Bring on the autumn! It is utterly stunning this time of year. We didn't notice the season changing anywhere near as dramatically from spring to summer but the last week it has felt as though every morning when we step outside the front door nature has marched along another few steps. I've been taking photos but have realised I probably need to be creating a plinth or something to be standing on to ensure I am in the exact same place to be taking a photo a day to properly record it.
We have waved good bye to the last of our visitors for this year with a sense of sadness, particularly as this was a run of family visiting, but also a sense of normality returning. Visitors are lovely to have but add to the burden of our day to day existance. Rainwater has been a precious commodity this last week as Rum experienced an unexpected dry spell for five days running which meant Ady and I were staggering across the croft with 20 litre jerry cans in each hand gathering river water instead of rainwater harvesting which is usually a very reliable water source. The increased visitor have also meant more gas used in cooking and kettles boiled and of course more toilet emptying duties.
I don't really hold with squeamishness over toiletetting - as a mother I have wiped more bottoms and dealt with the disposal of more nappy contents than I can count. I still deal with washable sanitary protection and mooncup emptying and feel very strongly that we have gone way too far down the line from our ancestors who used to lob chamber pot contents out of upstairs windows. There is a line somewhere between responsible disposal of human waste and creating a problem that we could all deal with perfectly well ourselves without using drinking water to flush our waste away.
Currently our method of dealing with waste is digging holes and burying our collected few days at a time wast. A perfectly acceptable, if rather time consuming method. Our dream is to make use of a compost loo instead so we can be getting on with other things. We are hoping to hit our fundraising target to achieve this in just under a month so please excuse the shameless plug to the place to assist with that if you are able.
http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/investment/compost-loo-1240
I've shared your need ;D!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Caroline, fingers (and legs!) firmly crossed!
DeleteI'd love to have a compost loo... probably an unattainable wish at the moment, living as we do in a maisonette in a terraced town house!
ReplyDeleteI do think it's ODD that we take our waste out of the ecosystem and jettison it into the sea where it can't break down particularly or be useful. A bit of shame, really.
I'd love to see a world where all new builds have sensible waste and energy options. Retro fitting and finding ways of adapting current systems are simply too expensive and not viable which is a shame.
DeleteIt does make me think about our waste disposal. We are in a terrace and not very nature friendly so its something we are trying to improve on gradually.
ReplyDeleteAutumn is indeed glorious this year.
It's been a beautiful changing of the seasons :). I think every little helps in terms of waste management and improving.
DeleteWe have friends who own some woodland (in Surrey) and they have a den (for want of a better word)-it's a barn really with a compost loo behind. The first time I used it I was VERY dubious but I was surprised by the lack of smell. Hope you achieve your goal.
ReplyDeleteLove reading your blog btw-it's a world away from Pulborough :) xx
Thank you, it is indeed a world away from West Sussex :) x
DeleteWe visited AmeyCespa recently. The farmer was paid £50 million to give up valuable good farming land to turn it into landfill. The adjoining farm is owned by the same family (tenanted) and is likely also to be bought then they have run out of landfill space here. It was a fascinating day on how to rid ourselves of the waste we create but no discussion at all on how to reduce the amount of waste in the first place.
ReplyDeleteWe visited a recycling centre a few years ago and it was fascinating. Landfills are much the same. Most of our archaeological finds are from discovering previous generations buried waste. The problem is that so much of what gets landfilled needn't be. We have so much surplus packaging, stuff chucked away which could be reused and thoughtless waste that could be recycled, composted or otherwise made use of somewhere. It's a disposable world and with a growing population we will run out of space to keep disposing probably long before we run out of the resources to keep producing stuff in the first place. Gloom and doom about such things is one of the reasons we opted out really, although we are by no means part of the solution at least we are no longer part of the problem.
DeleteWas thinking of you and composting plans while watching latest Kevin McCloud thing on Ch4 (Man-Made Home). If you haven't been watching he's been building a sort of Cabin, off-grid. With each show focusing on the various techs and crafts needed. One show featured a "digester" that turned poo into cooking gas. And also had him creating a leather seat for a chair out of deer-skin - which apparently normally goes to waste. Might still be on 4OD if you missed it.
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