I.... am a dabler
without the drive to dibble
In the field my seeds lay barren
on the page my words are drivel!
Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts
Monday, January 04, 2016
Dibbling dabbler
The dilettante...
I.... am a dabler
without the drive to dibble
In the field my seeds lay barren
on the page my words are drivel!
I.... am a dabler
without the drive to dibble
In the field my seeds lay barren
on the page my words are drivel!
Sunday, February 01, 2015
Cassava harvest
Last year I brought home a few sticks from a friends cassava plant and stuck them in the ground.
They have provided our back yard with a very lush screening of foliage but the plants became too big and with heavy monsoonal rains the wet leaves were dragging the plants down on top of the clothesline and other plants. So I decided it was time to harvest.
I went through the garden ripping cutting the tops off the plants and putting them aside for replanting and then proceeded to pull the tubers out from the remaining trunk of the bushes. I couldn't believe the size and number of tubers I collected from just a small corner of the garden.
Cassava can be toxic if not prepared properly and I've not been in much mood for learning anything new or actually doing anything productive at all for that matter, so I gave the whole lot to Yolngu friends at work. My friends and colleagues from North East Arnhemland love cassava, it's been a staple in Arnhem Land ever since the Fijian missionaries arrived in the early 1900's. You can buy it at the Alpa stores across Arnhem Land but I haven't actually seen it for sale here in town so it was a welcome addition to their dinner pot.
All up I reckon I harvested about 20 kilos of cassava tubers and I didn't bother digging around to find any that broke off in the ground. Some of them were like elephant trunks!
They have provided our back yard with a very lush screening of foliage but the plants became too big and with heavy monsoonal rains the wet leaves were dragging the plants down on top of the clothesline and other plants. So I decided it was time to harvest.
 |
| cleared space for new planting |
I went through the garden ripping cutting the tops off the plants and putting them aside for replanting and then proceeded to pull the tubers out from the remaining trunk of the bushes. I couldn't believe the size and number of tubers I collected from just a small corner of the garden.
 |
| Some of the harvest. There were many more just like these |
 |
| New crop of cassava sprouting amongst the pigeon pea |
All up I reckon I harvested about 20 kilos of cassava tubers and I didn't bother digging around to find any that broke off in the ground. Some of them were like elephant trunks!
Thursday, January 31, 2013
End of January
It's nearly the end of January... nothing much to talk or post about really but I just wanted to stick something in here so the blog doesn't go completely stagnant.
I've been off work for most of the School holidays in an attempt to keep the kids entertained and the wife a little saner than she otherwise would be at this time of year. I'm not sure having me pinned down at home has been the relief she'd hoped it would be! Sorry about that darling... I'm hopeless at being housebound!
READS:
Pedaling Revolution by Jeff Mapes. Read it! A great bicycle advocacy book which, although a few years old and written from an American perspective, was quite relevant to Australian conditions. There were heaps of references to blogs I read regularly and to incidents I'd read about at the time they happened. Although a book that focuses on policy, infrastructure and town planning might be boring I found it interesting enough to knock it over in about 3 days!
The Last Navigator by Steve Thomas. Am 3/4 through this. The author of this book had a very unique opportunity to meet and be taught by true navigators from another age! Sadly the art of navigation and the traditional culture of the Caroline Islands have probably given way under the weight of western culture, technology and all that. Some of the magic of the ancient guild of navigators from that region is alluded to through the book along with many reflections on the terrible fate their culture faces as young people loose their respect for the ancient knowledge having been exposed to all the stuff that is offered by a contemporary consumer society... or something like that. Many of the reviews I read about this book appeared to have been written by people from an anthropological background rather than sailing buffs. There is so much that I am finding familiar with what I am seeing happening to Yolngu culture. It's quite frightening to see how generic the destruction of traditional cultures can be.
The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien: I started reading this with my eldest child this week. As a pretty crappy reader I this is the first book I've ever attempted to read a second time.. (Excluding Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which I chose to read twice at school!) We're reading a chapter a night and are really getting into it! We've just met Gollum in the cave, I love those riddles and the way he talks to himself.
RIDES:
I have really missed my daily 20km commute to work and back! Seriously! I loose my mind when I can't ride my bike once a day! The time I spend riding to and from work each day is my great escape! This is my mellow time, my undisturbed meditation space and my only exercise. Since I've only been working two days a week over the past month I have noticed I am more easily agitated, I'm also noticing that the gut I grew over Christmas has settled in with me getting no exercise!
I was able to ride to work on Tuesday, (The day that the monsoonal trough arrived in Darwin). There was so much rain on Tuesday, we had flood warnings. There was no way I was going to let that stop me from riding. I happily cycled home in the rain. I was in a state of bliss! Riding in tropical rain is quite a pleasure actually. I even had music! I discovered an old bum bag with a headphone socket that I'd squirreled away ages ago. It worked beautifully with the mp3 player safely inside and the headphone jack plugged into a waterproof socket. Cool! As I rolled over the bridge at Rapid Creek a whole bunch of micro bats came swarming out of the tunnel under the road, some of them flew straight into me... or I rode into them, not sure who had right of way when it comes to bats in the rain. It was quite a funny thing to happen. One of them hit pretty hard but I noticed he straightened up and kept flying so I assume he/she's OK.
There have been other short rides closer to home with the family. Most afternoon's the kids and I take the cart out and accompany Sam while she walks the dog.
My only longish ride over the past two months has been the ride out to Howard Springs.
OTHER ACTIVITIES:
Ummm Mulch Pit for gardening, (only occasionally), Litchfield Park, Wildlife Park and today Fog Dam.
I've been off work for most of the School holidays in an attempt to keep the kids entertained and the wife a little saner than she otherwise would be at this time of year. I'm not sure having me pinned down at home has been the relief she'd hoped it would be! Sorry about that darling... I'm hopeless at being housebound!
READS:
Pedaling Revolution by Jeff Mapes. Read it! A great bicycle advocacy book which, although a few years old and written from an American perspective, was quite relevant to Australian conditions. There were heaps of references to blogs I read regularly and to incidents I'd read about at the time they happened. Although a book that focuses on policy, infrastructure and town planning might be boring I found it interesting enough to knock it over in about 3 days!
The Last Navigator by Steve Thomas. Am 3/4 through this. The author of this book had a very unique opportunity to meet and be taught by true navigators from another age! Sadly the art of navigation and the traditional culture of the Caroline Islands have probably given way under the weight of western culture, technology and all that. Some of the magic of the ancient guild of navigators from that region is alluded to through the book along with many reflections on the terrible fate their culture faces as young people loose their respect for the ancient knowledge having been exposed to all the stuff that is offered by a contemporary consumer society... or something like that. Many of the reviews I read about this book appeared to have been written by people from an anthropological background rather than sailing buffs. There is so much that I am finding familiar with what I am seeing happening to Yolngu culture. It's quite frightening to see how generic the destruction of traditional cultures can be.
The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien: I started reading this with my eldest child this week. As a pretty crappy reader I this is the first book I've ever attempted to read a second time.. (Excluding Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which I chose to read twice at school!) We're reading a chapter a night and are really getting into it! We've just met Gollum in the cave, I love those riddles and the way he talks to himself.
RIDES:
I have really missed my daily 20km commute to work and back! Seriously! I loose my mind when I can't ride my bike once a day! The time I spend riding to and from work each day is my great escape! This is my mellow time, my undisturbed meditation space and my only exercise. Since I've only been working two days a week over the past month I have noticed I am more easily agitated, I'm also noticing that the gut I grew over Christmas has settled in with me getting no exercise!
I was able to ride to work on Tuesday, (The day that the monsoonal trough arrived in Darwin). There was so much rain on Tuesday, we had flood warnings. There was no way I was going to let that stop me from riding. I happily cycled home in the rain. I was in a state of bliss! Riding in tropical rain is quite a pleasure actually. I even had music! I discovered an old bum bag with a headphone socket that I'd squirreled away ages ago. It worked beautifully with the mp3 player safely inside and the headphone jack plugged into a waterproof socket. Cool! As I rolled over the bridge at Rapid Creek a whole bunch of micro bats came swarming out of the tunnel under the road, some of them flew straight into me... or I rode into them, not sure who had right of way when it comes to bats in the rain. It was quite a funny thing to happen. One of them hit pretty hard but I noticed he straightened up and kept flying so I assume he/she's OK.
There have been other short rides closer to home with the family. Most afternoon's the kids and I take the cart out and accompany Sam while she walks the dog.
My only longish ride over the past two months has been the ride out to Howard Springs.
OTHER ACTIVITIES:
Ummm Mulch Pit for gardening, (only occasionally), Litchfield Park, Wildlife Park and today Fog Dam.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Garden State.... a shiny happy post
Last week I defied my ethical position on air travel and somewhat bleak economic position. I boarded a plane and deserted my crumbling husk of a failed and miserable excuse for a life, I defected to Melbourne for a few days to visit family and spend some time with my Dad on his 70th birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD and MUM! (I missed my mum's birthday so I felt much better having seen them both.
I had intended to take a bike on the plane but didn't want to spend a cent on luggage so settled for a car ride from the airport. It was 3 decrees C when I landed. Chilly but lovely! Back in Melbourne again! The traffic the people the dry barren fields water restrictions etc... I have to admit I haven't kept track of the weather down there. Apparently they've had heaps of rain. The fields were all green and lush! Actually greener than anything I can remember!
When we got home to my parents house, I was blown away by all the flowers! The whole yard was in bloom it was beautiful! The old granny flat my brother had lived in was gone there is now a great big space in the yard for growing food. My brother has finally moved out into supported accommodation (and
loving it!) One of his house mates, David, loves those old beach huts you see down at Brighton. He creates art out of every kind of material you can imaging, I thought his work was excellent so I was wrapped when he sent this wonderful piece home for me.
 |
| Art by David W. All rights reserved! |
I wondered down and kicked the dirt around the back yard. It was thick and dark! Unbelievable! Stuff just grows in it! Anything you can think of! Oh I miss soil so much! Deep rich black soil! You can push a shovel into it and it will just sink down deep into the wholesome earth! When they first moved in it was mostly clay but they built it up. Of course we can build our soil up here in Darwin too but it'll be bloody gone by the end of the wet season!
Back when I was a kid we grew everything. Corn, tomatoes, mint. If we didn't pick the zukini quick enough it would grow to massive proportions! Tamarillos (nobody even knew what they were back then!), Feijoas (what the hell are they? Right?) Pumpkins, peas and beans! Oh yeh and the sacred lemon tree! The obligatory piss stop for little boys. I remember the neighbors had one and they used to piss on theirs too... there were four males in that family... they had plenty of good lemons! The old veggie garden gradually disappeared as the years went by. Mum and Dad always had something edible growing in the yard but it became only a token. Although the lemons trees seemed to produce a prolific amount of fruit.
I am so glad the yard is now changing back into a productive food garden! Check it out!
They've put in these wicking garden beds and are already growing some rhubarb. I wish I could have stayed longer to help them set it all up. I dug a couple of holes and we planted an Apricot and a Granny Smith apple both just reviving out of their winter torpor.
It was great to get back down there again.I didn't do too much riding but did make a couple of trips along the plenty river. As I rode to Greensborough via Partingtons Flats I tool the long way past the old Diamond Valley swimming pool. (A deep pool at a bend in the river Not many people have any idea it even existed) There was a Chineese guy down there fishing. He'd actually caught one! I thought the river was dead but apparently they're discovering platypus along the Yarra and its tributaries. That is such great news. Life persists despite the odds!
Peace!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Rest - a Parasympathetic imperative!
Last night I actually got to bed before midnight!
Burning the candle at both ends has worm me down... way, way down! I have ignored all the signs and laughed at suggestions that I get some rest. I don't operate heavy machinery, I sit in an office for most of the day, who should care if I stay up every now and then? Surely I'm entitled to a little bit of me time!
Well every now and then has once again become every night! After a day sitting, mostly at the computer I come home, get straight into taking care of kids and family and once they are all settled and sleeping, the adolescent in me says great! Now it's my time! And so I switch on the computer and catch up on all the stuff I'd really like to be doing if I had more time! I convince myself that there's no harm in it but I recently read an article in Kindred magazine titled A Place to Rest that made reference to the Parasympathetic Nervous System.
My lifestyle would appear pretty easy to most people but the reality is that I am suffering from stress! TRUE!
Having virtually collapsed from unhealthy exhaustion last night the article reminded me of all the aspects of life I've been pushing to the side for too long. Physical exertion, meditation and most importantly some healthy Rest! I have refused to rest! I know I need it but I've fueled myself on caffeine and insisted on getting my fair share of time to do what I like! The problem is that the most available time, when I don't have other commitments is late at night when everyone is asleep... and when I should be too! I have no energy to actually do anything so I jump on the computer! I can defrag the computer but my mind remains over wound.
I have never coped well with sitting around at other people's leisure! Not that I have miles of strength or energy but I am one of those people who is much better off put to productive use! The sedentary life is like a slow death! I enjoy the comfort of working in an office and I love my family but I respond to captivity like an animal caged. I have developed a neurosis! Reading this article which mentions the Parasympathetic Nervous System reminded me of the harm I know my lifestyle is doing to me... It's gotta change!
Well actually it is changing, little by little. Just for today I have managed to counter this problem! (I say as I type about it so close to midnight!) Today I spent the whole day outside with my boy! It was hot and we sweated... Spending the morning laboring down at our community garden in Nightcliff was a great way to exercise the demons of idleness! Then off to the pool for a swimming lesson, followed by a fairly long cruise along the foreshore on our bike, visiting a friend and eventually returning home at about 4pm exhausted (and sunburned...). Physically exhausted and completely happy. Ready to rest! As my boy gets older I am gradually finding ways to get us both out there. I think he's a lot like me and enjoys the stimulus of being amongst the plants, working in the soil, meeting the Frilled Necked Lizards, the people and the weather!
This morning it rained on us while we rode down McMillans Rd. We sang and laughed as we cycled through the tropical shower. When we arrived at the garden it was hot but we were happy to see the chooks and eat snake beans off the vine! We inspected the Banana Circle that we'd help to make the week before and found the compost rich and steaming, full of life! The boy happily wandered off to find lizards and collect cicada shells while I cut bamboo and chatted with my gardening friends... As far as I can tell this is about the best way to prevent:
- Heart disease
- Sleep problems
- Digestive problems
- Muscle tension, pain, and headaches
- Depression
- Obesity
- Memory impairment
- Worsening of skin conditions, such as eczema
- Anxiety
- Restlessness
- Inattention, lack of focus
- Irritability and aggression
- Sadness, depression, and lack of motivation
- Over-eating or under-eating
- Smoking, drug, and alcohol abuse
It's been really difficult to get any time to Rest at home since we had the kids, (Several years) Today was one of the few days in all of that time when I could actually lay down on the bed for half an hour, during the day without having to break up a fight, change a nappy, prepare someones food, or attend to any number of other domestic responsibilities or demands. I actually managed to get half an hour of real Rest! BLISS!
Now that the boy is getting older we may be stepping into a new phase of family life. My mission will be to wear him and myself out physically whenever the opportunity avails. This will be our path to peace!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Blowouts and blisters
If I could go back in time and give myself some advise before embarking on the journey of life I might say to myself... 'Now kid you're in for quite an ride, some of it will blow your socks off! Some will be a bit scary. Sometimes you're going to wonder if any of it was worth it and some days you'll think you've discovered Paradise and you just won't want to leave but remember! Things never stay the same and 'There will be blowouts!'
(Don't get excited I have no intention of continuing with any profound revelations in the rest of this blog post, from here on it's just an ordinary day in the life story about getting a blister and bursting a tire.)
Today the kids and I had a great time hanging out on the church lawn and scratching around in the Mulch Pit. There was a mob of people around as usual, everyone on their own trip, talking drinking coffee meeting friends 'networking' (OK that word shits me just as much as seeing it in practice but if the word fits...). Yes It sometimes gets a bit pretentious on our turf, sometimes it seems that "connectedness" has displaced friendliness but on the whole it's still an OK place to hang out on a Saturday Morning. Today the boy and I decided to venture back into the Mulch Pit, It's been a while since I'd attempted to do any physical work in the garden, the kids had been a bit of a handful over the past year so I'd given up trying to do anything beyond keeping a close eye on them. But Today was different! Today We Gardened!
I got stuck into it for a while with a crowbar, mattock and shovel, (digging a banana pit) only to find that after years of working in an office with very little sweat time... my hands had gone all soft like agirl baby! The callouses I had developed years ago when I did stuff, had dropped off and my hands which are now pink and soft, were vulnerable to blisters! So after only a few minutes of digging, I felt the skin on my finger rip as the crowbar tore open a blister that it had only just created! The sweat of my over fed, doughnut blubber, office-bound body dripped into the wound and I said "eowww!" I cried 'I've got Blisters on my Fingers!' but nobody sang along! (Some folks have no sense of humor... Or maybe they were never into John Lennon!) I am discovering just how frail my body has become. It all started when I learned how to use a computer! My body has atrophied to a shadow of it's useful self and I've become a helpless blob of cyber-space-cadet whose body has been drifting in zero gravity for over 10 years. This was bound to happen! I resolved to continue digging, but more carefully. I managed to get a few other things done and ultimately I felt good. It was a weak first start but at least there was sweat!
During the process of me recommencing manual work a fella turned up carrying a banjo, I think it was his girlfriend who had the harmonica, they were into gardens but not used to the heat and didn't want to sweat. I suggested they might like to sit in the shade and play some music for me while I do hard stuff and... they did! What a way to work; with the sound of banjo and harmonica to spur me on! I had this eerie feeling I was in a Coen Brother's movie. Now referring back to my first paragraph, this is what I call something close to paradise, blisters and all, the day was GOOD!
We stayed in the garden until the mobs had left Frilly's. Just as I was about to mount my bike there was a very loud CRACK sound a bit like a rifle going off. A jet of dust shot out from under the front wheel of my bike. It was a blowout! The front tire of my bike had a great split through the center of it! I couldn't believe it! It just went off! Lucky I wasn't riding down hill at the time it would probably have sent me off into the gutter or worse. I looked at the tire. It was yet another salvaged from the tip. I'd traded up a few times having found better profile tires, this was one I was quite fond of and not ready to part with. Unfortunately, even though there was still a bit of tread on it, the tire had actually perished a fair bit and needed to be replaced! I just wasn't ready to do it yet. That'll Learn me! The blowout only set me back a few minutes, I happened to have another wheel waiting in the wings, it had been donated a couple of weeks previously, I just pumped up the tire and threw her on and Bob's your uncle. I was mobile again!
Got home, went to the shed, reached in and pulled out a treat that spun my head! Magnificent tire full with tread, left under a tree just by an anonymous friend!
It was given only a couple of weeks ago! A Schwalbe Marathon in closer to new condition than any of the tires I've ever had! I fitted the new tire and tube, filled the thing with air, stuck it where the front wheel is supposed to go, re-connected the brakes and took it for a quick spin. Unbelievable! I actually couldn't believe the difference in the ride! With a lot more pressure and slicker tread pattern, this tire made my bike feel totally different! Better! Much better! The problem now is I look at my bike and think. "You're not worthy!". A feeling of guilt or shame or something came over me. How could I put that beautiful tire on such a crappy, nasty old rattle heap of a bike! The darn tire's got me wanting a whole new bike to put it on! Or maybe I'll just have to get busy learning how to rebuild this bike properly! I can't wait to take the bike out for a reasonable ride to see just how great tire is, who knows I may even put the rear one on before the old one has a blowout!
Thanks Douglas! You're a champion!
(Don't get excited I have no intention of continuing with any profound revelations in the rest of this blog post, from here on it's just an ordinary day in the life story about getting a blister and bursting a tire.)
Today the kids and I had a great time hanging out on the church lawn and scratching around in the Mulch Pit. There was a mob of people around as usual, everyone on their own trip, talking drinking coffee meeting friends 'networking' (OK that word shits me just as much as seeing it in practice but if the word fits...). Yes It sometimes gets a bit pretentious on our turf, sometimes it seems that "connectedness" has displaced friendliness but on the whole it's still an OK place to hang out on a Saturday Morning. Today the boy and I decided to venture back into the Mulch Pit, It's been a while since I'd attempted to do any physical work in the garden, the kids had been a bit of a handful over the past year so I'd given up trying to do anything beyond keeping a close eye on them. But Today was different! Today We Gardened!
I got stuck into it for a while with a crowbar, mattock and shovel, (digging a banana pit) only to find that after years of working in an office with very little sweat time... my hands had gone all soft like a
During the process of me recommencing manual work a fella turned up carrying a banjo, I think it was his girlfriend who had the harmonica, they were into gardens but not used to the heat and didn't want to sweat. I suggested they might like to sit in the shade and play some music for me while I do hard stuff and... they did! What a way to work; with the sound of banjo and harmonica to spur me on! I had this eerie feeling I was in a Coen Brother's movie. Now referring back to my first paragraph, this is what I call something close to paradise, blisters and all, the day was GOOD!
We stayed in the garden until the mobs had left Frilly's. Just as I was about to mount my bike there was a very loud CRACK sound a bit like a rifle going off. A jet of dust shot out from under the front wheel of my bike. It was a blowout! The front tire of my bike had a great split through the center of it! I couldn't believe it! It just went off! Lucky I wasn't riding down hill at the time it would probably have sent me off into the gutter or worse. I looked at the tire. It was yet another salvaged from the tip. I'd traded up a few times having found better profile tires, this was one I was quite fond of and not ready to part with. Unfortunately, even though there was still a bit of tread on it, the tire had actually perished a fair bit and needed to be replaced! I just wasn't ready to do it yet. That'll Learn me! The blowout only set me back a few minutes, I happened to have another wheel waiting in the wings, it had been donated a couple of weeks previously, I just pumped up the tire and threw her on and Bob's your uncle. I was mobile again!
(There's a hole in the tire!)
(Blowout!)
(Best tire I've ever used and it was a gift left under a tree!)
It was given only a couple of weeks ago! A Schwalbe Marathon in closer to new condition than any of the tires I've ever had! I fitted the new tire and tube, filled the thing with air, stuck it where the front wheel is supposed to go, re-connected the brakes and took it for a quick spin. Unbelievable! I actually couldn't believe the difference in the ride! With a lot more pressure and slicker tread pattern, this tire made my bike feel totally different! Better! Much better! The problem now is I look at my bike and think. "You're not worthy!". A feeling of guilt or shame or something came over me. How could I put that beautiful tire on such a crappy, nasty old rattle heap of a bike! The darn tire's got me wanting a whole new bike to put it on! Or maybe I'll just have to get busy learning how to rebuild this bike properly! I can't wait to take the bike out for a reasonable ride to see just how great tire is, who knows I may even put the rear one on before the old one has a blowout!
Thanks Douglas! You're a champion!
Friday, October 28, 2011
A life choice dilemma
Finally I've arrived home after having spent about 4 and a half hours sitting on the locally manufactured bricks at Maningrida airport terminal. Although I am impressed that they make their own... I am not so satisfied with them as a day bed!
I've just spent a day at Elcho Island, where I had to go as part of my work. It kills me to think that I'm flying all that way just for one day! I'm trying to live simply and in the process reduce my carbon emissions, I ride my bicycle everywhere around town yet here I am jumping on a damned plane and flying across the country like some kind of jet-setting wanker executive! Or actually a lot more like the hundreds, possibly thousands of contract laborers, (and qualified tradesmen of course) who fly in and fly out of remote communities every week! It sucks and it kind of makes me sick to think about how ridiculous the situation is! Don't get me wrong, I do like flying and I really like visiting the people and staying in Arnhem land Communities but it's just not sustainable and besides my job simply isn't so important that it should require me to travel like this... yet here I go again! Anyway, I was on my way home this morning when the plane had technical difficulties and we had to wait for someone to come from Darwin to fix it. four hours later and we're wondering if we'll ever leave.
If the aroma of burning av gass and the sound of screaming engines turned me on then today would have been a real treat! Unfortunately I was kind of keen to get back to Darwin to see my wife and kids and to throw myself into sweat labor down at the Mulch Pit! It was possibly some kind of a blessing that I shouldn't complain about but I did have other plans and wasn't feeling terribly philosophical about the delay... at first.
Having recently read 'Radical Simplicity: small footprints on a finite Earth', by Jim Merkel (who happens to be an ex military weapons developer and trader) I am well aware that this trip alone has completely engulfed any fuel I would have used driving to work throughout the year...
The book is interesting but Jim lost me with all the calculations! Even if I was into maths I don't think I'd ever enjoy scrutinizing my consumption to the extent that he advocates. It just isn't fun! Anyway since I've read the book and now have a hundred formulas for finding out exactly how many planets it would take to sustain my consumption of resources. I am seriously reconsidering what I do for a living and how I can find a more acceptable way to put bread on the table.
There are several positive aspects to my work, which I shouldn't take for granted. I come in contact with some amazing and inspiring people.I have learned so much from them that I always balk at the decision to leave. It's a very peculiar problem... to leave would feel like deserting my family... actually because of the Yolngu system of adoption and Malk it would be exactly like deserting my family... and that is the biggest dilemma! So I guess I'll stick with it for a while.
(A very healthy cashew, hidden in a jungle)
The thing that has really been firing me up lately is my interest in learning more about growing food. How shared gardens can actually build resilient and caring communities! It might sound a bit mooshy but this is something that energizes me! Nightcliff Uniting Church has recently taken the extraordinary step of employing a Permaculturist to coordinate activities at The Mulch Pit! I think that's an amazing and thing to do! A community that runs on the smell of an oily rag has deemed it's appropriate to employ someone to develop their permaculture garden! That's awesome!
I recently spent some time with Dan, and was instantly infected with his love for plants, soil and everything that lives in a permaculture system! I've always been interested and my minor involvement down at the The Patch gave me a sense of why I think it's such a special thing to do but now that I've been talking to Dan at the Mulch Pit, and having just spent 4 hours reading our mate Robbie Lloyd's book 'Going Walkabout through the Suburbs' (about creating inclusive societies) I'm thinking that now is the time for me to start studying permaculture.
(Timothy with his banana and sugar cane plantation)
Meanwhile back on Elcho this morning I was fortunate to spend time with the Community Minister, Timothy Buthimang, my Mari. Timothy is a devoted gardener and a Uniting Church 'Community Minister', although he can illustrate many things through the metaphor of gardening, he is a man of action and wisdom... a Worrier of the Spirit who is a living demonstration of the power of wuburr (sweat) to overcome adversity! His lessons provide real fruit! Timothy has maintained a garden of some description for many years. Recently Buthimang's farm/plantation was burned by a wildfire, but he showed me this morning that he has reclaimed the garden from the ashes and now has some very healthy banana and sugar cane growing in the ground. He has pots full of Pawpaw seedlings and various melon varieties as well. Having spent time with Timothy, I know what I need to be doing.
So here's to gardening tomorrow!
(Maningrida Bricks, Glad I didn't have to sleep on them!)
I've just spent a day at Elcho Island, where I had to go as part of my work. It kills me to think that I'm flying all that way just for one day! I'm trying to live simply and in the process reduce my carbon emissions, I ride my bicycle everywhere around town yet here I am jumping on a damned plane and flying across the country like some kind of jet-setting wanker executive! Or actually a lot more like the hundreds, possibly thousands of contract laborers, (and qualified tradesmen of course) who fly in and fly out of remote communities every week! It sucks and it kind of makes me sick to think about how ridiculous the situation is! Don't get me wrong, I do like flying and I really like visiting the people and staying in Arnhem land Communities but it's just not sustainable and besides my job simply isn't so important that it should require me to travel like this... yet here I go again! Anyway, I was on my way home this morning when the plane had technical difficulties and we had to wait for someone to come from Darwin to fix it. four hours later and we're wondering if we'll ever leave.
If the aroma of burning av gass and the sound of screaming engines turned me on then today would have been a real treat! Unfortunately I was kind of keen to get back to Darwin to see my wife and kids and to throw myself into sweat labor down at the Mulch Pit! It was possibly some kind of a blessing that I shouldn't complain about but I did have other plans and wasn't feeling terribly philosophical about the delay... at first.
Having recently read 'Radical Simplicity: small footprints on a finite Earth', by Jim Merkel (who happens to be an ex military weapons developer and trader) I am well aware that this trip alone has completely engulfed any fuel I would have used driving to work throughout the year...
The book is interesting but Jim lost me with all the calculations! Even if I was into maths I don't think I'd ever enjoy scrutinizing my consumption to the extent that he advocates. It just isn't fun! Anyway since I've read the book and now have a hundred formulas for finding out exactly how many planets it would take to sustain my consumption of resources. I am seriously reconsidering what I do for a living and how I can find a more acceptable way to put bread on the table.
There are several positive aspects to my work, which I shouldn't take for granted. I come in contact with some amazing and inspiring people.I have learned so much from them that I always balk at the decision to leave. It's a very peculiar problem... to leave would feel like deserting my family... actually because of the Yolngu system of adoption and Malk it would be exactly like deserting my family... and that is the biggest dilemma! So I guess I'll stick with it for a while.
(A very healthy cashew, hidden in a jungle)
The thing that has really been firing me up lately is my interest in learning more about growing food. How shared gardens can actually build resilient and caring communities! It might sound a bit mooshy but this is something that energizes me! Nightcliff Uniting Church has recently taken the extraordinary step of employing a Permaculturist to coordinate activities at The Mulch Pit! I think that's an amazing and thing to do! A community that runs on the smell of an oily rag has deemed it's appropriate to employ someone to develop their permaculture garden! That's awesome!
I recently spent some time with Dan, and was instantly infected with his love for plants, soil and everything that lives in a permaculture system! I've always been interested and my minor involvement down at the The Patch gave me a sense of why I think it's such a special thing to do but now that I've been talking to Dan at the Mulch Pit, and having just spent 4 hours reading our mate Robbie Lloyd's book 'Going Walkabout through the Suburbs' (about creating inclusive societies) I'm thinking that now is the time for me to start studying permaculture.
(Timothy with his banana and sugar cane plantation)
Meanwhile back on Elcho this morning I was fortunate to spend time with the Community Minister, Timothy Buthimang, my Mari. Timothy is a devoted gardener and a Uniting Church 'Community Minister', although he can illustrate many things through the metaphor of gardening, he is a man of action and wisdom... a Worrier of the Spirit who is a living demonstration of the power of wuburr (sweat) to overcome adversity! His lessons provide real fruit! Timothy has maintained a garden of some description for many years. Recently Buthimang's farm/plantation was burned by a wildfire, but he showed me this morning that he has reclaimed the garden from the ashes and now has some very healthy banana and sugar cane growing in the ground. He has pots full of Pawpaw seedlings and various melon varieties as well. Having spent time with Timothy, I know what I need to be doing.
So here's to gardening tomorrow!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Planting
Apparently Darwin has seen it's highest November rainfall in 15 years!
Everything has turned green again and life is sprouting from every nook and cranny.
(Raised garden beds at a local school)
(Cantaloupe growing in a raised bed at local school)
I thought I'd end the month with some pictures of the green that is all around us now as we enjoy some lovely coolish days, amazing thunder heads, dark ominous skies proceeded by a rush of cool air and fairly regular thunder storms. (Power outages and blackouts too)
The gardens are enjoying a hefty splash of rain!
(New council planting along Mc Millans Service Rd)
There have been a series of community tree plantings over the past couple of weeks and more that I know of which have been planned for this coming weekend. Now must be the right time to plant wet season crops, but what's really great is that there are heaps of trees being put in the ground. Down at the Mulch Pit the holes have already been dug (with that cool hole digger tool) and a variety of fruit trees are waiting to be stuck in the ground. I've also heard that some friends of Rapid Creek are planning some re-vegetation work that will include tree planting.
The most surprising thing is that it looks like the council has gone bananas planting trees along McMillans Rd! (Or maybe it was the State Government's department of Roads Planning and Infrastructure)
I'd been cursing them all dry season for being heavy handed with their pruning and tree removal but now I am very pleased to see that they have planted heaps of trees. Some of them exotic but I have noticed quite a few Milkwoods going in which is great to see.
The frogs love this unusually wet weather! They seem to have been much more vocal this year than I have ever heard them... well at this time of year anyway! This afternoon we discovered frogs eggs in a bucket full of rainwater at our back door. The kids are so excited.
Life seems full of new beginnings at the moment.
Everything has turned green again and life is sprouting from every nook and cranny.
(Raised garden beds at a local school)
(Cantaloupe growing in a raised bed at local school)
I thought I'd end the month with some pictures of the green that is all around us now as we enjoy some lovely coolish days, amazing thunder heads, dark ominous skies proceeded by a rush of cool air and fairly regular thunder storms. (Power outages and blackouts too)
The gardens are enjoying a hefty splash of rain!
(New council planting along Mc Millans Service Rd)
There have been a series of community tree plantings over the past couple of weeks and more that I know of which have been planned for this coming weekend. Now must be the right time to plant wet season crops, but what's really great is that there are heaps of trees being put in the ground. Down at the Mulch Pit the holes have already been dug (with that cool hole digger tool) and a variety of fruit trees are waiting to be stuck in the ground. I've also heard that some friends of Rapid Creek are planning some re-vegetation work that will include tree planting.
The most surprising thing is that it looks like the council has gone bananas planting trees along McMillans Rd! (Or maybe it was the State Government's department of Roads Planning and Infrastructure)
I'd been cursing them all dry season for being heavy handed with their pruning and tree removal but now I am very pleased to see that they have planted heaps of trees. Some of them exotic but I have noticed quite a few Milkwoods going in which is great to see.
The frogs love this unusually wet weather! They seem to have been much more vocal this year than I have ever heard them... well at this time of year anyway! This afternoon we discovered frogs eggs in a bucket full of rainwater at our back door. The kids are so excited.
Life seems full of new beginnings at the moment.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Tool of the week
I know I already posted this morning but I'm a bit high on caffeine and that poison shit they put in soft drink to replace sugar...
OK so here we go again... No I don't write reviews on tools generally... But I had some fun with this one today and thought I'd post a picture of it. (I'll try to make this quick because I'm really tired!)
(Introducing The Post Hole Digger 9/10)
The holes are for some trees we'll be planting at the Mulch Pit. (The Mulch Pit is a kind of community garden I sometimes help out at, I can't recall if I've posted about it before, you can check the links if you're interested Here )
(Mangos, late in the season)
(Grasshopper)
(Rooster)
OK so here we go again... No I don't write reviews on tools generally... But I had some fun with this one today and thought I'd post a picture of it. (I'll try to make this quick because I'm really tired!)
(Introducing The Post Hole Digger 9/10)
It's a 'Post Hole Digger', I got a bit carried away with this thing this morning. I've never used one before and I imagined it would be really hard work to try and gouge out earth by cutting it in a circular motion... I was wrong!
I thought the ground I used it on would be pretty hard, it generally is, but we've had a fair bit of rain lately. Once I got through the grass and the organic layer the thing just wanted to carve it's way straight through to China! (Or maybe Great Brittan or wherever is directly opposite us on the globe) It was awesome!
I thought the ground I used it on would be pretty hard, it generally is, but we've had a fair bit of rain lately. Once I got through the grass and the organic layer the thing just wanted to carve it's way straight through to China! (Or maybe Great Brittan or wherever is directly opposite us on the globe) It was awesome!
The holes are for some trees we'll be planting at the Mulch Pit. (The Mulch Pit is a kind of community garden I sometimes help out at, I can't recall if I've posted about it before, you can check the links if you're interested Here )
(Mangos, late in the season)
(Grasshopper)
Although production is not really high, it's still nice to wander around and see what's living in the garden.
The Pit started about a year or so ago when a bunch of people from a Church in Nightcliff decided they'd like to convert a barren piece of rock and dirt into a garden that can be utilized by the community. Most of us are novices at the gardening business and we're all kind of learning as we go. I don't do much gardening there because I usually have my hands full with other things but I try to help out when I can... Especially when there's something fun to play with.
I was asked to dig the holes about a foot deep but couldn't help digging at least two feet deep in some of the holes! I wish I'd taken some photos of the holes I'd dug... You'd probably find steam rising from the earth's core!
- Tool rating for manual orbital post hole digger: 9 out of 10.
It would have been 10 but I got a small blister in webbing of my thumb. I don't like blisters.
(Making furniture)
(Garden seat... complete)
At the Pit this morning Russel made some awesome garden chairs out of scrap wood,
We discovered that one of the chickens is actually a rooster!
The Pit started about a year or so ago when a bunch of people from a Church in Nightcliff decided they'd like to convert a barren piece of rock and dirt into a garden that can be utilized by the community. Most of us are novices at the gardening business and we're all kind of learning as we go. I don't do much gardening there because I usually have my hands full with other things but I try to help out when I can... Especially when there's something fun to play with.
I was asked to dig the holes about a foot deep but couldn't help digging at least two feet deep in some of the holes! I wish I'd taken some photos of the holes I'd dug... You'd probably find steam rising from the earth's core!
- Tool rating for manual orbital post hole digger: 9 out of 10.
It would have been 10 but I got a small blister in webbing of my thumb. I don't like blisters.
(Making furniture)
(Garden seat... complete)We discovered that one of the chickens is actually a rooster!
(Rooster)
Monday, October 11, 2010
10/10/10 = NUC Wheels of Change
350.org has done it again!
10/10/10 marked another 350 day of Climate Action! Yesterday in Darwin there were 3 events planned.
NUC Wheels of Change - A bunch from Nightcliff Uniting Church decided it would be a great idea to ride to Church
Lakeside Drive Community Garden 10/10/10 Working Bee - The Lakeside Drive Community Gardeners chose this date as the time to turn the first sod of soil in the creation of their ambitious new community garden on a spit of land between the road and the Rapid Creek.
Peddalling for the Planet - A bunch of cyclists planned to get together dress their bikes up and ride a 3.5 km circuit to promote climate action.
I was fortunate enough to attend two of these events and the atmosphere was great.
"Dear friends,
It's happening--and it’s even bigger than we thought it would be.
From what we can tell from reports streaming in from East Asia and Australia and New Zealand, 10/10/10 is going to be the biggest day of climate action ever--from one end of the planet to the other, people are already hard at work."
(Bill McKibben 350.org)
10/10/10 marked another 350 day of Climate Action! Yesterday in Darwin there were 3 events planned.
NUC Wheels of Change - A bunch from Nightcliff Uniting Church decided it would be a great idea to ride to Church
Lakeside Drive Community Garden 10/10/10 Working Bee - The Lakeside Drive Community Gardeners chose this date as the time to turn the first sod of soil in the creation of their ambitious new community garden on a spit of land between the road and the Rapid Creek.
Peddalling for the Planet - A bunch of cyclists planned to get together dress their bikes up and ride a 3.5 km circuit to promote climate action.
I was fortunate enough to attend two of these events and the atmosphere was great.
A pretty large bunch of people turned up at Nightcliff Uniting Church on their bikes... I shouldn't have been surprised really! There's a lot of active enthusiastic participants in life who attend that Church. I should have known they wouldn't need much prompting to jump on their bikes and have some fun riding to Church! Unfortunately my family weren't feeling too good on Sunday morning (it seems they'd finally caught the cold I brought home from work a week ago!) so it was a party of one who left our house at 8:30 am. I didn't have to ride far before I met with Penny, then Lucy and her two boys. The 5 of us had quite a pleasant ride along the McMillans Rd cycle path and then past the farm on Rapid Creek. By 9:15 we'd arrived at the Church early enough to watch all the others come peddling in! It was so cool to see everyone rolling up. There were about 5 families who rode together and a bunch of others who peddled solo from various locations around Darwin. I'm pretty sure now the youngest riders were a pair of 3 year olds while the oldest would have been somewhere over 60 years old... The atmosphere was so great that Jana (the Minister and worship leader of the day) had to come out and ring a bicycle bell to get the crowd to come in and join the service!
This spontaneous effort spurred people to think about future rides we might like to do together as a group.
Later in the day at about 4:00pm when my girl was feeling more like riding we hopped on our bikes and rode down to Lakeside Drive where we met with a bunch of others who had peddled down there to start work on the new Community Garden! Once again the atmosphere was buzzing with enthusiasm and a sense of fun! Once again there were a great mix of children and adults all participating in an activity of affirmative action toward a carbon neutral future!
It was great to take part in these events! Being part of a community of people from all age groups working together for a sustainable future is a great buzz. We don't know exactly what the future will bring. Maybe we will never achieve the goal of 350 parts per million of Carbon in the atmosphere but working together as we have may help us to build the skills necessary to participate in a rapidly changing and increasingly hostile environment.
This spontaneous effort spurred people to think about future rides we might like to do together as a group.
Later in the day at about 4:00pm when my girl was feeling more like riding we hopped on our bikes and rode down to Lakeside Drive where we met with a bunch of others who had peddled down there to start work on the new Community Garden! Once again the atmosphere was buzzing with enthusiasm and a sense of fun! Once again there were a great mix of children and adults all participating in an activity of affirmative action toward a carbon neutral future!
It was great to take part in these events! Being part of a community of people from all age groups working together for a sustainable future is a great buzz. We don't know exactly what the future will bring. Maybe we will never achieve the goal of 350 parts per million of Carbon in the atmosphere but working together as we have may help us to build the skills necessary to participate in a rapidly changing and increasingly hostile environment.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Visit and fellowship in Arnhemland
Thanks to good fortune I am currently employed in great job that occasionally requires me to travel to Aboriginal Communities in Arnhem Land. Recently I had the opportunity to visit the Island community of Milingimbi in North Eastern Arnhem Land. This was a special place for me to visit since it was the home of a man who had made a big impression on me before he passed away last year. He was a special person who had an enormous capacity for love and forgiveness he did a lot to create channels of communication and understanding between Yolngu and Balanda.
This has been my longest stay in an Arnhem Land community and the best chance I've had so far to experience the atmosphere in this unique part of the world.
Although my schedule was extremely busy and there were all kinds of logistical problems that I just hadn't counted on, I still managed to find plenty of opportunities to get about and meet up with some rather inspirational people as well as attend some local activities.
There's a lot going on over at Milingimbi at the moment and from my perspective I'd say much of it is very good.
(Stained window, Milingimbi Church)
Milingimbi is an old Mission settlement and there are several Clan groups living in the township. As with most other Aboriginal Communities Milingimbi is affected by the Federal Intervention and all it's restrictions and impositions, however unlike many other Communities Milingimbi had already been dry for some time before the Intervention and functioned fairly well without the new laws that were brought down upon them 2 years or so ago. (Of course Milingimbi has seen some benefits from renewed interest from Government agencies)
(Sitting in comfort on a rug on the sand)
While I was there I was fortunate to see just how well things can come together at the initiative of local people. Although my experience of Christianity is quite limited (actually prior to 5 years ago I'd had no meaningful contact with the religion outside of attending weddings or funerals) I'd have to say that the activities at Milingimbi are quite a phenomenon! There is a strong Christian Fellowship in Milingimbi that meets every night and I found the gatherings quite amazing! On my second night there I went along to the beach expecting maybe half a dozen loyal followers of the tradition handed to them by missionaries in the early 20th Century... What I found was a crowd of maybe 200 people, gathered together in fellowship, families, young and old people together. Singing, Dancing, Sharing stories. I saw a group of up to 30 young children performing a carefully choreographed dance, perfectly synchronized, later a group of about 8 young men performing their own dance, then more beautiful singing from the older ladies and on it went until late at night. People sitting happily with their family and friends, on rugs and mats as a gentle northerly sea breeze kept the sand-flies at bay and cooled the brows of some very enthusiastic performers.
What a BUZ!
Unlike many outback townships there were no sounds of drunken brawls, no screeching tires, smashing glass, abusive language or any of the behavior that might prevent families from venturing down Mitchel Street on any night... Just the sound of singing, happy chatter and the bark of an occasional dog as people wandered home after a night of warmth and fellowship.
It happened to be school sports week while I was there so lunch times were spent cheering the young athletes as they raced each other down the mains street. I'd heard about low attendance rates at Community schools but what I saw on Milingimbi seemed to contradict this story completely. In fact I saw kids turning up more than an hour early for school full of enthusiasm and ready to get stuck into the learning before their teachers had even arrived. The kids there really seemed to be engaged and interested in learning... The school seemed to have just the right ingredients. Music, Sport, some really involved teachers and a library full of Yolngu stories. The library even had a traditional hand carved canoe and one of the bark canoes from the film 10 Canoes. The Milingimbi School is COOL!
(Image if person now deceased has been removed out of respect for the family)
(Rev. Larry B------ with some home grown watermelons)
All these things were great but there was one aspect to this trip that really impressed me. While I was talking to Rev. Larry we got talking about gardening and all the benefits that come from growing vegetables in particular. Before I knew it he was imparting a whole philosophy on me that absolutely fit perfectly the concepts I'd been thinking about over the past few years. A program for providing young people with an environment where they can develop a sense of, community self worth and become confident independent thinkers. The Patch down in Leanyer is a great example of the enormous benefit this kind of education can improve the outcomes for students who are struggling with the regular curriculum.
Nature is a great teacher, by engaging with the natural processes of planting, nurturing and growing vegetables we can learn a lot about the skills we need in other aspects of life. Patience, care, observation, a little bit of sweat and the reward of reaping what we have sown... If for some reason the crop fails we learn how to deal with disappointment as we proceed to try again.
Larry has teamed up with a teacher at the school and they've been working with a couple of boys who have benefited greatly from the activities. The idea of a larger project has taken on and they've produced a short documentary in which Larry explains the philosophy behind the project which has an excellent name that I will publish when I know it's OK to do so.
It seems the school may even come on board and dedicate some land especially for the purpose of developing a larger training program around this philosophy! Since all the fresh fruit and vegetables on Milingimbi are imported, this project could have many flow on benefits for the community.
There's so much more I could rant on about but basically I have come home feeling recharged and optimistic about all the potential of this small community.
This has been my longest stay in an Arnhem Land community and the best chance I've had so far to experience the atmosphere in this unique part of the world.
Although my schedule was extremely busy and there were all kinds of logistical problems that I just hadn't counted on, I still managed to find plenty of opportunities to get about and meet up with some rather inspirational people as well as attend some local activities.
There's a lot going on over at Milingimbi at the moment and from my perspective I'd say much of it is very good.
(Stained window, Milingimbi Church)
Milingimbi is an old Mission settlement and there are several Clan groups living in the township. As with most other Aboriginal Communities Milingimbi is affected by the Federal Intervention and all it's restrictions and impositions, however unlike many other Communities Milingimbi had already been dry for some time before the Intervention and functioned fairly well without the new laws that were brought down upon them 2 years or so ago. (Of course Milingimbi has seen some benefits from renewed interest from Government agencies)
(Sitting in comfort on a rug on the sand)
While I was there I was fortunate to see just how well things can come together at the initiative of local people. Although my experience of Christianity is quite limited (actually prior to 5 years ago I'd had no meaningful contact with the religion outside of attending weddings or funerals) I'd have to say that the activities at Milingimbi are quite a phenomenon! There is a strong Christian Fellowship in Milingimbi that meets every night and I found the gatherings quite amazing! On my second night there I went along to the beach expecting maybe half a dozen loyal followers of the tradition handed to them by missionaries in the early 20th Century... What I found was a crowd of maybe 200 people, gathered together in fellowship, families, young and old people together. Singing, Dancing, Sharing stories. I saw a group of up to 30 young children performing a carefully choreographed dance, perfectly synchronized, later a group of about 8 young men performing their own dance, then more beautiful singing from the older ladies and on it went until late at night. People sitting happily with their family and friends, on rugs and mats as a gentle northerly sea breeze kept the sand-flies at bay and cooled the brows of some very enthusiastic performers.
What a BUZ!
Unlike many outback townships there were no sounds of drunken brawls, no screeching tires, smashing glass, abusive language or any of the behavior that might prevent families from venturing down Mitchel Street on any night... Just the sound of singing, happy chatter and the bark of an occasional dog as people wandered home after a night of warmth and fellowship.
It happened to be school sports week while I was there so lunch times were spent cheering the young athletes as they raced each other down the mains street. I'd heard about low attendance rates at Community schools but what I saw on Milingimbi seemed to contradict this story completely. In fact I saw kids turning up more than an hour early for school full of enthusiasm and ready to get stuck into the learning before their teachers had even arrived. The kids there really seemed to be engaged and interested in learning... The school seemed to have just the right ingredients. Music, Sport, some really involved teachers and a library full of Yolngu stories. The library even had a traditional hand carved canoe and one of the bark canoes from the film 10 Canoes. The Milingimbi School is COOL!
(Image if person now deceased has been removed out of respect for the family)
(Rev. Larry B------ with some home grown watermelons)
All these things were great but there was one aspect to this trip that really impressed me. While I was talking to Rev. Larry we got talking about gardening and all the benefits that come from growing vegetables in particular. Before I knew it he was imparting a whole philosophy on me that absolutely fit perfectly the concepts I'd been thinking about over the past few years. A program for providing young people with an environment where they can develop a sense of, community self worth and become confident independent thinkers. The Patch down in Leanyer is a great example of the enormous benefit this kind of education can improve the outcomes for students who are struggling with the regular curriculum.
Nature is a great teacher, by engaging with the natural processes of planting, nurturing and growing vegetables we can learn a lot about the skills we need in other aspects of life. Patience, care, observation, a little bit of sweat and the reward of reaping what we have sown... If for some reason the crop fails we learn how to deal with disappointment as we proceed to try again.
Larry has teamed up with a teacher at the school and they've been working with a couple of boys who have benefited greatly from the activities. The idea of a larger project has taken on and they've produced a short documentary in which Larry explains the philosophy behind the project which has an excellent name that I will publish when I know it's OK to do so.
It seems the school may even come on board and dedicate some land especially for the purpose of developing a larger training program around this philosophy! Since all the fresh fruit and vegetables on Milingimbi are imported, this project could have many flow on benefits for the community.
There's so much more I could rant on about but basically I have come home feeling recharged and optimistic about all the potential of this small community.
Friday, April 16, 2010
On the road... (yes again)
There's a thousand stories I'd love to write and so many tales I'd tell if I had a moment or two to spare!
(I certainly do not have two moments... not even one. but I'm sneeking this post in between moments.... I’ve got to leave something here on this blog even if it’s jumbled and messy.)
The first great thing I’d talk about if I had time would be that I’ve finally made it back to New Zealand for the first time since I visited there and vowed to stay about 13 years ago. It was always my intention to move back there to but of course life has a way of delivering fate in unexpected ways.As it turned out for me I have spent all those years living in the Northern Territory of Australia.
13 years later I finally managed to return but this time with a wife and kids… I was really hoping that everyone would like it there as much as me. They did! For some reason I feel a very strong pull toward NZ as a potential home. There are plenty of reasons why it appeals to me, here are just a few:
Fresh air, Fresh fish, Fresh fruit and vegetables, Fresh water, Less people, Nuclear Free!, Treaty of Waitangi, Great bush walking, Sea Kayaking, Reasonable rainfall, It’s cooler than Darwin, good soil for growing food, Cycling… / Marked Bicycle Lanes on roads…
(Wood Carving @ Ship's Cove)
(Sheep... Of course)
We only had a week there and spent it touring around the Top of the South Island. First stop was Hanmer Where we spent a whole afternoon just lounging about in the hot pools. Next we wound our way up to Kaikura, where the views of the mountains are spectacular, the coastline craggy and we saw our first seals for the trip. The road north of Kaikura was narrow but smooth and criss crossed the railway line between steep hills and the rugged east coast. There were small caravans selling fresh crayfish all the way along. There was very little native vegetation until Picton (my wife’s favorite spot). From Picton we took the Mail boat out on a tour of the Marlborough Sound… This was a most awesome tour! Both Captain/Guides were really great giving us a very informative commentary and revealing their love for this very special place. On the cruise we visited an Island full of rare native birds… (quite unafraid of humans), saw penguins, Bottle-nosed dolphins and Blue Cod.
(Dolfin)
(Little Blue Penguins)
(Robin)
I finally made it back to Nelson a place that I fell in love when I first visited. It had changed a fair bit in 13 years but I still found it quite special, actually having a little more time to look around I found it even better than I remember it. They have bike lanes all over the place, the beach is really nice, the children’s playground was just like the ones we had when I was a kid and there was a real sense of easy living.
(Bike lanes in Nelson)
From there we headed out to Greymouth and stopped at heaps of great spots along the way. Finally returning to Christchurch in time to catch the tourist trams around the town, visit the Arts Centre and Museum before riding the Gondola to the top of the hills behind the city!
For one day between landing in Melbourne and heading out to NZ we stayed with family and I visited some of those old places from my past I’ve been thinking about. I’ve been absorbed with thoughts about my youth (again) and wondering about places, things, people and everything else that occupies the space where and when I spent my youth. I wandered around my parents garden and was impressed with the water tanks they’d installed and the amazing amount of fruit their citrus trees were producing in a tiny sliver of soil only a foot and a half wide between a paved path at the side of their house and their neighbors fence.
(Citrus Trees at my folks place)
(Wize water use)
I took a ride down to Wastonia and visited an old apple tree that is still surviving quite nicely between the main road and the railway line. I noticed that a really old Pampas Grass that had some how taken root in the steel fence of a railway bridge had managed to survive at least 20 years of rough treatment and I wandered down Wattle Drive which is an old street that has never been paved in all the time that the suburbs of Watsonia and McLeod have been developed. As I rode along the old streets I spied out all the old fruit trees that had been planted 40 years ago and were still holding on quite nicely. There were pears, apples and plum trees in many of the yards. A particularly old part of the Neighborhood had several fig trees, which must have been popular when the suburb was first established and the trees have endured along with their now elderly gardeners.
(Apple tree surviving against the odds)
(Pampas Grass holding on)
The times are changing and gradually the old people are moving on or dying. I’ve been told that it is becoming a real-estate hotspot and younger people are starting to move in, properties are being subdivided and one by one the old fruit trees are being removed. It’s a little bit sad really but who knows maybe in another 20 years I’ll be able to go back and find one or two of those old fig trees standing in a forgotten corner.
(I certainly do not have two moments... not even one. but I'm sneeking this post in between moments.... I’ve got to leave something here on this blog even if it’s jumbled and messy.)
The first great thing I’d talk about if I had time would be that I’ve finally made it back to New Zealand for the first time since I visited there and vowed to stay about 13 years ago. It was always my intention to move back there to but of course life has a way of delivering fate in unexpected ways.As it turned out for me I have spent all those years living in the Northern Territory of Australia.
13 years later I finally managed to return but this time with a wife and kids… I was really hoping that everyone would like it there as much as me. They did! For some reason I feel a very strong pull toward NZ as a potential home. There are plenty of reasons why it appeals to me, here are just a few:
Fresh air, Fresh fish, Fresh fruit and vegetables, Fresh water, Less people, Nuclear Free!, Treaty of Waitangi, Great bush walking, Sea Kayaking, Reasonable rainfall, It’s cooler than Darwin, good soil for growing food, Cycling… / Marked Bicycle Lanes on roads…
(Wood Carving @ Ship's Cove)
(Sheep... Of course)
We only had a week there and spent it touring around the Top of the South Island. First stop was Hanmer Where we spent a whole afternoon just lounging about in the hot pools. Next we wound our way up to Kaikura, where the views of the mountains are spectacular, the coastline craggy and we saw our first seals for the trip. The road north of Kaikura was narrow but smooth and criss crossed the railway line between steep hills and the rugged east coast. There were small caravans selling fresh crayfish all the way along. There was very little native vegetation until Picton (my wife’s favorite spot). From Picton we took the Mail boat out on a tour of the Marlborough Sound… This was a most awesome tour! Both Captain/Guides were really great giving us a very informative commentary and revealing their love for this very special place. On the cruise we visited an Island full of rare native birds… (quite unafraid of humans), saw penguins, Bottle-nosed dolphins and Blue Cod.
(Dolfin)
(Little Blue Penguins)
(Robin)
I finally made it back to Nelson a place that I fell in love when I first visited. It had changed a fair bit in 13 years but I still found it quite special, actually having a little more time to look around I found it even better than I remember it. They have bike lanes all over the place, the beach is really nice, the children’s playground was just like the ones we had when I was a kid and there was a real sense of easy living.
(Bike lanes in Nelson)
From there we headed out to Greymouth and stopped at heaps of great spots along the way. Finally returning to Christchurch in time to catch the tourist trams around the town, visit the Arts Centre and Museum before riding the Gondola to the top of the hills behind the city!
For one day between landing in Melbourne and heading out to NZ we stayed with family and I visited some of those old places from my past I’ve been thinking about. I’ve been absorbed with thoughts about my youth (again) and wondering about places, things, people and everything else that occupies the space where and when I spent my youth. I wandered around my parents garden and was impressed with the water tanks they’d installed and the amazing amount of fruit their citrus trees were producing in a tiny sliver of soil only a foot and a half wide between a paved path at the side of their house and their neighbors fence.
(Citrus Trees at my folks place)
(Wize water use)
I took a ride down to Wastonia and visited an old apple tree that is still surviving quite nicely between the main road and the railway line. I noticed that a really old Pampas Grass that had some how taken root in the steel fence of a railway bridge had managed to survive at least 20 years of rough treatment and I wandered down Wattle Drive which is an old street that has never been paved in all the time that the suburbs of Watsonia and McLeod have been developed. As I rode along the old streets I spied out all the old fruit trees that had been planted 40 years ago and were still holding on quite nicely. There were pears, apples and plum trees in many of the yards. A particularly old part of the Neighborhood had several fig trees, which must have been popular when the suburb was first established and the trees have endured along with their now elderly gardeners.
(Apple tree surviving against the odds)
(Pampas Grass holding on)
The times are changing and gradually the old people are moving on or dying. I’ve been told that it is becoming a real-estate hotspot and younger people are starting to move in, properties are being subdivided and one by one the old fruit trees are being removed. It’s a little bit sad really but who knows maybe in another 20 years I’ll be able to go back and find one or two of those old fig trees standing in a forgotten corner.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Gardening (for food) in the town
(Bundoora Park Community Garden, Bundoora, Victoria)It's been great to see a revival and growth in Urban food production, which is apparrently becoming hugely popular in Australia, UK and the USA. To grow your own food is now considdered to be cool... (Common practice in most other places)
A couple of years ago I discovered the Life Island website after viewing an amazing video about the Manor Gardens in Hackney, UK. At the time they were fighting to protect their 100 year old garden allotments from being leveled to make way for a sporting complex for the Olympic games... Sadly they lost the battle and the whole site has since been completely cleared! But! I will be very difficult to rebuild the sense of community that appeared to have existed in that special place and I was really saddened when I learned about the garden's demise.
A couple of years ago I discovered the Life Island website after viewing an amazing video about the Manor Gardens in Hackney, UK. At the time they were fighting to protect their 100 year old garden allotments from being leveled to make way for a sporting complex for the Olympic games... Sadly they lost the battle and the whole site has since been completely cleared! But! I will be very difficult to rebuild the sense of community that appeared to have existed in that special place and I was really saddened when I learned about the garden's demise.
Somewhere in my trawling of the internet I discovered that there was a cookbook produced with photos of the people and their special places in the Manor Garden. The Book is called Moro East.
I managed to order a copy of it online and it was delivered toward the end of last year. It's a wonderful book full of very rustic recipies and images, the cover features some beautiful Islamic art.
I managed to order a copy of it online and it was delivered toward the end of last year. It's a wonderful book full of very rustic recipies and images, the cover features some beautiful Islamic art.
(Moro East Cookbook by Sam and Sam Clark)It may be idealism or escapism but this stuff really inspires me. The book is wonderful and I like just flicking through the pages.
Sliver Gardening
Back at home our little garden is providing shade and green where once there was only the blinding glare and heat of too much concrete ... We've eaten a delicious pumpkin, snake beans, heaps of basil and enjoyed Lemongrass tea. We only harvest food occasionally but the aesthetic value of a food garden makes enormous improvements to our peace of mind regardless of limmited crops.
Sunday, August 02, 2009
On The Home Front
All the extra travel we've done this year was a deliberate attempt to break free of a Rut. Taking our holiday to Bali and down the Centre was basically an attempt to break free of the rut, of stress, pressure, disharmony and monotony that our family had fallen into over the past few years.
Things were actually getting pretty grim at home and a fair measure of intolerance and aggravation at each other's idiosyncrasies was leading us down a path of despair! We thought, it's time to hit the road! We'll try it together before circumstances lead us into taking completely different paths... (Which would be a disastrous prospect for our little family). So we planned and booked a trip to Bali, Sam booked tickets for her and the kids to visit her mother for a period when I would be busy at work and we planned our Christmas break. Then there was the recent drive down through the Red Centre which just had to happen, (even though our credit card was already overloaded with debt and the bank account was empty) because neither of us could imagine life at home during school holidays with a couple of hyperactive kids! Thus to prevent the family imploding we resolved to get out of Dodge (Darwin/or at least our flat) at every opportunity to prevent a domestic Apocalypse!
The problems that besieged us appeared to be the result of what happens when two people, who have been living together for more than 10 years, move in two philosophically opposed directions. Or at least when their ideals appear to become incompatible.
My focus had been to reduce my impact on the Earth and live in the most sustainable manner I possibly can. My wife's approach had been totally focused on providing for our kids. (Not a bad objective in itself) Unfortunately though, contrary to what the TV adds tell us, consumer desires can never be satisfied by any quantity of junk purchased from Big W or Kmart! Happiness can not be found inside the plastic wrapper of a McDonald's Happy Meal treat! (Sorry but that stuff really peeves me!). Although we usually only watched ABC and SBS the amount of TV hours in our house was far too high!
We decided that allowing child no. 1 to watch videos on her own TV at night was counteractive to her sleep, play, reading, socialization needs. So we got rid of one TV, introduced a bed time routine and read stories at night and stopped watching Teley between the hours of 6pm and 8:30pm ourselves.
Not long after this we made our trip to Bali, and found the experience kind of stressful, especially at meal times and in restaurants, but the family was together and we managed to have some pretty special experiences.
Some time not long after returning from Bali our 10 year old family TV fizzed out and ceased to work... I drew a sigh of relief and asked Sam what she wanted to do. Knowing that we were already overdrawn on the credit card she looked at me and shrugged her shoulders. Taking the prompt I immediately said, "I don't if we have no TV!" She agreed and we have now gone about two months or so without at TV. Our only regret is that SBS have been screening the second series of Flight of the Conchords!
The benefits of living without a TV have been too numerous to count but basically we now read more, and argue less, the kids get more attention and our power bill has dropped... stuff like that.
We learned somewhere along the way that our youngest has an unusual bone condition and will require specialized surgery later this month! He is likely to be off his feet for at least 3 months and will require a great deal of attention. This made the holiday to Alice Springs an absolute must! We had to get the kids out and have a good time together before the pressures of immobility and full time care take their toll on us all.
The getaway was great. Our little fella ran around everywhere with the kids we met along the way, the place we stayed at in Alice had these enormous jumping pillows that he bounced on every day. On the way home we stopped in Mataranka and watched a local singer perform at the Homestead. Our little bloke danced and danced all night and had the crowd in stitches of laughter and joy!
As we traveled along the Stuart Highway we all had a wonderful time, camping, walking, playing. The desert can be a restorative place and I think we all came back to Darwin with a certain feeling of calm and contentedness. Along the way Sam and I got right into reading a book called How to Be Free. The book is written by an Anarchist who believes life would be so much better if we took on values more like they had in the Middle Ages! Somehow he struck a chord with me and I found the first half of the book absolutely inspirational! It was an affirmation of so much of how I've been trying to change my own life. What was more miraculous was that Sam and I found we shared a lot of the same ideas! Although we'd been struggling to agree on anything previously the simple act of reading the book out loud as we drove brought us closer together. Amazing. The Author Tom Hodgkinson often runs of on flights of fancy and makes some pretty hefty judgements, generalizations and occasionally, omits important facts when accusing others, however he is enormously entertaining and often hits the nail right on the "... F-cking Head." (Damien Hirst).
I don't care if he gets his facts slightly distorted. Just because I don't agree with him advocating smoking in community halls where there are children, or I can't stand the way he raves incessantly about the joys of drinking Ale doesn't alter my acceptance of his basic argument. Even though he makes a few misinformed and obviously antagonistic attacks on Alcoholics Anonymous, the first half of the book has been great! (I'm only now growing weary as I attempt to finish reading it on my own). If you want to make a leap out of the consumer trap give it a go. Along the way I also read Henry Reynolds book 'Why Weren't we told'.
A great read and once again reminding me of the need to live an authentic life, not accept the status quo and always question anything presented to me as "The Truth".
Youtube review here
Our trip down the center has prompted us to make positive changes in our lives. Since returning two weeks ago I have collected 4 bags of horse manure on my Xtracycle, prepared some of the garden for sheet mulching and have been watering our little herb garden every morning and in the evenings with the kids!
Yesterday while at the tip shop I discovered a copy of "Introduction to Permaculture" by Bill Mollison. This book is: ***GOLD***
Life is taking a turn for the better things are looking better every day! Who cares that we spent all our cash and available credit? Soon our second car will burn it's clutch out and we will go back to being a one car family! Who knows what opportunities that will bring with it? Maybe we'll travel by horse??? Or at least give more incentive for cycling?
So all that travel used up quite a bit of carbon, I know! However it may have saved us all our sanity and brought us one step closer to a more satisfying future with less.
Freedom is just around the corner!
Things were actually getting pretty grim at home and a fair measure of intolerance and aggravation at each other's idiosyncrasies was leading us down a path of despair! We thought, it's time to hit the road! We'll try it together before circumstances lead us into taking completely different paths... (Which would be a disastrous prospect for our little family). So we planned and booked a trip to Bali, Sam booked tickets for her and the kids to visit her mother for a period when I would be busy at work and we planned our Christmas break. Then there was the recent drive down through the Red Centre which just had to happen, (even though our credit card was already overloaded with debt and the bank account was empty) because neither of us could imagine life at home during school holidays with a couple of hyperactive kids! Thus to prevent the family imploding we resolved to get out of Dodge (Darwin/or at least our flat) at every opportunity to prevent a domestic Apocalypse!
The problems that besieged us appeared to be the result of what happens when two people, who have been living together for more than 10 years, move in two philosophically opposed directions. Or at least when their ideals appear to become incompatible.
My focus had been to reduce my impact on the Earth and live in the most sustainable manner I possibly can. My wife's approach had been totally focused on providing for our kids. (Not a bad objective in itself) Unfortunately though, contrary to what the TV adds tell us, consumer desires can never be satisfied by any quantity of junk purchased from Big W or Kmart! Happiness can not be found inside the plastic wrapper of a McDonald's Happy Meal treat! (Sorry but that stuff really peeves me!). Although we usually only watched ABC and SBS the amount of TV hours in our house was far too high!
We decided that allowing child no. 1 to watch videos on her own TV at night was counteractive to her sleep, play, reading, socialization needs. So we got rid of one TV, introduced a bed time routine and read stories at night and stopped watching Teley between the hours of 6pm and 8:30pm ourselves.
Not long after this we made our trip to Bali, and found the experience kind of stressful, especially at meal times and in restaurants, but the family was together and we managed to have some pretty special experiences.
Some time not long after returning from Bali our 10 year old family TV fizzed out and ceased to work... I drew a sigh of relief and asked Sam what she wanted to do. Knowing that we were already overdrawn on the credit card she looked at me and shrugged her shoulders. Taking the prompt I immediately said, "I don't if we have no TV!" She agreed and we have now gone about two months or so without at TV. Our only regret is that SBS have been screening the second series of Flight of the Conchords!
The benefits of living without a TV have been too numerous to count but basically we now read more, and argue less, the kids get more attention and our power bill has dropped... stuff like that.
We learned somewhere along the way that our youngest has an unusual bone condition and will require specialized surgery later this month! He is likely to be off his feet for at least 3 months and will require a great deal of attention. This made the holiday to Alice Springs an absolute must! We had to get the kids out and have a good time together before the pressures of immobility and full time care take their toll on us all.
The getaway was great. Our little fella ran around everywhere with the kids we met along the way, the place we stayed at in Alice had these enormous jumping pillows that he bounced on every day. On the way home we stopped in Mataranka and watched a local singer perform at the Homestead. Our little bloke danced and danced all night and had the crowd in stitches of laughter and joy!
As we traveled along the Stuart Highway we all had a wonderful time, camping, walking, playing. The desert can be a restorative place and I think we all came back to Darwin with a certain feeling of calm and contentedness. Along the way Sam and I got right into reading a book called How to Be Free. The book is written by an Anarchist who believes life would be so much better if we took on values more like they had in the Middle Ages! Somehow he struck a chord with me and I found the first half of the book absolutely inspirational! It was an affirmation of so much of how I've been trying to change my own life. What was more miraculous was that Sam and I found we shared a lot of the same ideas! Although we'd been struggling to agree on anything previously the simple act of reading the book out loud as we drove brought us closer together. Amazing. The Author Tom Hodgkinson often runs of on flights of fancy and makes some pretty hefty judgements, generalizations and occasionally, omits important facts when accusing others, however he is enormously entertaining and often hits the nail right on the "... F-cking Head." (Damien Hirst).
I don't care if he gets his facts slightly distorted. Just because I don't agree with him advocating smoking in community halls where there are children, or I can't stand the way he raves incessantly about the joys of drinking Ale doesn't alter my acceptance of his basic argument. Even though he makes a few misinformed and obviously antagonistic attacks on Alcoholics Anonymous, the first half of the book has been great! (I'm only now growing weary as I attempt to finish reading it on my own). If you want to make a leap out of the consumer trap give it a go. Along the way I also read Henry Reynolds book 'Why Weren't we told'.A great read and once again reminding me of the need to live an authentic life, not accept the status quo and always question anything presented to me as "The Truth".
Youtube review here
Our trip down the center has prompted us to make positive changes in our lives. Since returning two weeks ago I have collected 4 bags of horse manure on my Xtracycle, prepared some of the garden for sheet mulching and have been watering our little herb garden every morning and in the evenings with the kids!
Yesterday while at the tip shop I discovered a copy of "Introduction to Permaculture" by Bill Mollison. This book is: ***GOLD***
Life is taking a turn for the better things are looking better every day! Who cares that we spent all our cash and available credit? Soon our second car will burn it's clutch out and we will go back to being a one car family! Who knows what opportunities that will bring with it? Maybe we'll travel by horse??? Or at least give more incentive for cycling?So all that travel used up quite a bit of carbon, I know! However it may have saved us all our sanity and brought us one step closer to a more satisfying future with less.
Freedom is just around the corner!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The Patch Open Day
Today was another Patch Open Day.
I headed down there on my lunch break and was very pleased to see that The Patch is going from strength to strength! I can't begin to describe the beneficial vibes this place is putting out! I am always blown away by the sense of connection, belonging and purpose everyone has when they become part of the life of The Patch!
There were so many young people there today and all of them seemed to be completely engaged and actively creating a space where we all can flourish! What was really inspiring this time (as with every other time I've visited) was how the young men and women take on a sense of ownership and pride in the jobs they are doing and the space they are creating! This stuff is GOLD!
I won't bore you with a long story about why I think The Patch is so important or how I believe that it is projects like this that will lead our society towards a brighter more inclusive future. Towards interdependence and away from a destiny of social apathy and self interest.
Just have a brows through the images and enjoy the green, feel the peace, imagine the garden of sensory delights that is growing.
(New Permaculture project)
(Just another great banana tree)
(Snake: To be planted out with sweet potato)
(Paving: It's all about teamwork. Mentoring is a crucial element)
(This is a safe place for even the smallest of visitors)
(Winged beans... I am not going to stop posting photos of these)
I headed down there on my lunch break and was very pleased to see that The Patch is going from strength to strength! I can't begin to describe the beneficial vibes this place is putting out! I am always blown away by the sense of connection, belonging and purpose everyone has when they become part of the life of The Patch!
There were so many young people there today and all of them seemed to be completely engaged and actively creating a space where we all can flourish! What was really inspiring this time (as with every other time I've visited) was how the young men and women take on a sense of ownership and pride in the jobs they are doing and the space they are creating! This stuff is GOLD!
I won't bore you with a long story about why I think The Patch is so important or how I believe that it is projects like this that will lead our society towards a brighter more inclusive future. Towards interdependence and away from a destiny of social apathy and self interest.
Just have a brows through the images and enjoy the green, feel the peace, imagine the garden of sensory delights that is growing.
(New Permaculture project)
(Just another great banana tree)
(Snake: To be planted out with sweet potato)
(Paving: It's all about teamwork. Mentoring is a crucial element)
(This is a safe place for even the smallest of visitors)
(Winged beans... I am not going to stop posting photos of these)
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Remember Manor Garden Allotments
I thought I'd post a YouTube video documentary about the Manor Gardens Allotments in the UK.
I discovered this story about a year ago and thought I'd post it now while I'm thinking about it.
If you think the Olympic Games are "Friendly" or for "The People" you might reconsider your opinion after seeing this story! The Oppressive bureaucratic business machine that is the Olympics is far from friendly to the people who live anywhere near a proposed venue.
The Manor Gardens were in the way of a proposed Olympic site! What chance did the people have to save their sanctuary from the Greed and Grandiosity of an Olympic development committee?
(Warning: This is a pretty long video and may take some time to load!)
I discovered this story about a year ago and thought I'd post it now while I'm thinking about it.
If you think the Olympic Games are "Friendly" or for "The People" you might reconsider your opinion after seeing this story! The Oppressive bureaucratic business machine that is the Olympics is far from friendly to the people who live anywhere near a proposed venue.
The Manor Gardens were in the way of a proposed Olympic site! What chance did the people have to save their sanctuary from the Greed and Grandiosity of an Olympic development committee?
(Warning: This is a pretty long video and may take some time to load!)
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Busy weekend
This weekend was quite busy and full of cool things to do. I thought I'd post a few words and photos before they slip entirely from my memory.
Since last year when I encouraged my wife (who is a Christian) to become involved with a local Uniting Church I have also found myself becoming more open to the idea of Christianity. I have actually engaged in a course of Faith Formation (just to look into the idea a little further). Through our connection with the rather enlightened group of people at this particular Church we have both found a community of people who we can share our time and thoughts with. For the first time in my life, I actually feel that I can accept this religion for myself.
Since last year when I encouraged my wife (who is a Christian) to become involved with a local Uniting Church I have also found myself becoming more open to the idea of Christianity. I have actually engaged in a course of Faith Formation (just to look into the idea a little further). Through our connection with the rather enlightened group of people at this particular Church we have both found a community of people who we can share our time and thoughts with. For the first time in my life, I actually feel that I can accept this religion for myself.
Faith Formation
On Thursday night we had faith formation which, for me, is turning into quite a nice evening of discussion and practical
Friday?
I've already forgotten what happened on Friday... er... Nope... still can't remember!
Jingli Organic Gardening
On Saturday afternoon I took the kids down to the Jingli organic garden plots for the annual general meeting and met with some of the gardeners there. The Jingli Garden is a cool place and the gardeners are very committed to organic gardening. The plots looked beautifully cared for and there were vegetables of all kinds popping up everywhere. We had some good discussion on the growing desire to create a network of garden plots throughout the Darwin Suburbs and some good connections were made.
Jingli Garden plots
More Jingli garden plots
The Patch
Sunday
Communion
Sunday was the World Environment Day Expo but also the day for Kate, the minister at our Church, to hand back her responsibilities before moving on to another community.
I arranged to meet with a neighbor and his sons and we rode our bikes to Church. It was a fantastic morning for a ride but I keep forgetting that I ride 20km a day and some people don't... (I'm sure the pace was more amenable after I moved to the back of the group.) I even loaded up the old trailer I got from the tip shop and brought a 'Loaner' bike, which is now being used by one of the ladies.
The service focussed on our connection with indigenous communities and there was a strong sense of connection to the mission of our particular community in relation to Reconciliation. Words were spoken about Kate leaving and then it was time for communion. As a rule I have never taken communion. Not being a Christian I have always felt it would be wrong for me to do this. However this Sunday for some reason, I did... After Kate announced the communion. I ate the bread and took the cup (grape juice). Thanks to the way it was offered I felt completely natural sharing in this special meal. Quite a moment for me.
Have wheels will haul
Environment ExpoI arranged to meet with a neighbor and his sons and we rode our bikes to Church. It was a fantastic morning for a ride but I keep forgetting that I ride 20km a day and some people don't... (I'm sure the pace was more amenable after I moved to the back of the group.) I even loaded up the old trailer I got from the tip shop and brought a 'Loaner' bike, which is now being used by one of the ladies.
The service focussed on our connection with indigenous communities and there was a strong sense of connection to the mission of our particular community in relation to Reconciliation. Words were spoken about Kate leaving and then it was time for communion. As a rule I have never taken communion. Not being a Christian I have always felt it would be wrong for me to do this. However this Sunday for some reason, I did... After Kate announced the communion. I ate the bread and took the cup (grape juice). Thanks to the way it was offered I felt completely natural sharing in this special meal. Quite a moment for me.
Have wheels will haul
It was such a busy morning at the Church that I didn't get to the Environment Day Expo until about 3:00 pm! It was very quiet down there and there was still 2 hours to go! The turn out was very disappointing! I congratulate all those volunteers for turning up and making the huge effort it takes to keep our environmental organizations running... But where were the People? Surely environmental issues should be at the top of our concerns right now? What is going on in this country? I had some interesting conversations, paid all my memberships and subscriptions some of them quite overdue. Heard just a little of Shellie Morris, then peddled home for the Toad Bust I'd organized.
Toad bust
At 6:30 a small mob from the NUC boys group and some Friends of The Patch came down to the Leanyer Depot for a Toad Bust! We had a fun night but only caught 2 toads. (Good news really). The kids had fun running around with torches and we discovered a few native frogs which was quite a treat. When the hunt was over we all returned to the undercover area and had pancakes. After botching a few up I left the cooking to the experts and the boys had a great time!
Exhausted I returned home happy and fulfilled... That is the way to spend a weekend!
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