I'm supposed to be staying of the computer as I'm suffering a bit from RSI (sore arm from using the computer too much without the right mouse/chair/posture etc), but I can't resist making a quick post to share a few useful websites with anyone who's thinking of going off-grid this Sunday and is wondering what to do with all that wonderful spare time they'll have on their hands....
As part of my efforts to get closer to the cycles of nature I've been trying to cut out as much 'unseasonal' food as possible. Although I share and allotment with some friends and have a small garden, I can only really grow a fraction of what I need fruit & veg wise. I'm fortunate to live in an area where I have access to local organic growers, so I'm able to tap into a ready supply of healthy, pesticide-free produce. However, as I'm also trying to reduce my dependance on the monetary system, I've been looking into ways of cutting my food bills and - apart from growing your own - the best way to do this is to add in a bit of foraged food.
I'm not going to write a whole blog on foraging as I'm only a 'beginner' but thought I'd share a couple of links to some sites I've found useful.
The first that springs to mind is written by my wonderful, weird and wacky friend Fergus Drennan. Fergus is a forager extraordinaire! He has actually survived for over a year on very little other than foraged food, so his site is a 'must visit' - http://www.wildmanwildfood.com/
The second site is a fantastic site all about 'nettles'. I came across this site a few days ago when I picked my first nettles of the season and wanted to find out more about their medicinal/nutritional properties. What it's author, Simon Mitchell, doesn't know about nettles is really not worth knowing! - http://www.nettlesoup.info/index.htm
There are some yummy wild food recipes here - http://www.sacredearth.com/ethnobotany/foraging/Ramson.php
And finally, a link to a great little video from the gorgeous guys at Natural Bushcraft.co.uk so you can identify Ramsons (Wild Garlic). Ramsons are extremely tasty and out in abundance now - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMuH5qPWjwI&feature=related
Whether or not you are 'Reclaiming Sundays' I hope you enjoy the above links!
B x
Saturday, 19 March 2011
Thursday, 17 March 2011
Staying warm...
When I first decided to reclaim my Sundays I was more focussed on the challenges it would throw up than the benefits. It was early January and we were going through that really cold spell, so I knew that keeping warm would be my priority.
I have to admit that if I hadn't been fortunate enough to own a wood burning stove I probably wouldn't have contemplated trying to go off-grid in the middle of winter. I know I could have worn extra layers; coat, hat, scarf; mittens; etc... but I suspect I might have given up quite quickly if I'd set myself that level of commitment. However, one of my friends (Mike) who's joined me on the 'Off-grid Sundays' path has no alternative way to heat his flat, so he goes for a huge long walk in the morning to warm himself up, then spends his late afternoons/evenings reading on the sofa (by candle light) wrapped in a blanket and using only the candles for heating; pretty impressive!
One of the many things I wanted to achieve by going off-grid one day a week was to learn to rely less on the background gas central heating and more on my wood burner. I have a very small, open plan house, so it's quite easy for the heat from the stove to reach most of the rooms. This means if I want to be really warm I need to sit close to the burner, but the rest of the house still reaches a perfectly acceptable ambient temperature.
I've got into a bit of a routine on Sundays now. Whatever time I wake up, I go straight downstairs to light the wood burner. I've always set it the night before, so it only needs a match. I stick a saucepan on top with exactly the right amount of water for a cup of tea, huddle by the fire whilst I wait for it to catch sufficiently, then close it down a bit and go back to bed with a cup of tea and my thoughts. I leave a kettle full of water on top to heat up ready for a wash.
By the time I've finished my tea and had a wash, it's beautifully warm downstairs and there's enough natural light to read by. So, I spend the next hour or so curled up on a bean bag, by the stove, reading a book.
By mid morning I'm toasty warm, wonderfully relaxed and ready for a walk. Whatever the weather is like I always get out and walk on the Malvern Hills for a couple of hours. I have absolutely no idea what time of day it is because my mobile phone is switched off and I don't have a watch... but it doesn't matter anyway! When I start to feel hungry I head back home (with an arm full of fallen branches to store for next year's kindling) and warm up whatever soup is left over from the day before. Then, depending on the weather, I spend the rest of the daylight hours either reading by the burner or pottering in my garden.
When it gets dark (4.30pm on my first few Sundays!) I light candles and my neighbour, Louise, usually comes over for a cup of tea. She always notices how different the house feels to usual. There's definitely something different in the whole energy; it's more peaceful and 'natural'... as if time itself has slowed down. It's difficult to describe, but it's almost tangible. You'd need to try it out for yourself to understand what I mean. I put it down to not using any electricity and, especially, to not having mobile phone or wi-fi computer waves bouncing around all over the place.
Anyway, by the time I've eaten an evening meal I'm pretty much ready for bed. I heat water for a hot water bottle and head up to bed with a wind up radio. I listen to the radio till I drift off to sleep. I'm beautifully warm... completely relaxed... and ready to face whatever the new week brings...
I have to admit that if I hadn't been fortunate enough to own a wood burning stove I probably wouldn't have contemplated trying to go off-grid in the middle of winter. I know I could have worn extra layers; coat, hat, scarf; mittens; etc... but I suspect I might have given up quite quickly if I'd set myself that level of commitment. However, one of my friends (Mike) who's joined me on the 'Off-grid Sundays' path has no alternative way to heat his flat, so he goes for a huge long walk in the morning to warm himself up, then spends his late afternoons/evenings reading on the sofa (by candle light) wrapped in a blanket and using only the candles for heating; pretty impressive!
One of the many things I wanted to achieve by going off-grid one day a week was to learn to rely less on the background gas central heating and more on my wood burner. I have a very small, open plan house, so it's quite easy for the heat from the stove to reach most of the rooms. This means if I want to be really warm I need to sit close to the burner, but the rest of the house still reaches a perfectly acceptable ambient temperature.
I've got into a bit of a routine on Sundays now. Whatever time I wake up, I go straight downstairs to light the wood burner. I've always set it the night before, so it only needs a match. I stick a saucepan on top with exactly the right amount of water for a cup of tea, huddle by the fire whilst I wait for it to catch sufficiently, then close it down a bit and go back to bed with a cup of tea and my thoughts. I leave a kettle full of water on top to heat up ready for a wash.
By the time I've finished my tea and had a wash, it's beautifully warm downstairs and there's enough natural light to read by. So, I spend the next hour or so curled up on a bean bag, by the stove, reading a book.
By mid morning I'm toasty warm, wonderfully relaxed and ready for a walk. Whatever the weather is like I always get out and walk on the Malvern Hills for a couple of hours. I have absolutely no idea what time of day it is because my mobile phone is switched off and I don't have a watch... but it doesn't matter anyway! When I start to feel hungry I head back home (with an arm full of fallen branches to store for next year's kindling) and warm up whatever soup is left over from the day before. Then, depending on the weather, I spend the rest of the daylight hours either reading by the burner or pottering in my garden.
When it gets dark (4.30pm on my first few Sundays!) I light candles and my neighbour, Louise, usually comes over for a cup of tea. She always notices how different the house feels to usual. There's definitely something different in the whole energy; it's more peaceful and 'natural'... as if time itself has slowed down. It's difficult to describe, but it's almost tangible. You'd need to try it out for yourself to understand what I mean. I put it down to not using any electricity and, especially, to not having mobile phone or wi-fi computer waves bouncing around all over the place.
Anyway, by the time I've eaten an evening meal I'm pretty much ready for bed. I heat water for a hot water bottle and head up to bed with a wind up radio. I listen to the radio till I drift off to sleep. I'm beautifully warm... completely relaxed... and ready to face whatever the new week brings...
Monday, 14 March 2011
What off-grid Sundays mean to me
Anyone else noticed how crazy the world has become? We seem to be stuck on some kind of merry-go-round... it's going faster and faster... and I want to get off!
Towards the end of last year I visited some lovely friends in Devon and they took me out on a magical mystery tour around the beautiful North Devon coastline on the Sunday. They mentioned that they didn't usually use the car or computer on Sundays; which got me thinking... wouldn't it be great if I could rely less on my own car, mains electricity, gas, mobile, laptop etc?!
I've already reduced my home energy use considerably over the last few years and I try really hard to live as ethical and low impact life as I can, but I know there's a lot of room for improvement. I wish I was brave enough to close my eyes and jump straight into the unknown and go completely off-grid, but I'm not. I like to dip my toes in the water first and do things gradually, then, by taking things step by step I'm far more likely to make some lasting changes. So I decided to start my move towards a less crazy life by 'Reclaiming Sundays'.
Reclaiming Sundays means (for me) going back to a time when Sunday was a day of rest; a day to slow down and reconnected with nature. With this in mind, I thought it might be good to combine lots of other things that were bothering me about my life and see if I could work them all into the one day......
That was 8 weeks ago - and I can't believe what a difference it's made in so many ways. Will write about that next time......
Towards the end of last year I visited some lovely friends in Devon and they took me out on a magical mystery tour around the beautiful North Devon coastline on the Sunday. They mentioned that they didn't usually use the car or computer on Sundays; which got me thinking... wouldn't it be great if I could rely less on my own car, mains electricity, gas, mobile, laptop etc?!
I've already reduced my home energy use considerably over the last few years and I try really hard to live as ethical and low impact life as I can, but I know there's a lot of room for improvement. I wish I was brave enough to close my eyes and jump straight into the unknown and go completely off-grid, but I'm not. I like to dip my toes in the water first and do things gradually, then, by taking things step by step I'm far more likely to make some lasting changes. So I decided to start my move towards a less crazy life by 'Reclaiming Sundays'.
Reclaiming Sundays means (for me) going back to a time when Sunday was a day of rest; a day to slow down and reconnected with nature. With this in mind, I thought it might be good to combine lots of other things that were bothering me about my life and see if I could work them all into the one day......
- Spend less time on the computer
- Spend more time doing things I love like reading, walking and sitting on the hill.
- Reduce my dependence on the grid system
- Reduce my use of energy and other precious resources
- Learn how to use my wood burning stove to cook meals
- Stop spending money
- Allow myself time by myself
That was 8 weeks ago - and I can't believe what a difference it's made in so many ways. Will write about that next time......
Monday, 3 January 2011
Bee identification
Anyone got any idea what species of bee this is? I know it's a solitary carpenter bee, but not sure exactly what species/sub species
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