First days and compost bins

Yesterday was a strange sort of a day for me, my youngest went off to be away from for the first time ever, at the local Steiner kindergarten, and my eldest stayed home. Monty was really excited and very ready to go off on a new adventure but I hadn't expected to feel so emotional. I had a very real ache in my chest as I said goodbye that didn't go until I had him back in my arms at the end of his big first day.

I decided that as the weather was perfect for a spot of sawing and hammering, Eli and I should get cracking with the planned compost bin.

Recycling facilities in Calderdale are pretty good I think, with collections for glass, paper, plastic and food waste it doesn't leave too much recyclable material left over. As a household however we still don't manage to deal with all of our compostable waste. I've had intentions to build a compost bin for some time without actually just getting on with it so Zero Waste Week has already been a great motivator!

Eli and I used bits of wood that had been lying around for ages; the remnants of an old Ikea child's table and some old skirting board that I'd been hoarding. We also had some really thick planks that we split down the middle to make two of the uprights. Now, I'm fully aware that this construction of ours is not going to win any prizes for looks, but as it will mostly be full of decaying matter I don't think that's too important.

We've just put it together with nails for now - hammering in nails is much more fun than screwing for a five year old - and we'll get some screws in it before we put it to work.

I think Eli was fairly proud of his first joinery efforts (as you can see from the cheesy expression) and I'm hoping he continues to be interested in the whole business of filling up the bin and watching the decomposition process. I'm also fairly proud that I finally did something I've been talking about doing for at least a couple of years!

There are so many things like this, that as individuals and families we know we be should be doing. Life is busy and time is short, but I'm already feeling better for doing my 'one more thing'. Thanks Rachelle for giving us the push we needed.

A slightly dark butterfly tale

I've been struggling to post here for the last couple of weeks. Generally I'd say I've been lacking in the joy and sparkle department of late.

My mood was mirrored by our hatched-in-captivity butterflies. When I ordered those teeny weeny caterpillars I'd imagined us being a part of a joyful journey of growth and transformation...but the experience fell short of magical. It was pretty impressive how quickly those little critters grew but I was perturbed by their food solution. They were certainly not on a natural diet of wild greens, and their plastic pen didn't allow them much room as they grew. They got bigger and bigger and bigger again. The chrysalis forming stage was incredible - definitely awe-inspiring - but as the slower developing caterpillars came along trying to find a space to hang from, their jostling knocked down one of the already formed chrysalides. I was worried...We transferred the butterflies-in-waiting to the hatchery, pinning the hanging cocoons to the netted side and placing the loose one gently on the floor as advised. We eagerly awaited the moment of birth...

They emerged unseen. One by one we missed the births; we discovered the empty shells of the chrysalides first, then searched for the bedraggled new-borns clinging to the sides of their temporary home. The fallen chrysalis lay unopened. The freshly-hatched butterflies did not flutter like wishes on the wind, they flapped and fell clumsily onto their backs and then scrabbled desperately up onto the walls once more to tremble fearfully. They did not eat the fruit nor the sugar water we provided for them but seemed more and more subdued. We couldn't release them because of the ceaseless rain, so for days they sat silently with folded wings. They became an oppressive presence.

It was disturbing to have these creatures in our house. They didn't seem to know how to fly, they didn't seem to know how to eat, their wings didn't look right; I associate butterflies with weightlessness and freedom and the whole business was starting to get to me. I decided that at the first break in the rain we would release them. Oh, but the wrongness didn't stop there! Our stunted butterflies fell from our fingers and flopped into puddles the wrong way up; they jumped from the flowers and leaves we put them on into tangled undergrowth and became ensnared. It was not the release I had hoped for.

They are, however, now with nature come what may. Perhaps the whole butterfly rearing experiment would have been more wholesome had we been able to release them much sooner on the warm winds of more welcoming weather...

I'm not sure where all of this is going, except to say that perhaps that some of us need the sun much more than others...

Potatoes

Hopefully, there'll be some potatoes on show now. These fine specimens were purchased at the annual local potato day - a clutch of first earlies and an indecisive collection of maincrops.

There's something hugely gratifying about growing potatoes. They're big and sturdy enough to be handled with a certain amount of carelessness, easy enough to be planted out with justified hope by the less experienced grower yet are rewarding in almost every sense. Digging up those golden nuggets is a heart-thumpingly thrilling affair for all - particularly the youngest amongst us. Buried treasure never tasted so good.

These potatoes also have something of a metaphorical purpose of course...

The growing season is almost upon us...what yields might this year bring?

Here

Beginnings - they're tricky. Alive with possibilities but scary as hell. So that's where I am, unsure of the how or why but just relieved to have finally made a start.

There was supposed to be a picture of some potatoes to accompany this first post...but I'm new around these parts and still learning the ropes.

It's good to be here.