Finding the time to do the stuff to write about and the time to write it seems to be a big challenge. The computer needed a complete rebuild too, and due to back up failure I've lost some (lots) of my photos as well.
Spent a lot of August, and a couple of days at the end of July staying with my friends at Steward wood helping out on a permaculture course. It was great spending time with old friends and getting to know new ones better. At the equinox I wrote a list of things I want more of in my life-
dark skies so I can appreciate the starlight and moonlight more.
Fire light and friendly faces.
music making, dancing, laughter and creativity.
I ticked a lot of my boxes while I was there. The non-chlorinated water was an extra bonus too and a dry skin problem I've had on my foot for two years has completely cleared up. Bathing in (and drinking) non-chlorinated water is the only thing I can think of to account for it. Haven't lost any weight - I thought the vegan organic diet and all the extra exercise might have let me drop a few pounds - guess the feeding was still too generous. I feel really blessed to have had such a great feeling of community there. Their people-care is great.
I followed the course with a week of camping at East Prawle, just looking out at the ever changing colours of the sky and water was great, though all the low level working of camping gives me back ache - I realise it's because I pick things up by bending at the waist (endgaining- it seeems quicker) but by the time I'd realised that's what I was doing the damage was done. Collected lots of seaweed for seasoning, ate limpets a couple of nights--still chewey though.
Been using the kelp as a skin-care thing, so may have to go and get more, and also look for some carrageenan which I didn't see. Got dulse, laver, sea spaghetti, and bladderwrack and sea lettuce.
Also a new favourite flavour -- rock samphire. Like strong salty thyme, with hints of lemon. I love it. DH and his mates reckon it tastes of shoe polish-- it maybe doesn't travel that well.
I've dried some of it too. Did wonder if it would respond well to lacto-fermentation as a preservation method. Might suggest it to some of my lacto-fermenting friends.
The allotment has been horribly neglected. The washing piles had reached new epic proportions when I got back (mount kiliman-washing), plus all the camping debris needing dried and put away. So we've had a busy week of housework, drying herbs, plus we won a deer in a raffle, so that needed butchered and frozen. And I have a deer hide. Torn beween trying to brain tan and keep the hair on - (don't have the brain and not sure if I can buy brain) or make raw hide to make a drum. My only experience of tanning so far is
here, so this is a different bag of cookies, but I will have help this time.
