fall catch up

So about all that soul searching I was going to do about whether or not to keep blogging...didn't get to it because summer was so good. Jeremy and I decided to make his Headspace J sight an official family affair so if I have more family-ish stuff to say I'll post it there. If I have other things I want to record or share they'll go here, as I've been doing sporadically lately but hopefully more frequently now again.

My summer reading mostly consisted of gardens, plants and permaculture. It's something I discovered as a holistic concept back in March and it's really stuck with me. I have reached a point with my reading that is unfamiliar to me - some sort of overload paralysis. I walked into the library one night with the usual anticipation and as I browsed my favorite sections I got more and more agitated. I'm so sick of reading exciting things and then not doing them. I feel like I have enough knowledge and ideas for a lifetime of experimenting but lack the time, money, energy or just plain grit to get into it. Maybe all four or maybe only the last, after all it is much easier to talk about the dream than do it and I have a very well developed fear of failure.

In an effort not to beat myself up too badly I'd better note that I have done some small things. I'm committed to only growing plants that have at least two purposes (possible purposes include: edible, beautiful, medicinal, insect attracting, hedge, windbreak etc.). Aside from a section of select edibles they must all be drought tolerant. My dad helped us clear out a section of mostly dead and ugly junipers in June and we finally got around to putting some plants in despite the strata president's desire to turn everything everywhere into lawn. While we're on the topic of lawn, my opinion of it is that it's generally useless, water hungry and high maintenance. A small patch of high use and more drought tolerant grass for actual living and playing is great. Ornamental strips that are a pain to mow and nobody uses are an abombination.

Back to my little patch - we put in a native vine maple, saskatoon, blueberry and lavender. I transplanted some very hardy chrysanthemums in there as well and we'll see how they do. Once we get the extra topsoil/compost/mulch thing going on I'll put in some bulbs and echinacea and hopefully get a picture. Hmm, the bubs and chrysanthemums are apparently only for beauty and don't meet my criteria. They were cheap and plentiful in my own garden, maybe that should be another factor! It's a far cry from the "guilds" I read about in Gaia's Garden ( I love almost everything that Chelsea Green has published, as an aside) but it's a lot better than more lawn.

Underlying all this planning for plants and more ecologically sound living is general angst about committing to living in this spot. I simultaneously want to literally put down roots and stick around to see them mature at the same time as dreaming of a more "ideal" place to do it (um, could there be a more ideal place that where I actually am?) or more exciting would be to travel to various places to learn more and help others do it. I'm making it a goal to have visited the Kootenay Permaculture Institute by the end of next summer to get a sense of what that scene is like.

strawbale winery

I finally made my way into a strawbale building. The Orofino Winery is less than an hour away in Cawston so we made it the destination for a Saturday outing. John and Virginia Weber are the owner/operators and John was on duty the day we were there. He very graciously answered many questions that he's probably heard a thousand times and let the kids play with his son's wonderful toys (the son wasn't there to have his say in it).

The building was a lot like I expected and hoped it would be. The deep sills and thick walls delighted me most and the cool temperature on a smoking hot Okanagan day was impressive too. I still don't know if I would react to spending a lot of time in a strawbale building, as I'm so incredibly allergic to straw dust. The few minutes I was in the tasting room were fine but the doors were open and there was good airflow. The only thing about the whole scene that worried me was what I felt was a lingering smell of damp concrete (which incidentally, nobody else could smell). I think the building was only completed this year so perhaps it needs more time to cure? Also if the building was heated with wood in any way it would likely end up being on the dry side in short order.

My next stop on the strawbale circuit will be a strawbale fruitstand near Okanagan Falls...can't find a website but this one has a picture.

fruit season

I thought maybe a new template would get me all fired up to post again...we'll see. We're getting into the swing of fruit/veggie season and am trying to figure out the best way to try to preserve all this good local bounty. I have to learn to can or buy a freezer as far as I can tell. Freezing seems much easier but then you have to plug that sucker in all year. Does anyone have tips or personal experience with canning vs. freezing?

fall

I think it's time to officially put the blog on hiatus for the summer. I'm obviously not using it and feel bad for anyone who might be faithfully checking to see if I'm put up a #@&# new post yet. I've been spending very little time on the computer at all which is kind of fun but means there are a lot of kernels of ideas slipping by undeveloped. I don't seem to use my paper journal for those sorts of things.

If I feel dramatically inspired I may add a post but it will definitely continue to be very light until fall at which point I'll reassess the whole thing.

self sufficient'ish'

Blog? I have a blog? Oh yeah...

I stumbled on a website that captured my recent sentiments lately, it's called self sufficient 'ish'. The solo style home steader sounds romantic and all, but I'm not up for the isolation (or back breaking work to be honest). Some of the recipes on the page look tasty, the simple veggie burger is one. I'm glad to see the tips for those who rent dwellings and and don't have the ability and/or desire to go off grid and out of town. It applies equally well to many of us in a strata or condo situation as well. Too bad it's UK focussed and not all transferrable information.

summerland letter

I wrote this letter to the Summerland municipal council today and thought it was relevant to the topic of this blog as well (community participation in town planning). I know letters of this nature are supposed to be shorter but I couldn't stop once I got going. I should also have included a specific call for action or at least a response - how do I forget these basic things? Fear of failure or looking dumb almost kept me from sending it altogether so in that respect I'm glad it's done. The written word (including this blog) is one of the few obvious areas in my life where I feel I battle with perfectionism.

late rambles

Hmm, to go to bed or make up a post out of thin air? The kids went to bed late so I feel I should stay up late to preserve some idea that I'm an adult. Or does this prove that I'm not? Nothing exciting to report except that Jeremy and I keep reading about civic development and urban planning and should really start our own town someday. It would have grand civic buildings and the perfect density of housing - no sprawl. We'd all have roof gardens and meet in the square for sing-songs and pot lucks every night.

I am getting carried away by the could have/should haves in the way our society is running. The real challenge is to define what it is I feel is missing and find a way to do something about it. My first step is to take care of the ground we have a stake in, by which I mean our common strata yard. It's all lawn and weeds. No bushes, trees or garden plots. It's not even useful for the kids to play on as all the lawn slopes toward a busy street. Guess where the soccer ball ends up? The next question is whether to run it through the proper channels or just start guerilla planting and see how long it takes for anyone to notice or care. A third option is to sanction and pay myself to do it since I'm strata treasurer. Probably some bylaw against it. Or criminal law for that matter....