate wildlife areas and gardens
into new designs.” The recently revised Lincolnshire
Biodiversity Action Plan includes a plan for Gardens and
Allotments which outlines the actions developers and planners can
take to ensure space is provided for wildlife.

For more information and hints and tips on creating a
wildlife-friendly garden, visit www.wildaboutgardens.org