It Strikes Me Funny: The mighty clothesline is still a mystery to some

After writing about my use of clotheslines in a column in The Londoner (a few years ago, though memories are fresh : ) because of the post below) I received a veritable flood of emails from - as always - interested and interesting readers.

A woman suggested a way to hang underwear outside without offending neighbours: Hang them under a sheet or behind a towel.

Good idea. Sure, I don’t care if my saggy, soggy pants flap so loudly in the breeze that they turn heads, but some people do.


[Photo link]

One reader also suggested a whole generation is growing up without knowing what a clothesline looks like or why it is beneficial. Her daughter had a young friend over one day and the friend saw laundry on an outdoor line and wondered what the heck it was. Yipes.

Raise your hand if you don’t know about clotheslines or their benefits. Hmmm... the number appears to be growing.

That strikes me funny, but not in a ‘haha’ kind of way.

***

Please click here to read more It Strikes Me Funny.

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Austerity without Anxiety: Maybe it’s because I’m retired

Two clotheslines stretch across my back deck and if you ever come to visit, remember to duck. Especially if my hockey shin pads are on the line. You’ll get quite the whack on the forehead!


Even in the winter, I hang up my clothes to dry. (I have three lines in the basement for rainy day or cold weather). I don’t ever think about using the electric dryer. Maybe it’s because I’m retired and have the extra 10 minutes it takes to hang up my clothes.

Maybe it’s because ‘hanging up’ is in my genes. My mother’s line stretched from the back door of the house to the barn and, as a teen, I got used to retrieving and thawing out my jeans before school started during winter months.


["Clean, and not frozen.": photo and cartoon by GH]

Whatever the case, using lines is a healthy habit, saves me more than pennies a day (the electric dryer is one of North America’s greediest home hydro users, and one of the easiest to avoid) and by the time my clothes are dry most of the wrinkles are gone.

Iron? What’s an iron?

***

Please click here to read more Austerity without Anxiety.

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Climate Change Concerns: A wind from the east blows good...

... For neither man nor beast.

And it won’t be long before the wind blowing from China comes bearing more coal soot than you can shake a stick at.


China’s economy is now the second biggest in the world.

Also, according to the International Energy Agency, “China is now the world’s biggest consumer of energy and burns about half of the world’s total coal production.” (Gwynne Dyer, Aug. 21, London Free Press)

China also now makes “makes more cars than any other country in the world. Indeed, it makes as many as Japan and the US together.”

So, add more than a titch of greasy smog to the soot soon to be coming our way.

And, if you didn’t know already, “as long ago as 2007, China became the world’s biggest emitter of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.”

Soot, greasy smog, greenhouse gases. The triple whammy.


["The cheapest, healthiest source of energy?": photos GH]

Recommendation: If you don’t like the sound and smell of the winds from the east, then get off the cheap-goods-from-China consumption habit.

Stay out of Wal-Mart and The Dollar Store and any other that is supplied chiefly by China and cheap labour.

Slow down the big coal and big oil engine and save money for the future at the same time.

***

If we want good news stories related to climate change, I think we’ll have to write them ourselves.

Please click here to read more Climate Change Concerns.

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Deforest City Blues: Headline - “Builders Officially Go Green”

Really?

Get out of town.

I mean it. Get out of town if you believe the headline. (June 9, London Free Press)

Yes, London home builders occasionally embrace energy-efficient technologies in home construction.

But, “officially,” they’re a long way from going green.

Why do I say that?

Because Deforest City builders still ignore the greenest option of all - smaller homes.

If we built homes that were 20% smaller than the average, what would happen?

We’d use 20% fewer building materials. That’s energy-efficient, eh.

We’d require less fuel to heat the home.

We’d require less furniture.

We’d likely require fewer electric appliances.

We’d have a smaller mortgage and not use as much energy sweating about our monthly finances.

So, are our builders officially going green?

Not by a long shot.

***

How many square feet do you need in order to be a happy home owner?

Please click here to read more Deforest City Blues.

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Deforest City Blues: Immediate discontent vs long-term benefits (and the red asterisk *) Pt 2

My gosh.

I just finished a short (and brilliant) post about coughing up (without a cruel grimace or cuss words) $116 to continue to ride on wheels for another year.

And mere seconds later, without warning, what did my wondering eyes behold?


["Hazy, lazy days of summer on Lake Erie": photos GH]

A red asterisk in the margin of the form. And when my eyes wandered down a bit farther I discovered the meaning of that red asterisk.

“Drive clean emission test required.” (For our Honda Civic).

“Ontario’s Drive Clean program requires emissions tests for vehicles every two years for registration renewal starting when vehicles are five model years old.” (Our 2005 Civic qualifies).

One, two, three...


I figured out pretty quickly I faced three options, or coloured doors, so to speak.

The Blue Door - Do not pay. Give up driving the car.

The Red Door - Fuss and fume. Go red in the face. Blame somebody. (A lot of people do this when faced with taxes, fees, and levies.) Use ‘government conspiracy’ in a loud, angry sentence in a letter to the editor. Then pay up.

The Green Door - Think about the benefits of controlling automobile emissions. Try to count up five benefits without using my fingers. Then pay up without a grimace, cuss words or shouting “damn revenuers! They dun got me agin.”

And is there a benefit to pay a fee every other year to see if my car is within allowable emissions guidelines and get a tune up if it’s not?


I think so. Let me just take a deep breath, then direct you toward a couple of links.

The first. Smog Alert Days, by the numbers. They have been decreasing in Ontario for the last few years. Cleaner cars likely have something to do with that.

The second. A map of Ontario shows that Deforest City, though in the middle of a toxic triangle, has good air quality today. Not ‘very good,’ but at least we’re not as bad off as Chatham and Grand Bend today.

More acceptable car emissions is likely an important factor.

So, I’ll pick the Green Door and pay my fee without cussin’ out them revenuers.

***

Are more clunkers off the road now than in the near past?

Could we still do better?

And just how do we get people to drive fewer miles per year?

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In 10 more years, what skills will be most important?

I woke up this morning thinking about a presentation I have to make tomorrow and reviewing what I’ll tell people in Chatham about Deforest City’s chicken debate.

Deputy Mayor Gosnell thinks ‘it’s better to leave raising eggs to the professionals’ because ‘this is not the 1920s... we’re a very urban society’ and ‘becoming a sophisticated research and development, high-tech community.’

Can we not do both? Can we not research and develop new technologies while becoming more self-reliant related to food production?


["Singing in 11-part harmony will be important"]

And in 10 years, when professionals in agribusiness will likely be paying more for oil and shipping and chasing chickens, etc., and growing national debt (and global debt) will be making many jobs more vulnerable to failure, what skills will we consider important?

Raising, killing, defeathering and gutting a chicken to save a few dollars might seem more important in a more expensive world.

Developing a better cellphone so people can carry on the following conversation...

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing. What are you doing?”

“Nothing.”

... might seem less important.

What were you thinking when you woke up this morning?

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Pt 3 Can we develop a deeper appreciation for Nature?

As I said earlier - of course we can. And we should... soon.

I mean, don’t try to tell me our local climate instability isn’t related to global warming.

But our strange weather might be caused by sunspots?? Ha.

(I thought I said not to tell me).

How can a person grow fonder of Nature? One could plant a garden or make more effort to eat local.

As well, we should try to cut out back on our use of processed foods.


["Real food"]

For example: When making Kraft Dinner, few people get any real sense of where real food comes from. (Answer: Not from the Kraft food company!)

I mean, what do you say when a child asks, “Is real cheese bright orange, Mommy? Does it always come in a foil pouch?”


["Not real food"]

But when we make our own noodles (using an egg from our own chicken) or cook noodles made from real wheat from Durham (just south of Owen Sound, Ontario) and add our own chopped up veggies to a simmering pot of tomato sauce (made with real plum tomatoes from that farm right beside Hawk Cliff, south of London and St. Thomas), then we’ll more often think about how important the earth is to all of us.

Just because many high school and UWO students think KD is real food, don’t let that fool you.

A plum tomato from Dexter Line is real food.

***

Don't tell me Durham wheat doesn't come from Durham, Ontario!

Want directions to Hawk Cliff? Let me know. Great for bird-watching.


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Pt 3 Why do I suffer Deforest City Blues at times?

Three reasons today.

First - unfriendly bylaws.

Second - an unreasonable Deputy Mayor who reserves praise only for ‘the professional’ born well after the 1920s.

(Dear Mr. Gosnell. Will backyard gardens - developed and maintained by rank amateurs - be banned one day inside city limits because they draw pests, like squirrels and raccoons and rabbits?)

Third - sometimes, people forget about the good stuff.

This from Tuesday’s issue of The London Free Press:

Coun. Bernie McDonald said he was raised with chickens on Cape Breton Island and they bring lice, fleas and rats.

But surely, there must be a good side to Mr. McDonald’s short, yet delightful, story.

Perhaps chickens also provided the chicken half of Sunday evening’s chicken and dumpling stew at Bernie’s house. Maybe fresh eggs at a very reasonable price graced his breakfast plate on a regular basis. Maybe skills related to animal husbandry were passed along to several young minds. And maybe, because families kept chickens and supplied their own eggs, there was more room on weekly supply trucks to the Island for comic books and shoes and spiffy polyester ties to wear to the local high school hop.


["What's that smell? It ain't the chickens!"]

Who knows. Maybe Bernie cleaned up pretty nicely and looked suave and debonair while wearing one of the aforementioned new ties - and even met Mrs. Right because of it.

Come on, let’s not forget the good times, eh.

But Bernie continued:

“You raise chickens and you start to smell like them,” he said. “I have enough problems with student housing, much less with chicken coops.”

Okay, maybe in Bernie McDonald’s case certain smells have outlasted any good thoughts, but not for me.

Chickens are a good thing, and after a reasonable amount of public education, city council shouldn’t stand in the way of progress.

This isn’t the 1920s after all.

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Pt 2 Why do I suffer Deforest City Blues at times?

Three reasons today.

First - unfriendly bylaws. Want to learn about raising chickens to support a great idea, i.e., eat local? You can’t. There are bylaws that won’t even allow a pilot project inside city limits.

Second - an unreasonable Deputy Mayor, and trust me, I don’t throw the phrase ‘unreasonable Deputy mayor’ around very often. (However, I use the word ‘reasonable’ a lot.)


["Where's Gord? Out of tune?"]

This from Tuesday’s issue of The London Free Press:

Deputy Mayor Tom Gosnell said it’s better to leave raising eggs to the professionals, who in Ontario are raising some of the best food in the world.

Yes, the professionals. All you amateurs out there, take note. Forget how good fresh eggs or meat or vegetables or fruit or bread or jam or home preserves or any homemade product tastes - the pros do it better. Yeah, right.

“This is not the 1920s,” Gosnell said. “We are a very urban society.”

That’s right. No one can argue that. We don’t live in a time, like 90 years ago, when the majority of people were more self-reliant and could raise some of their own food or make some of their own clothes, if need be. Now we rely on others, from the womb to the tomb, to do perfectly healthy chores for us, all on the back of cheap oil, thereby leaving our society vulnerable to any changes in the price per barrel.

Mr. Gosnell continued:


["What? We can't grow red pepper for our omelette? There's a bylaw?"]

He said he’s “shocked” at the debate about backyard chickens in a city like London.

“We’re becoming a sophisticated research and development, high-tech community.”

And we can’t do both?

I.e., we can’t raise a few hens, collect fresh eggs and make a healthy, low-cost omelette (better than the professionals) while becoming a high-tech community?

We can’t multi-task or appreciate natural processes while making, what... a better cellphone?

If I was Carla on Cheers I’d say, “What a maroon.”

But I’m not, so I’ll just keep singin’ the blues.

***

More to follow.

Yeah, we’ve dropped the egg on this one.

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Pt 2 Can we develop a deeper appreciation for Nature?

As I said when I initially asked the question - of course we can.

And after watching and reading reports about ongoing environmental and economic damage in the Gulf of Mexico, we should.

And we should start immediately.

After you’ve started or expanded your garden and purchased a few packets of vegetable seeds (please click here to visit Pt 1 and some delightful context), try the following so your appreciation for Nature can deepen:

Eat local food. And if you have children, take them to a farm where some of their food is grown. Point at a cabbage, tell your kids what it is, and be proud you can still identify a living plant.


["Kids, are these turnips or red peppers?": photo by GAH]

(Hey, even if you don’t have kids, go to the farm. Learn how to spot a turnip from 50 paces).

Going to a farm and growing our own vegetables is a step forward, not backward, as some would have you believe.

Any step back from heavily-industrialized, fertilized and fossil-fueled agribusiness is forward thinking.

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Climate Change Concerns Pt 2: Are heaps of food and fertilizers just good news?

While reading and riding last night (42 miles of cycling helped me burn over 600 calories) I read a passage in Super Freakonomics that linked back to a letter in yesterday’s newspaper that touched on the damage to our water supplies caused by meat and dairy production. [Please link to Part 1]

Timely, I thought as I pushed past Mile 30.


I read that over 250 years ago, when Earth’s population was about 800 million people, there were those that worried “agriculture could not respond to the pressure of feeding extra people.” (pg. 141)

But then a variety of innovations, e.g., higher-yielding crops, better tools, etc., spurred the Agricultural Revolution.

‘In late eighteenth century America, it took 19 out of 20 workers to feed the country’s inhabitants and provide a surplus for export. Two hundred years later, only 1 of 20 American workers was needed to feed a far larger population while also making the United States the largest single exporter of food in the world.’

I also read that the millions of hands that were freed up went on to power the Industrial Revolution, and by 1850 worldwide population had grown to 1.3 billion; by 1900, 1.7 billion; by 1950, 2.6 billion.

‘And then things really took off. Over the next fifty years, the population more than doubled, reaching well beyond 6 billion.’

‘If you had to pick a silver bullet that allowed this surge, it would be ammonium nitrate, an astonishingly cheap and effective crop fertilizer. It wouldn’t be much of an overstatement to say ammonium nitrate feeds the world. If it disappeared overnight, says the agricultural economist Will Masters, “most people’s diets would revert to heaps of cereal grains and root crops, with animal products and fruits only for special occasions and for the rich.”’ (pg. 142)

To an economist, heaps of food on the back of cheap fertilizer must sound good - might even look completely nutritious.


["Heaps of peppers by the roadside on the back of cheap fertilizer?": photos GAH]

However, when positive agricultural growth leads to negative environmental results, i.e., “such production contributes more pollutants to our water supplies... shortages... global deforestation... wildlife habitat destruction” (Part 1) we should be more concerned about how our food is produced and how much and what we eat, shouldn’t we?

Especially if the link between food production and serious environmental damage is as visible as the nose on our face.

***

More to follow about ammonium nitrate production and use.

Please click here to read Part 3.

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Climate Change Concerns Pt 1: Reduce meat and dairy products - a good idea

And not just during Earth Day, i.e., tomorrow.

Leo Phillips, in a Letter to the Editor (Apr. 20, London Free Press), suggests we ‘celebrate Earth day and every day by replacing meat and dairy products in our diet with healthful, eco-friendly foods.’

He makes his case by stating the following:

A recent study in WorldWatch magazine found production of meat and dairy products may account for half of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions


["Our farming practices leave a lot to be desired": photo GAH]

Such production contributes more pollutants to our water supplies than all other human activities combined

It is causing global shortages of drinking water

It is the driving force in global deforestation and wildlife habitat destruction

Perhaps the magazine article to which he refers shares more information related to each point, but his focus nonetheless is a good one, i.e., changes in our food production methods and eating habits are required.

Leo encourages us to consider ‘healthful, eco-friendly foods.’

I suppose when he says the above many think about the following:

Eating more locally grown produce

Eating more locally raised and butchered meat

Reducing the amount of meat in a meat-rich diet

Planning and planting a garden.

What else? Please, you tell me.

I do know that one other thought entered my mind, because last night, while reading and riding (gotta lose a few pounds), I came across a paragraph in Super Freakonomics about fertilizer.

So, to the above list of four thoughts I’d add a fifth:

Using compost in the garden rather than industrial fertilizer.

***

More to follow re fertilizer.

Please click here to read Part 2.

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Green Ideas 2010: Time to rehash Green Ideas 2009

2009 was definitely a busy year for me.

I tried my hand at gardening, helped finish a major house renovation, built dozens of chairs and birdhouses from rescued lumber and sewed holes up tight on several pairs of socks.

Because I was so busy on the above I had mixed results on the ‘green ideas’ I was going to try during the year (see right hand margin).


On the first idea, I did pretty darn good.

I.e., 1. No New Clothing - I will buy no new clothes until Jan. 1, 2010.

Though I bought a new straw hat in June or July, I shortly thereafter realized I’d made a gaffe, put it in the closet and purchased a used straw hat at an antique/flea market store in Fenelon Falls.


["How could I not buy the used straw hat?": photos GAH]

I purchased a couple of used hockey sweaters and pairs of used jeans at Value Village in 2009, but no other ‘new’ clothes.

Over the course of the year I learned that most clothing lasts a long, long time and only a few articles of clothing had to be taken out of circulation. Because I darned socks to get more wear and turned ratty T-shirts into ratty rags for the workshop, just two or three pairs of undies hit the trash bin.

(I know some people think that men will wear underwear until there’s nothing left but the elastic. However, since I play two hockey games per week, that doesn’t happen with me. My team-mates would razz me to death if too many holes appeared where cotton used to be.)

Taking into account that my wife purchased four new T-shirts and one sweater for me at Christmas, I think I’m ready to declare that I will add one more year to my pledge and purchase no new clothes in 2010.

Green Idea 2 (I will plant a Victory Garden in Spring 2009) was accomplished but there were few victories with my tomato, bean, onion or pea plants.

Squirrels dug up my beans and peas as quickly as I could plant them (I trapped a few squirrels but not the craftiest one of all), Ollie trampled the onions, and the tomatoes, though lovely, didn’t get enough hours of sunshine and provided only half the crop I’ve grown used to enjoying over the last few years.

In 2010, I’ll plant a garden again but perhaps I’d call it something other than a Victory garden.

Something more realistic is in order. (A Worthy Attempt Garden comes to mind).

***

How did the other green ideas fare? I’ll get back to the list soon.

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One foot in the grave: Mindsets take centuries to change?

As I wrote earlier, in London, England people are being asked to share a grave site with another person.

(According to an Associated Press story) “A lot of people say ‘I’m not putting my Dad in a second-hand grave’” says Gary Burks, superintendent of the City of london Cemetery. “You have to deal with that mindset.”

The attitude of Londoners will change over time because many countries have been reusing graves for almost 200 years.


Change will perhaps occur quickly for those who are faced with limited options, i.e., put Dad in the ground double-decker style in London or buy a plot a greater distance from home. Share a grave or move Dad to the Orkneys.

On the other side of the Atlantic, North Americans must consider limited options as well in face of rising carbon emissions:

1. Continue to prioritize economic growth, and adapt to the consequences of climate change.

2. Prioritize policies aimed at a major reduction of greenhouses gases to minimize the risk of serious climate change, and adapt to the consequent new economic circumstances. (The two options are considered in The Suicidal Planet).

Option 1 sounds like business as usual, an ‘I’m not putting my Dad in a second-hand grave’ philosophy.

Option 2 sounds more like sharing space and resources more carefully, keeping a foot out of the grave.

***

I recommend The Suicidal Planet in ‘Read This’ in the right hand margin.

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Newspaper Clippings: Running out of room for the dead?

In London, England people are now being faced with a problem most North Americans will never have to consider: The city of eight million is running out of places to bury their dead. (Full story here)

Londoners are having to develop a new mindset about certain matters as the city’s largest cemetery tries to persuade them to share a grave with a stranger.

As I read the story and people’s comments I saw similarities between London’s dilemma and Ontario’s rising debt load (written about here recently and definitely here again).

For example:

A London receptionist said, ”I don't even want to think about it. It's not showing respect. It doesn't matter whether or not the person has been buried for 25 years or 100 years, that is their space and you should give them respect."

And that apparently is “an attitude that frustrates advocates of grave reuse. Julie Rugg of the Cemetery Research Group at the University of York in northern England jokes that Britain's problem is that "we weren't invaded by Napoleon." Countries that adopted the Napoleonic Code have been reusing graves for almost 200 years.”


But a change in attitude in London will happen eventually (grave sharing will occur in one region, then another, then another, until it is relatively commonplace), as will a change in attitude in Canada concerning our debt and our personal responsibility toward it.

Just as Londoners will learn they are running out of room for the dead and need to share limited space, we’ll learn our excessive lifestyles need to be trimmed as limits are discovered concerning our unsustainable economy.

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The good news is... I have lots of leftovers

The good news first.

According to Tuesday’s Free Press, London may soon put its name on the map as a producer of biogas.

An article by N. De Bono stated:

“StormFisher Biogas, a London company that will turn vegetable waste into electricity, has inked its largest deal yet, partnering with Loblaws stores across Southwestern Ontario to take their leftover fruit and vegetable for use in its local plant.

“The London facility will generate 28 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 2,800 homes.”

I believe the facility is cause for celebration because if there’s one thing I’ve learned in the last few decades it’s that North Americans have plenty of leftovers.

My gosh, we’ve got reusable trash coming out our ears.

The bad news.

We can’t celebrate too loudly. A biogas facility in London means we’re only about 30 years behind the times.

As reported in the front page article:


["Thirty years late again?": GAH]

“As innovative as the process is for Ontario, it's common in Europe, where organic waste has been diverted from landfills for decades. Europe has 6,000 bio-gas generators.”

(Hey, at least in a region known for its corn and soy bean crops - grown mainly to feed cattle - we’ve shown we can think about more than beef on the BBQ every once in awhile. Well done).

And more bad news for me.

I can no longer wear the T-shirt that proclaims in bold print that I’m the ‘World’s largest producer of natural gas.’

Number two again.

***

Why are we always 30 years behind the times around here?

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If water is at risk what happens to our favourite cold drinks?

They’d likely get more expensive. Filtration systems don’t come cheap.

Though the Grand River system (the closest to London of Canada’s rivers that made a recent World Wildlife Fund report initially mentioned here) is reportedly ‘well managed’ (though ‘increased demand for water from growing cities is a threat’) the same may not be said for the once clean and mighty Thames River, now a bare shadow of its former self.

If conservation of natural resources ever becomes important to the majority of people we may see some improvements in all natural waterways near high population or agricultural areas. But only if we change our treatment of those resources.

In the case of our waterways, how could we reduce our demand on them?


["Fresh water at Tobermory": GAH]

Stop washing our car with a hose, or as frequently

Take 2 minute showers

Eat less meat (meat industry is water intensive from start to finish)

Give up bottled water (plastic industry is water intensive)

Wash dishes by hand

Reduce coffee intake (coffee industry is water intensive)

The Great Lakes will thank you.

***

I need one more water conservation idea. I want seven in all.

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Deforest City Blues: Have we backed the wrong horse again?

From cigars, to cars, to cargo? Can we get it right?

Years ago London was known for its fine cigars. Puff.

The industry went up in smoke. Other locales could do it better.

Then we backed car manufacturing. And after years of faithful partnerships the cars drove south.


Now we’re going to sink millions into turning our airport into a cargo hub. Will the project have wings?

I express doubts in an earlier post.

In last week’s column (and this Wednesday’s) I point out a few weaknesses to the scheme.

And now I read that not only do airports ‘face a slow recovery after the recession caused a significant erosion of passenger traffic’ but ‘the recession has also produced challenges for air carriers (individual companies), especially Air canada, which accounts for more than half of traffic at Canada’s largest airports.’ (Canadian Press, Oct.16)

Those who know the connection between passengers and freight will know our city has not bet on the winning horse again.

Add to this the fact a growing number of people now link carbon production to climate change and want to see action taken.

An air cargo industry (very carbon intensive) may put Deforest City into the position of ‘flogging a dead horse.’

***

Could we breath life into Ford Talbotville by producing an awe-inspiring small car?

Would urban commuters drive an enclosed 3-wheel scooter with a grocery compartment?

How’s 100 mpg grab you?

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Should we consider shipping freight on the Great Lakes?

As economies become more local, is Deforest City positioned to take advantage of the Great Lakes waterway?


[“This ship is passing The Needles”:photo GAH]

Personally, I think our city’s plan to become an air freight hub (a carbon-intensive form of industry if I ever saw one... hack!) doesn’t have legs. Or wings.

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From the Workshop: Rescued Grade C lumber has a few strengths

It was warm enough inside the workshop this afternoon to paint and stain 10 GH birdhouses, and one turned out good enough to hang on the back fence - in April.


Lumber with green stain came off our house in large amounts during a recent reno and though it looked like Grade C compared to the cedar that took its place I was pretty sure I’d find a use for it.

Single birdhouses and duplexes by the score so far, and the ones with scuffed green stain don’t look too, too bad after a bit of linseed oil and maple stain is applied over top.


The single on the right should look right at home overlooking my backyard.

Once the remaining birdhouses are painted a variety of colours, and trim is applied, I’ll get back to Rietveld chairs - using Grade C as I like to say.


["I'll soon be ready for the next shed night": photos by GAH]

Only 5 more to go and I’ll have a great set for shed nights, i.e. evenings when friends come to visit in order to catch up on local news and help solve the problems of the world.

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