Free-Range Living

'Time ----'

Micro hold watch -----

Now's come the time of 'mellow fruitfullness' here on the organic eco micro-holding (small smallholding) in the UK midlands, emphasised particularly this year by all the warm/hot sunny weather there's been for the last two months, with the occasional downpour just to keep things green. The runner beans came on stream towards the end of July taking over from the broad beans - they make a nice show with both red and white flowers in the veg patch, too, this year grown on tripod-set canes rather than in a continuous row.  

  The potatoes started to yield from mid June and there's been useful supply of salad stuff - lettuce, radish, land cress, spring onions - to use in the warm weather. The potatoes, as usual, and even in this sunny summer, have been afflicted by blight as many hereabouts have, but a passable crop has still resulted, which should give home grown (and tastier) spuds for half a year, which is the general aim. Potatoes can have quite a bit of pleasant taste, although the mass produced crop can at times be a little taste challenged, being grown often with maximum yield as the objective and to that end getting watered quite a bit ( could 'lack of taste' be a reason why potatoe sales are reportedly (in the UK) down - ?)

 Watering has been a necessity, and especially to crops like runner beans, which take a lot of moisture out of a relatively small patch of ground. Water arrives at the veg plants in a variety of ways, via the sprinkler probably being the most prominent. It's just worked out that the sprinkler covers at any one time about a quarter of the veg. ground, and to facilitate a four course/year rotation the area is anyway split into four sub-areas. The sprinkler system just works from a hose attached to an outside tap from the domestic system which also facilitates hand watering by hose. The hose also fills a couple of water butts which can then be dipped into using watering cans to water the two green/glasshouses and to water specific small areas. There are also two 'reserve' 1000 litre plastic/metal container reservoirs, one of which will serve the planned polytunnel, which are filled via rainwater delivered courtesy of various shed roofs. The growing area needs some water in drier weather, the soil type being 'black loam' - a gorgeous soil to work with, it's one downside being that unlike 'heavier', clay constituent soils, it doesn't hold water well, which is why the raised bed experiment didn't work well here - they would seem to suit heavier soil conditions better - ?

 The onions have continued their remarkable recovery from onion fly strike thanks seemingly to nettle juice applications and look to have the makings of a good crop. Last year's diagnosis of leek moth attack on both the onions and leeks now might seem to have been incorrect, with the more likely foe to have been the onion fly. To this end and after the rescue of the onion maincrop, the leek plants have been receiving applications of diluted nettle juice, and are looking, fingers crossed, pretty healthy and vigorous. Lots of green material as usual for the compost heap - the main soil nutrient source for two years time. Weeds, nettles, some grass clippings, redundant/surplus produce, leaves, veg waste, sawdust, potatoe tops, hedge clippings, bean and pea haulms, used teabags - whatever - if it'll rot it goes on to the open-top pile, which then provides good compost in around a year's time (enclosed compost systems are presumably quicker ). To have the system's 'waste' then become the key to on-going soil fertility doesn't seem to be too bad a plan --- ?

Time --- for a rest?

It did get a bit too hot to undertake too much energetic work but fortunately the work on the extension of the 'Rough Office' in the paddock (formerly a small chalet) had reached the stage of the basic buiding and roof being up, with the waterproof roofing felt just going on before a terrific rain around mid July - satisfying to see it had withstood such a torrent and remained dry inside. Most of the materials to build it were 'lying around the place' and only three re-consitituted boards have been bought, so with the addition of a can of 'Expanding foam' (to hide some of the 'bodge build' details and fill in holes and cracks) the overall on-cost for the 3m*3m extension should be under £50. So like the 'Penny-less' porch build last year, it should qualify for the 'penny-less' attribution, and now having the useful overall dimensions of 5m*3m. Basic, especially when compared to the amazing sheds on UK TV last night, competing for 'shed of the year' honours, but it will no doubt do the job, probably to earn the soubriquet of 'The Retreat'. So, a wee break from construction work, and then to look forward to doing the 'finishing off' work, and to get it functioning - good to have stuff to look forward to too - ?  'Tek yer time, me boyo', as one old boy Dorset farmer client used to say.

'Big' watch -----

The micro-small 'power-less' entity that is the individual probably has to deal with more 'large entities' these days than ever before --- ? And many of these 'large entities' can at times seem intent on relieving the individual of as much money as possible , rather than, say, having the objective of giving the individual a good, 'value for money' deal and experience - ? (or, in the case of government, for instance, of limiting money to individuals in the form of pretty limited pay rises, benefits reductions, and so forth). It's been well documented that the current culture has been geared to short-term mega money making, which seems though to have had at times an adverse effect of tending to obscure any 'longer-term effects' view - ?

Satisfied customers, for instance, can presumably be a useful longer-term effective way of marketing products and services - one smaller windows and conservatory firm hereabouts, in strong competition from 'larger entities' within that industry, appears to do ok if not quite well, by taking a longer view, based on the ('inversely innovative' - ?) notion that giving people a good deal will a) bring automatic repeat and recommended business ('spreading the word') in the longer-term and b) that whilst satisfied customers are a pretty useful longer-term effective way of marketing the products and service, they at the same time then avoid the need for advertising and marketing on-costs and the need to have to devise ever more 'offers' to try to drum up business - this firm's order books are already pretty full, and they're 'having quite a few nice days'.

One of the recent 'brushes' with 'large entity' business here involved going to buy a cheap basic printer. The initial enthusiasm and 'bonhommie' from the salesperson seemed to wane pretty fast when the realisation dawned that it was to be a pretty basic sale without any 'add-on' items (good test? -if an outfit gives good and pleasant service on 'small' sales, then they may be chosen as the 'large sale provider' sometime in the future? - needs the 'longer-term outlook', though - ?).

Another recent 'large entity' experience involved the renewal of a car breakdown service, the cost on the renewal form for some reason coming in at roughly double the current level. Maybe an attempted application of 'psychology'? When the firm was contacted, it was then able to offer the reduced price, and this seemed to them to be a 'goodie'for the customer - except it wasn't -it was the cost level that had been operating anyway - ??  On contacting them, it was quite a wait on the phone to get through, in the meantime to be subjected to various marketing messages. Maybe this was part of their 'cunning plan', backfiring in this case though due to the hassle and time expenditure involved and to their style of customer treatment. This same national outfit had, according to local report, refused to attend a breakdown when a car had hit a pothole, as in their book apparently this was an accident, not a breakdown. The elderly occupant members of the service in this car were not best impressed - fortunately in the end a good samaritan in the form of a younger relative rescued them. Maybe in any relentless 'over-focused' search for 'mega' profits, the essential nature and purpose of services can, and do, get lost sight of -?

An aquaintance also had a less than happy episode on the phone to a large computer-based outfit. Their representative asked whether their service was all that he desired, at which point he did say that he wasn't in accord with all that this firm did. The representative then seemed to take exception to his comments and proceeded to attempt to justify his company's procedures rather than, say, acknowledging or even taking on board the reservations, implying thereby that the custmer's way of thinking was incorrect, which rather annoyed the customer as the reservations were something he felt quite strongly about, and he had been specifically asked for his feedback.

It's all perhaps a case of 'Non illegitimum carborundum', as they say. ('Don't let the b's grind you down') - ??

'Pocket watch -----'

Clouds can have silver linings ----- The case of the breakdown service tale above has helped cut costs here, in that the episode then prompted some internet research at what alternatives were available, with the outcome that a significantly more economic service was found and signed up to, adding then to the savings already made this year on items such as home insurance and car insurances. And maybe equally as important, adding to a 'survive and thrive' sensation of 'individual progress', strengthening feelings of independence and self-worth - ? Getting on the cost cutting bandwagon can seem to lead to good feelings of achievement and can become quite addictive. The fuller list here this year now includes newspapers, coffees, veg seed, beer, house insurance, car insurance, car breakdown, golf fees, food , water heating, electricity, and potentially house heating costs, in all mounting up to a useful sum, and stretching the given income stream further. There's a particular satisfaction perhaps too, to be had by satisfying needs economically, one that seems common to quite a few - ?

The solar electricity unit has come into it own in this sunny summer, not only producing lots of electricity, but also via the device that diverts some of the solar-generated electricity to the hot water tank, producing lots of 'free' hot water. For a few weeks now grid electric consumption has run at somewhere around 2 kw/day, whilst solar production has averaged at around 12kw/day. Most of the mowing has been able to be done too courtesy of solar production, using a handy electric-powered hover mower got at a rural car boot sale in west Wales for the princely sum of £12 - does the job just fine and dandy.

Clock's ticking - --?

According to newspaper reports, the evidence mounting up relating to the potential problem of global warming seems to be winning the day, with the naysayers maybe now in some retreat - ? Events, though, can be conflicting - the UK, for instance, has now reportedly reduced its environment support spending, so the situation for the individual can at times come over as a little confusing - ?

Whatever - at the miniscule 'micro' 'small entity' end of the scale, the feeling of, even in a tiny way, nurturing nature, and the planet, of 'taking some care', can be a good, positive experience - the individual can only do what she /he can do (and presumably it can be important to them to do it). Working with nature can seemingly also enhance that feeling of being part of things, connecting to a bigger reality (and escaping therefore, to some extent, the limitations and restrictions of 'small self' living - ?).

Better get the hoe out then and tackle some of those weeds, which even though they can give a bit of an untidy appearance to the veg ground, do good work in terms of then going on the compost heap to provide fertility for the future ('longer-termism'), and sound in the knowledge that it's doing a little bit of 'environmental', no matter how small that is.

 Some have likened 'life processes'  to the analogy of a clock -  even if all its parts are present/available, unless they're sorted and assembled in good order, there'll be no positive outcome, no 'tick'  - ?