Defiant Activity

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Isn't the weather glorious this weekend? It is strange how it can almost seem to jump from one season to another overnight. There I was in my last blog post bemoaning the fact that I've been able to do very little in the garden and then suddenly the cold northerly wind shifts direction and is replaced by a southerly airflow and warm sunshine. So warm that I've not only been catching up with those jobs in the garden but wearing shorts to work in. Imagine doing that in those "professional with a desk" days!

It is certainly a little freaky just how high the thermometer has reached especially after the cold start to the month. Now I know that climate change and weather aren't the same thing but surely even the most sceptical must be feeling some solidarity with the stance being taken by Rebellion Extinction activists on the streets of London this week.


Here in the hinterlands, however, rather than glueing ourselves to trains and pavements we have been adding another two sunken beds to the vegetable plot and generally looking to increase the plantlife around the garden whilst mulching to preserve moisture and reduce demand on the water butts.

The bathroom project (steadily progressing) has thrown up some useful pieces of wood but, albeit after detailed debate and consideration, we baulked at using either the old shower door or tray to create a cold frame and pond. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that the Reduce, Re-use, Recycle mantra is exactly that and doesn't mean that everything has to be stored until you can invent a new use for it and that when some things have had their day it is permissible to recycle them.


Mind I do plan to use the old wheelbarrow that finally rusted through over the winter, as a flower planter feature. The more plants we can grow on our plot, the more foliage to photosynthesise and so help us do our bit to capture and convert carbon dioxide.

Yes, we may not be joining protesters on Waterloo Bridge but retired rural eco-warriors take a more pragmatic course of action with their defiance.

Comments

Stephanie Jane said…
Love the through-the-hedgerow pic!
It was so hot here yesterday I even got my sundress out of hibernation :-)
21 April 2019 at 22:04
Royce Shook said…
I love your last line, and I think in the end, the more pragmatic course of action will win more converts to the eco-warrior cause
22 April 2019 at 21:45
Caree Risover said…
Yes, the heat took me completely by surprise as I rushed to find a pair of shorts, tucked away and buried deep in the expectation that they would not be needed just yet.
23 April 2019 at 22:20
Caree Risover said…
Retired allotment holders and gardeners are the silent green masses but climate change protests and environmental activists have done a magnificent job in adding thousands of younger people to those determined to grow their own or create idyllic natural spaces.
23 April 2019 at 22:25
Jane said…
I have read in a variety of sources recently that if each person on the planet planted one tree it would counter effect climate change - why oh why can't we have a movement about that!
24 April 2019 at 22:45
Caree Risover said…
Totally agree and yet even now deforestation continues apace whilst even in places closer to home trees are continuously felled to make way for roads, buildings etc.. I have long thought that our motorways should be surrounded by woods ( would help deaden noise and provide screening as well as absorb carbon emissions at source). This article https://www.quora.com/How-many-trees-would-it-take-to-reverse-climate-change however suggests it might require 5.4 trees per person per year. I could certainly manage 2, but 5 a year plus husband’s 5 would fill our garden in the first 6 months. I don’t suppose Bonsai will count.
25 April 2019 at 21:14
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