Thank god for yesterdays downpour, I now have one water barrel one third full, it will not last long but at least if it rain today aswell the garden and pots will not need any water for a few days. I hate having to be dependant on the hose pipe not just for environmental reasons but I find it hard to keep track on the ammount of water I use when there is a constant supply.
I may not be posting for a while as tomorrow I’m having my wisdom teeth and another tooth, out and will be feeling sorry for myself. I ‘m not looking forward to it but also I’m hoping that it will also relieve alot of stress that my teeth cause. I clench my teeth at night a lot and the thought of tooth ache is always in the back of my mind, whenever I travel I need to remember painkillers and mouthwash.
I wonder, after it all heals, if I will feel different, as my teeth are often on my mind, I hope so. I’ll post a picture of my face, if I remember so you can see how great I look.
Thanks to everybody who regularly visits to read my blog. From the cluster map I can see that there are a lot of people from across the pond and many different parts of the world interested in our little life. Keep spreading the word and thanks for the support.
I’m off away this week to Bulgaria with the wife and a friend. It’s the first time I’ve flew for a few years and it may be the last. I used to love to fly but now it makes me nervious not to mention the carbon footprint I’ll leave behind. I’m thinking of making it my last trip by plane, I can save myself from worry and cut down my emissions. I also like the thought of travelling through Europe by train.
We are flying to the capital Sofia and then travelling by train through the mountains to Varna on the Black sea coast. Sadly on the way there we are going by sleeper train so the views will be wasted but we will make up for it on the way back. I’ll post some pictures on when I get back.
Needless to say I’ll not be posting for just over a week.
I’ve not posted for a while as the last few weeks we’ve had loads of visiters and I’ve been trying to get jobs done in the house tiling the floor painting etc. We have always had an open house and if we lived in a place that junkies and maniacs would not just walk in, the door would always be open.
I want to say a big thankyou to are friends Brick and Steph for our shopping bags, I’ve been using these cotton things that are a bit crap, but these are brilliant loads of room and biodegradabel maximum hippy points. They are from unicorn-grocery.co.uk>
I don’t want to go on about why plastic bags are evil and I’m not saying you should buy these but if you don’t I’m not talking to you.
I had to go to the shops today to buy clothes! My most feared of activities next to going to the dentist. Some people love to get new clothes I hate it. I can never find anything to fit my skinny arse and what does fit, I don’t like. I then get anoyed and buy something that I don’t like but have to wear.
As with most of my shopping trips, it was born out of necessity, as all of my jeans/trousers have huge holes in the knee, I say knee as it’s always my right knee. It starts as a little hole that I can live with but then as I put them on in the morning I end up putting my foot through the gap causing it to rip.
I still wear clothes with holes in, round the house and to the local shops but I feel that I should make an effort, occasionally, if only for the wife, I’m only inches away from being a hobo anyway, so needs must.
I have done well as I can honestly say that I did not buy one item of clothing last year. I was bought a jumper but that was second hand and cost £5. Todays shopping trip cost me £45 for a pair of jeans, a pair of combat trousers and a belt, from the king of cheap shops TK MAX.
Although like I said nothing ever fits so I end up with something I don’t like and today was no different. I took three pairs to the changing room, none of them fit me then I realised that I had stepped in dog shite somewhere, great. By this time I had been in there too long so grabbed two pairs of trousers a belt, paid and left.
On getting home I realised that the combat trousers have a flower on! However I’ve come to terms with it and feel that I am comfortable enough with my sexuality, to pass it off, that and the fact I don’t want to take the girly trousers back and say that “these womens trousers don’t fit me can I exchange them?”
I hate shopping.
=== This Month’s Features =======================
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1. Where have all the redwings gone?
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Did they ever arrive? Redwings and fieldfares, the thrushes that
spend the winter with us, are very scarce this year. These
migrating birds just don’t seem to have arrived. Perhaps the
weather has been so warm on the continent that it is not worth
making the hazardous sea crossing.
January 2007 was particularly mild - we are seeing the impact of
climate change. To us, it may seem great that we’ve only had a
handful of days when frost has needed to be scraped off car
windscreens or we’ve had to walk with caution for fear of
slipping on ice but unseasonal weather upsets the natural balance
and the synchronized timing of natural events.
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2. A tale of warm weather woes
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Mild winter weather is causing disruption in the natural world
that could have far reaching implications: mosquitoes are still
active and biting; a bumblebee was spotted at Whisby Nature Park
in January; ladybirds, honey bees and wasps have all remained
active over the winter; a garden warbler has been seen at
Gibraltar Point, presumably one that never left rather than an
early arrival from Africa; spring flowers including lesser
celandine, marsh marigold and wild plum have been reported in
flower; frogs and newts were seen in ponds early in January; and
counts at bat hibernation sites are lower than usual, it appears
that many bats haven’t gone to their traditional hibernation
sites and those that have are more awake and active than expected
for the time of year.
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3. Coppicing Goslings
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In the heart of the Lincolnshire limewoods complex, Goslings
Corner Wood is an ancient woodland with a rich flora. The woods
of this area are characterised by coppicing, a traditional
management method which allows sunlight to flood the floor of the
woodland, creating perfect conditions for flowers such as
bluebells and wood anemones.
Following probable clear felling during the Second World War, the
trees at Goslings had become rather thin and dense. As part of a
new 40-year coppice rotation, the first new coppice coup has been
coppiced. A 1-acre coup will be coppiced every other year,
leaving around eleven major trees in each area. Nothing goes to
waste; the cut timber will be used to make Trust charcoal.
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4. Meeting to manage verges
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A band of limestone stretches from Rutland up through
Lincolnshire to Lincoln. The shallow soils over this limestone
give rise to flower-rich grasslands however, due to changing
agriculture and development, only an estimated 100 hectares of
flower-rich grassland remains; confined to small fragmented sites
including roadside verges.
In January, representatives from local authorities, Wildlife
Trusts, Natural England and others met at Rutland Water to
examine how best to manage the flower-rich limestone road verges
of Rutland and south-west Lincolnshire for the benefit of
wildlife and people. Some of the best verges in Lincolnshire are
protected in a scheme that was pioneered by the Lincolnshire
Wildlife Trust and Lincolnshire County Council in the 1960s.
These Protected Roadside Verges each have their own designated
Wayside Warden and are managed to agreed plans.
Find out more about Protected Roadside Verges:
www.lincstrust.org.uk/reserves/nr/prv.php
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5. Lincoln Western Growth Corridor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A planning application has been submitted to City of Lincoln
Council and North Kesteven District Council to build 4,500 new
houses on the Swanpool site to the western side of Lincoln, the
development is known as the Western Growth Corridor. The Trust
has had discussions with the project ecologists to try to ensure
that the benefits for wildlife on the site are maximised. At
present, the Trust is expecting to object to the development on
the grounds that the biodiversity potential of the site will not
be maximised by the current proposals.
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6. Lincoln’s Super Park
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As reported in the Lincolnshire Echo, an element of the plans for
the Western Growth Corridor is to create a super country park
linking Whisby Nature Park to the West Common. The Trust
supports the principle of this park which will enable people in
Lincoln to have easy access into the countryside. As major land
managers in the county, the Trust looks forward to being actively
involved in its development and ensuring that the biodiversity
benefit is maximised in both the design of the park and its
future management.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7. Will new stamps turn the tide for UK marine life?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The latest Special Stamp issue from the Royal Mail features ten
1st Class stamps with beautiful photographs of British marine
life including moon jellyfish, lesser octopus and beadlet
anemone. This celebration of sea life is a timely reminder for
the Government to fulfil its commitment to protect the UK’s seas
via a Marine Bill. Although the beautiful species featured on
the new stamps are currently widespread and relatively common,
any one of them could become ‘the next house sparrow’ (a
once-common species that has suffered a massive decline and is
now on the conservation ‘red-list’), if we continue to neglect
the marine environment.
Find out more about our campaign for a Marine Bill:
www.lincstrust.org.uk/news/campaigns/marine/index.php
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8. Love is in the Air
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All you romantics out there will know, of course, that it is
almost Valentine’s Day. If you are looking for a present for
your loved one, something a little different than the traditional
roses (think of the air miles to get them here) and chocolates
(think of the waistline), why not buy a bird box?
Early February is the time when our garden birds start thinking
of romance, looking for a mate and for a place to set up home
together. So it is the ideal time to put up a bird nest box.
Put one up on Valentine’s Day and you and your loved one will
have hours of pleasure watching a family of birds in your garden.
See www.lincstrust.org.uk/factsheets/nestbox.php for instructions
on how to make a bird box.
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9. Searching for Winter Scenes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you’ve been out with your camera over the few snowy and frosty
days that we have had you may have the image we are looking for.
It may seem like Christmas is only just over but we are searching
for photographs and paintings for next year’s Trust Christmas
cards.
If you think you have a suitable image please contact our Sales
Officer, Helen Baker on 01507 528383. Images can be emailed to
info@lincstrust.co.uk but attachments must not be more than 2Mb.
This is another of my wifes photos, taken at the livery stables where we keep Sally.
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.
Why buy wrapping paper when you get the kids to make it for free. This roll of backing paper cost £1 from wilkinsons.
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