The Mini-House: June 2009

Those hoop houses worked out really well. The plastic covers kept the soil warmer by about 5-10 degrees, pretty substantial. We have actually been enjoying our greens for a month and a half now, wowwie huh? Jim now has plans to build a wee solar green house to start the plants in March or April. In the top-most photo, you will see we followed advice given by another gardener. Jim shaded his plants while hardening them off, did it with juniper boughs.

We are keeping busy with all kinds of things, mostly raiding the local dump for stuff we can salvage. We actually found a youth's bike and a mostly good propane BBQ dumped along the back road we walk along every morning. Took them home, fixed 'em up and presto!

Instant BBQ! Have eggplant, will travel! A week later we found a better fitting bonus-grate at the dump. Bob & Linda gave up a coule of bike frames for us, too. It only took two dives into the "Walmart" to find enough thrown-away parts to build a couple of Frankenbikes. That and two new tires from Canadian Tire (Who knew?) plus 10$ helmets and we're off and pedalling. Dreamy!

Our next big salvage will be another boat. Smaller than Chelonidae. Lighter. Better on gas. We plan to get her to Northern Florida, then keep her down there so we can puddle around down there during the winter. Suckers! So far we have looked at an Albin 23 ft. sailboat, but there was no standing headroom. I hate crouching to cook! Saw a Paceship 23, but the same problem, no headroom. The Grampian 23 at least had a decent layout to make a hree month cruise possible, but, well, what were we expecting? Then we got looking at 26's. Saw a Grampian 26 with headroom! Well, I thought we'd be a 10th, no maybe a fifteenth of the way there! You know how it is, Jim, needing everything to be so perfect, needed the right engine, sailing capability, water tight hull, blah blah blah! Turns out it had all that, so we'll go for a second look and a putter around the Picton Yacht Club. Maybe I'll need a new blog!

Besides that, things at the the Mini House are going well. The rainwater catchment system is working quite well, doesn't take too long to fill up those garbage cans! We use it for irrigating the garden and washing my hair. Lovely!

I am going to track down a copy of a book called "The Vanishing Face of Gaia" by James Lovelock. I heard an interesting chat with the author on As It Happens the other night and was intrigued by his theory: this planet is adding carbon of her own into our man-made-mess and climate change is not only inevitable, but on our doorstep, and that it cannot at this point be stopped. But it is not too late to save ourselves.

I am glad I live in a self-sustaining way. I feel lucky! In the meantime, we shall go for a walk...