Well, all those people who doubted our sanity choosing a low impact, low cost 'lifestyle' in the country are now possibly wishing they had done so too. Tiny apartments (with a 'view' if you're lucky) or the biggest house possible on the subdivided block, urban infill taking away the parks, centralised shopping districts that you need a car to get to. Le sigh.
As for me, I awoke around sunrise this morning with my limited list of things to do in the yard before I head out to fulfill my caring responsibilities for the next couple days. Water everything (a few days next week in the mid 30C's) check on all the new plantings (another set of daisies and herbs out the back door, bulbs starting to pop up everywhere, vegie transplants and seedlings, zillions of potted plants, new potato patch). Still need to turn my compost-heap-the-third. Feed the birds. Feed the turtle. Admire the wood I've started stacking away for winter in the woodshed.
Life is good. Keep smiling. Enjoy the day.
Saturday, April 11, 2020
Monday, April 6, 2020
Tagari Update
You may recall that back in December I wrote to Tagari publishing, asking about their motive for closing down some youtube videos of a Permaculture Design Course from Melbourne Uni that was made a few years ago.
I got a response, which in itself was pleasant. Basically, they said they can't be responsible for the world not always reaching up to my expectations (I'd said I'd thought that PC was about more than eliminating all competition - afterall my watching the videos was leading me towards paying for a PDC irl, so we'd all gain by their loss - but that I couldn't think of another relevant motivation for what appeared to be 'cornering' behaviour (to use marketingspeak)). Which is true, as far as it goes. The answer was a pithy little number, with a subtext of cuting me down to size with its wit (or maybe the author is just a witty person). So, after I'd absorbed the lesson and seeing Tagari's behaviour as the epitomy of its own truth, I fired back a response saying how disappointed I was in them. lol
And in my reactive spitefulness decided not to go to a PDC that was being held at a not too far distant working PC farm which I'd first went to in about 1990 just after it'd started up (back when PC was a movement that seemed to be full of idealists). Which was lucky because the large amount of money this would have cost turned out to be necessary for more immediate needs in the months following.
The PDC was scheduled to start in less than a month from now. So it would have been cancelled out by the Koalavirus. And if I had paid for my spot, I would have been loathe to ask for my money back as the conveners probably rely on such payments, and waited the requisite time before attending at some time in post-covid reality. And would have felt guilty if I'd asked for my money back, but as it would have been my last likely available capital for many months I would have likely done so.
So ironically, I can say Tagari saved me either a small fortune or a lot of grief with their small mindedness. Which is kinda nice. So far I've resisted the urge to email them and say thankyou.
Lucky the spirit of Bill is bigger than all of that, so I've continued my own adventures on the path. More on that later...
I got a response, which in itself was pleasant. Basically, they said they can't be responsible for the world not always reaching up to my expectations (I'd said I'd thought that PC was about more than eliminating all competition - afterall my watching the videos was leading me towards paying for a PDC irl, so we'd all gain by their loss - but that I couldn't think of another relevant motivation for what appeared to be 'cornering' behaviour (to use marketingspeak)). Which is true, as far as it goes. The answer was a pithy little number, with a subtext of cuting me down to size with its wit (or maybe the author is just a witty person). So, after I'd absorbed the lesson and seeing Tagari's behaviour as the epitomy of its own truth, I fired back a response saying how disappointed I was in them. lol
And in my reactive spitefulness decided not to go to a PDC that was being held at a not too far distant working PC farm which I'd first went to in about 1990 just after it'd started up (back when PC was a movement that seemed to be full of idealists). Which was lucky because the large amount of money this would have cost turned out to be necessary for more immediate needs in the months following.
The PDC was scheduled to start in less than a month from now. So it would have been cancelled out by the Koalavirus. And if I had paid for my spot, I would have been loathe to ask for my money back as the conveners probably rely on such payments, and waited the requisite time before attending at some time in post-covid reality. And would have felt guilty if I'd asked for my money back, but as it would have been my last likely available capital for many months I would have likely done so.
So ironically, I can say Tagari saved me either a small fortune or a lot of grief with their small mindedness. Which is kinda nice. So far I've resisted the urge to email them and say thankyou.
Lucky the spirit of Bill is bigger than all of that, so I've continued my own adventures on the path. More on that later...
Saturday, April 4, 2020
Belated Anniversary in a time of plague
It's been a bit over a year since I started this little online garden journal so I thought I'd better mark the occasion. Late is better than never. Especially in this time of plague.
In times like this I feel doubly sorry for the untold millions who live in tiny apartments without easy access to green and clean. Life must be tough in the concrete jungle at present, where 'home' must be getting close to 'cell' (think 'prison cell') for millions / billions around the world. It makes me really appreciate the small patch of paradise I live in, the multitude of tiny freedoms that I enjoy, the opportunities for growth and development with which I'm surrounded in these difficult days.
I'm writing this partly because it's still a bit wet and cool outside. I have a few tasks for the day to keep up with my longer term goal of greening my block. Key for the day will be sorting out the outflow from my latest rainwater tank addition (a repurposed agricultural chemical container that holds about 1100 litres), turning my latest hot compost heap, planting out a few more of my potted shrubs (the survivors from my experiements with taking cuttings last year), transplanting a few seedlings of what will hopefully be some winter vegies. If I feel really active, I've got some other potted plants that I've accumulated to repot and a fair bit of organising to do in the shed (which has become overcrowded and run down over the past few months as I've only gone in and out of it to get what I need). The idea is to free up workspace for a few 'construction tasks' that I'd love to do - such as build a workbench so I can build some decent infrastructure for the yard. That should keep me busy for a while.
As the social isolation has become our new 'norm' I've had a bit more time on my hands. I did do a few shifts at a nearby vineyard, out on a tractor through the night towing a 'chaser bin' alongside mechanical harvesters, and have stepped up my support efforts for my ageing parents (spending a night or two a week with my father, who lives a couple hours away), but these 'jobs' have not filled in all of the 'spare' time created by cancellation of meetings, organising and running the various community organisations and functions with which I'm involved. This has left me lots of time to concentrate on our block and get my hands dirty.
I might even find some time to blog about what's been happening. Which would be nice.
Stay safe.
In times like this I feel doubly sorry for the untold millions who live in tiny apartments without easy access to green and clean. Life must be tough in the concrete jungle at present, where 'home' must be getting close to 'cell' (think 'prison cell') for millions / billions around the world. It makes me really appreciate the small patch of paradise I live in, the multitude of tiny freedoms that I enjoy, the opportunities for growth and development with which I'm surrounded in these difficult days.
I'm writing this partly because it's still a bit wet and cool outside. I have a few tasks for the day to keep up with my longer term goal of greening my block. Key for the day will be sorting out the outflow from my latest rainwater tank addition (a repurposed agricultural chemical container that holds about 1100 litres), turning my latest hot compost heap, planting out a few more of my potted shrubs (the survivors from my experiements with taking cuttings last year), transplanting a few seedlings of what will hopefully be some winter vegies. If I feel really active, I've got some other potted plants that I've accumulated to repot and a fair bit of organising to do in the shed (which has become overcrowded and run down over the past few months as I've only gone in and out of it to get what I need). The idea is to free up workspace for a few 'construction tasks' that I'd love to do - such as build a workbench so I can build some decent infrastructure for the yard. That should keep me busy for a while.
As the social isolation has become our new 'norm' I've had a bit more time on my hands. I did do a few shifts at a nearby vineyard, out on a tractor through the night towing a 'chaser bin' alongside mechanical harvesters, and have stepped up my support efforts for my ageing parents (spending a night or two a week with my father, who lives a couple hours away), but these 'jobs' have not filled in all of the 'spare' time created by cancellation of meetings, organising and running the various community organisations and functions with which I'm involved. This has left me lots of time to concentrate on our block and get my hands dirty.
I might even find some time to blog about what's been happening. Which would be nice.
Stay safe.
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