environment – Page 6

My eco-afternoon

I cycled into Brighton and bought a hand drill. It was that or a cordless electric one for working in the garden or shed. But this will also do for small jobs in the house and save electricity. Then I went to Infinity Foods and got my empty laundry soap bottle refilled. Then I cycledContinue reading “My eco-afternoon”

Mud People

While on holiday recently, I read Ursula Le Guin’s story, “The Word For World Is Forest”. As always with Le Guin, it’s superb, imaginative, thoughtful writing. The story is set on a distant world, Athshe, which humans from Earth are trying to colonise. In many ways, the planet has similar conditions to Earth, theContinue reading “Mud People”

Cycling is the future

Three cheers for Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish and Chris Froome! The media here is talking about the greatest sporting achievement ever – an over-statement, surely, but the performance of these three outstanding British cyclists in the Tour de France cheers the hearts of ordinary British cyclists like me. Maybe if I were 20 yearsContinue reading “Cycling is the future”

Vegetables are murder, too

By now, my new vegetable beds should be packed full of a variety of vegetables, all thriving in the rich compost and growing leafy and tall. Unfortunately, we’ve had very little sunshine this ‘summer’, and I think the soil hasn’t warmed up enough to germinate all the seeds. Also, as it’s hardly stopped raining sinceContinue reading “Vegetables are murder, too”

5 reasons not to cut the grass

It’s a rare sunny day, here in sunny Sussex. And I could take the afternoon off and cut the grass. It is rather long, as one of our weekend guests was kind enough to point out to me. On the other hand, here are five good reasons to leave it – and the animals whoContinue reading “5 reasons not to cut the grass”

Garden upgrade

Here’s the layer-mulched bed shown in the last post, plus funky new wooden frame to keep it all in place. The wood is old 6×2 floor joists I got from a wood recycling co-op in Brighton (The Wood Store). I used some more of the same wood to make another new bed. ThisContinue reading “Garden upgrade”

Garden

Mrs Mabbsonsea kindly lent me her camera during a gap in the rain today, so I took some pictures of the garden. This was just a little rose bed, but I’ve taken away the bark chippings, added a load of compost and planted a variety of veggie seeds. The fence is to stop the catsContinue reading “Garden”

Life in the bike lane

Life in the bike lane … … take it at your own pace. … stop and admire the scenery. … stop and chat to an old friend (or make a new friend). … see the world from a different level. … slightly separate yet at the same time part of the general flow. … the sunContinue reading “Life in the bike lane”

Bike

This is my trusty bike. It’s been a faithful workhorse these past 14 years. I’ve just had to have the headset changed as the bearings were crunched up. It’s great – now it doesn’t creak & groan as I go along.

Saving the world is a spiritual matter

It’s feels hard to convince Christians that ecology is important. Perhaps it’s a sign of how solidly most of us western Christians have bought into our consumerist culture. Maybe it’s just that ecology comes some way down the list of priorities for the church. It’s hard to compete for priority against shiny new (or renewed)Continue reading “Saving the world is a spiritual matter”