Rainwater Harvesting

Spring always gives me a boost. Everything starts to pop out of the half-frozen ground, signalling the beginning of another growing year.

With the permaculture way, spring starts early, all the seedlings well on their way to becoming teenagers in the hoop house. This nice warm weather encourages everything to wake up and get ready for the big drink; spring rains. Nature as always has the perfect system; moisture to germinate the seeds, with the arrival of spring thaw, warm weather to get the soil microbes active and seedlings pushing towards the sun.

Then comes the rain.

It’s not just the perfect watering system, there is so much more to this liquid perfection.

Thanks to Brad Lancaster of Rainwater Harvesting  for this list. His excellent work and 3 volumes can be found at harvestingrain.com

Advantages of Rainwater Harvest

*Rainwater, sleet and snowfall is delivered to us free of charge, eliminating the need for costly distribution systems.

*Rainwater is the highest quality source of irrigation water.

*Rainwater is salt-free and can help flush plant damaging salts from the root zone in alkaline soils.

*Rainwater is a natural fertilizer containing sulfur, beneficial microorganisms, mineral nutrients and nitrogen.

* Rainwater harvesting reduces utility bills.

*Rain water harvesting reduces flooding by reducing flow to the streets and storm drains.

* Rainwater harvesting reduces non-point-source pollution of storm water.

* Rainwater harvesting provides a water source when well water is contaminated or unreliable.

*Water harvesting helps utilities reduce summer peak demands for water and reduces the volume of waste water that needs to be treated at water treatment plants.

* It’s a great way to drought proof your life!

I am currently teaching water harvesting in my community and have found the responses to water harvesting very interesting and eye-opening. Many folks believe that having a rain barrel is what water harvesting is about. This is a call to action for more education through our municipalities and local administration to enable residents to make wise water choices that are effective and easy to implement.

In a rural context, education is needed to bring to the attention of landowners that pulling all your  water needs from rivers, creeks and ground water is not a sustainable practice. North Americas’ aquifers are being emptied at a rate that can not be afforded in our world water crisis.

Collecting rainwater allows us to catch water that comes from a primary source of water from the Hydrologic cycle. Hydrologic Cycle:

Secondary sources of water are in creeks, rivers and lakes. If constantly pumped or drained faster than they can replenish these secondary sources eventually cease to exist.

This spring, take the plunge (no pun intended ) into rain water harvesting for yourself, your community and the planet.

Here is Brad Lancaster talking about the importance of rain water harvesting.

Basics of rainwater harvesting with Brad Lancaster

Happy harvesting!

Plant seeds , Harvest change

 

Birthing a passion

For those of you who have landed here from “Terra Cotta”, Welcome to our new vision.

Sage Permaculture is a accumulation of years of gardening, earth care, people care and building community.

The first seeds of permaculture were planted  fifteen years ago, when Robert returned from an international natural building conference in New Mexico.

More recently, a good friend in our community had taken his Permaculture Design Certificate and suggested that it might be a direction I would be interested in.

The first day of the course, I knew I had come home. So many things I believed to be true were reinforced and given context.

After receiving my design certificate, I came to the realization that this was such a small part of my permaculture education. For me the real knowledge comes from doing the work and living a permaculture lifestyle. Integrating all of the knowledge and experience of my life so far and accepting every opportunity I can to further my connection to the permaculture ethics, I move closer to creating balance in my life.

Seeing with new eyes

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.

As I write, I realize I am unsure of how to articulate my thoughts from the last 6 months. I have been divinely guided in directions I couldn’t have imagined a year ago.

As I struggled to reinvent myself my world shifted and changed taking me with it. I have not traveled this journey alone.  My true love has been down walking beside me.

Our plans to leave everything behind for lands unknown have been put on hold to allow us to soften and grow in our own personal world view.

Summer brought us incredible joy, learning, and personal discovery. Many potlucks, dinners with friends, quiet times of  contemplation and most of all our journey into Permaculture.

Last spring I took an introductory course from Verge Permaculture, I went home that night and knew in my heart that I had found my calling. I immediately signed up for my Permaculture Design Certificate and  started reading everything I could get my hands on, attending workshops, talks and most of all applying the principles to my own life.  Actually I’m pretty obsessed. My kids roll their eyes when I start the composting chats, and the ongoing roll call of vegetables harvested that week.  The most valuable lesson I have learned is how important it is to have a sense of community. This summer has given us the opportunity to use our home to do just that.

This fall I am heading back to my clay studio with renewed vigor and excitement. Many ideas on the table, wet pots, clay ovenware, mixed media……. any whatever else inspires me.

As the season changes we settle in, content and full.

Words that spoke to me recently

I collect quotes, things people say, sayings, little stories,put them in a file and occasionally I pull it out and see what floats to the surface.

Here is a couple of floaters for you………………………….

“I believe that the power of music is being felt in places we never imagined.  This project started Ten Years ago in a subway station with two monks singing and playing guitar.  To this day I cannot tell you where they where from or what language they where singing in.  I am starting to believe that this is meant to be, as they serve as a symbol that regardless of who we are or where we come from we are all united with music.” Playing for change

Ok, I know this is longish, but relevant. It spoke to me, actually directly to me, giving me goosebumps. This is the introduction to “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho

“We all need to be aware of our personal calling.Whenever we do that fills us with enthusiasm, we are following our legend. However, we don’t all have the courage to confront our own dream. Why?

There are four obstacles:

First obstacle: we are told from childhood onward that everything we want to do is impossible. We grow up with this idea as the years accumulate, so too do the layers of prejudice,fear and guilt. There comes a time when our personal calling is so deeply buried in our soul as to be invisible. But it’s still there.

Second obstacle: We know what we want to do, but are afraid of hurting those around us by abandoning everything in order to pursue our dream. We do not realize that love is further impetus, not something that will prevent us going forward. We do not realize that those who genuinely wish us well want us to happy and are prepared to accompany us on that journey.

Third obstacle: Once we have accepted that love is a stimulus, we come up against the third obstacle: fear of the defeats we will meet on the path. We who fight for our dream suffer far more when it doesn’t work out, because we cannot fall back on the old excuse: “oh well I didn’t really want it anyway” We do want it and know that we have staked everything on it and the path of the personal calling is no easier than any other path, except our whole heart is in this journey. Then, we must be prepared to have patience in difficult times and to know the universe is conspiring in our favor, even though we may not understand how. Are defeats necessary? Necessary or not, they happen. When we first begin fighting for our dream, we have no experience and make many mistakes. The secret of life  is to fall down seven times and get up eight.

So why is it so important to live our personal calling if we are only going to suffer more than other people? Because once we overcome the defeats…. and we always do…… we are filled we a greater sense of euphoria and confidence. In the silence of our hearts, we know that we are proving ourselves worthy of the miracle of life. Intense unexpected suffering passes more quickly than suffering that is apparently bearable; the later goes on for years and without our noticing eats away our soul, until one day, we are no longer able to free ourselves from the bitterness and it stays with us for the rest of our lives.

Having disinterred our dream, having used the power of love to nurture it and spent many years living with the scars, we suddenly notice that what we always wanted is there, waiting for us, perhaps the very next day.

Forth obstacle: the fear of realizing the dream for which we fought all our lives. The mere possibility of getting what we want fills the soul of the ordinary person with guilt. We look around at all those who have failed to get what they want and feel that we do not deserve to get what we want either. We forget about all the obstacles we overcame, all the suffering we endured, all the things we had to give up in order to get this far. I have known a lot of people who, when their personal calling was within their grasp, went on to commit a series of stupid mistakes and never reached their goal… when it was only a step away.

This is the most dangerous of obstacles because it has a kind of saintly aura about it: renouncing joy and conquest. But if you believe you are worthy of the thing you fought so hard to get, you become an instrument of god and help the soul of the world, and mostly you understand why you are here. Paulo Coelho, Rio de Janerio, November 2002.

Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist ……….. follow the omens.

Missing the boat

Missing the Boat

It is not so much that the boat passed and you failed to notice it.
It is more like the boat stopping directly outside your bedroom window,
the captain blowing the signal-horn, the band playing a rousing march.
The boat shouted, waving bright flags, its silver hull blinding in the sunlight.

But you had this idea you were going by train. You kept checking the time-table, digging for tracks. And the boat got tired of you, so tired it pulled up the anchor and raised the ramp.
The boat bobbed into the distance, shrinking like a toy–at which point you probably realized
you had always loved the sea.

Naomi Shihab Nye Different Ways to Pray- Breitenbush Publications, 1980

Rules of Dancing

Shall I lead or shall I follow?

Lately folks have been curious as to our departure date. Me too. This has been one of the tougher lessons to learn, “things don’t always go as planned” The fence is a good example, “we’ll build that baby is 2 weeks!” Well it’s now been 2 months and we still have to finish the gates.
Daily, many blogs appear in my email, that I have willing subscribed to. Some more helpful , well written and informative than others. Recently there has been a rush of e-book launches by blog authors.
One that came around the other week was for an e-book on how to downsize and travel in 30 days. HA! Who ever buys that e-book probably still lives with their parents, and they need 30 days to talk their parents into keeping all their stuff.
Being the first of our circle of friends to change directions in our life has been interesting. We feel like fish out of water. Everything we knew to be so now has changed. Everything I consider purchasing I must think twice about .
Will it fit in the van. Is this a need or a want? Every penny spent is money the we won’t have on the road.
The dance is the balance that must be created between living in the future and being present in the now. Trying to live every day to it’s fullest while being conscious of our plans.
As my pile grows for our sale, I look at items and think, did this give me what I thought it would when I bought it?
Now it will be sold for a fraction of the price and from this side of the fence I realize I didn’t really need it.
Folks comment on how brave we are, that we are blazing a path for others to follow, this make me uncomfortable. At times I wish we would not have told anyone …. impossible when you are stripping your life down to the bare wood. People would know something is up.
It’s the people that choose to come after us that will make us seem more sane.
This Ted video nails it! How to Start a Movement

Who Stole my Pulpit??

#7 Hang your clothes on the line.

Here are some of the great things our parents have taught us.
Robert:
#1. How to fix your car and anything else that needs it.
#2. Eat your vegetables
#3. Treat everyone equally
#4. Manners and respect
#5. Save for the important things
#6. How to use a sewing machine,( yes ladies, Robert sews and he must know how to knit also, because he is always telling me how I should knit!)
#7. The joy of camping
#8. Your children are your pride and joy no matter what
#9. Eat dinner together as often as possible
#10. Remember special occasions
#11. Balance life and work
#12. Don’t throw anything out ( Jos’ rule, not so much Nel’s)
Evonne

#1. Family is your bond, they are always there, even if you don’t see them.
#2. Plant a big garden and share
#3. Always eat together and talk a lot while doing it, (usually all at the same time, loudly)
#4. Make Christmas special for children and remember it’s not about the presents
#5. How to sew . How to make an old piece of clothing new.
#6. Fix things, then fix them again
#7. Hang your clothes on the line
#8. If you see something that needs to be done… do it!
#9. Don’t say you’re bored, or else ( and you know what “or else” means!)
#10. Shovel your neighbors sidewalk, even if they never shovel yours.
#11. Your elders are addressed formally, Mr Jones, Mrs. Smith.
#12. Never throw anything out .

A couple of great lists.
We both came from families that were solid, balanced and hard working…. One European, one Canadian both wonderful.
Note the last thing on both lists. Never throw anything out. Robert and I believe this is because they lived through the war and every little thing did have a use and value either by you or for trade. ( Rob’s Dad had a great story about a truck load of cheese that was hijacked from the Germans)
We have a different story. Our story is about availability of everything. Along with that availability comes the loss of many things on the lists above. So many things back then were symbiotic. Now we jerk ourselves around from one task to other not lending a thought to the connectedness of everything we do.
So why then don’t we throw things out or let them go? Homes are 3 times bigger than they were back then. Most folks have 2 car garages that barely hold a car! Storage businesses are booming, Black Diamond is 2000 people, we have 3 such businesses. Now we are paying to store our stuff! Are we afraid that we will not be able to live without all that stuff that fills our physical spaces?

Don’t get me wrong folks, I’m not preaching from the pulpit of self-righteousness here, Just struggling to understand a trend that has also enveloped us, dis-enabled us, preoccupies us, and costs us money on a regular basis. ( four dumpsters equals $1200 ) If you really think that you are going to use all that crap, think twice folks! You are leaving a legacy of dump trips for your kids ( trust me they don’t want it either)

So my first kick at the proverbial purging can will be Sept 18th. Phase one!
I know, I know I have told many of you , I’m not having a garage sale, and I’m not! My friend Clover gave me some solid advice on garage sales. All these flower bowls and mismatched glasses take them to the Salvage center, They will sell them for 5 cents a piece. Save your sale for the good stuff, That is what people want, The good stuff!!!
So we are having a re-purposing sale. You know the good stuff. Hopefully some one will want to give a home to stuff we felt was worth passing on in the world.

Getting our Ass in gear!

Ok, it’s your turn! I want to hear your story about your stuff. I can’t be the only one out there wondering why?? Please share, leave a comment below, tell me how you really feel ( about your stuff).
Thanks

You are driving me crazy!

Yes, driving makes me crazy, but I think you need to choose your battles. Checking out some of the roads on the pan-American highway, today was Bolivia. Check out this video Bolivia, the Pan-American highway
People inquire, why we would buy a four wheel drive VW van instead of a Westphalia already done for you? That video says it all folks.
Although, driving into BC on the the Trans Canada highway on a Friday afternoon in the summer can be just as harrowing!

Friday afternoon parking lot called the Trans Canada Highway

So after that long frustrating drive with every speed boat, 5th wheel or 30 foot home away from home, we were forced to medicate!

Drive safely folks!

The Mexican Fisherman

An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked.  Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna.  The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The Mexican replied, “only a little while.”
The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish?
The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs.
The American then asked, “but what do you do with the rest of your time?”
The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos.  I have a full and busy life.”
The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you.  You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat.  With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats.  Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery.  You would control the product, processing, and distribution.  You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”
To which the American replied, “15 – 20 years.”
“But what then?” Asked the Mexican.
The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part.  When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions!”
“Millions – then what?”
The American said, “Then you would retire.  Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”

 

That’s one big pile of crap!

Hell yes! we can!

Here it is folks, after 6 days in Waterton and my complete surrender to the process, we will now host our first letting go ceremony in the form of a sale. I can’t decide whether to call it a letting go sale or a repurposing event. What do you think?
Three months ago I cleaned out my pantry. I thought I had culled everything that we didn’t use. I was so proud of myself! Today I opened that same pantry and in 10 minutes emptied it of about 3 cubic feet of stuff that 3 months ago I thought was essential. My dear friend Karen told me one day at lunch that when she shed her belongings to travel it took her 4 moves. She felt shredded at the end. Karen, I totally get it!
So tomorrow I will tackle another room, and every day after that I will lighten the load and hope like hell that someone shows for the big event!!
I hope you enjoy this old George Carlin skit about stuff.
Stuff
Here is one of my favorite blogs that I follow. These folks are traveling the world with a baby!
All mostfearless