Making Hay While The Sun Shines

“a DIY punk’s ongoing adventures in “the country” - house renovation, the land and personal musings.”

[makinghaywhilethesunshines-blog]

rural punk diy zine from ireland

[makinghaywhilethesunshines-blog]

Lately, doesn’t it seem like the end days are here?.... climate change that I didn’t expect to see in my life time, endless war, the world is on fire, millions of displaced humans, the potential demise of the bee.  It’s disappointing.

http://www.g7welcomingcommittee.net/mp3/subhold_finalcoup.mp3

[stormhag-deactivated20241013]

HOUSING FOR REFUGEES IN THE JUNGLE OF CALAIS

Just got back from Calais after spending a few days building emergency shelters for refugees in the Jungle camp. A HOME FOR WINTER are an inspiring organisation who have been building accommodation at their workshop in Calais and constructing it on site. More and more people are arriving every day but I heard estimates that over 5 to 6000 people have been housed in these shelters and other similar structures with 800 people remaining in tents. There is so much more to do and with the situation in nearby Dunkirk looking dire, with huge numbers of people living in tents in the freezing cold, as well as enduring sanctions and attacks from police, organisations like this need help as much as ever. Watch this space for benefit events in Dublin and London. If you want to donate or volunteer, check the link above. You dont have to be a carpenter to help with building. They are really simple structures, designed to be put together with relative ease, and the workshop is set up in a super efficient assembly line with a great bunch of people on hand to get new comers acquainted with tools, jigs and the building itself. This crew need cash bad, especially as they were robbed last week and lost a good deal of expensive tools. So if you can do a benefit event in your town please do!  Solidarity with the refugees and those on the ground in Calais, Dunkirk and all over Europe (A)//(E)

[makinghaywhilethesunshines-blog]

Water and water charges are a big deal in Ireland right now. Continuous protests and unbelievable police repressions following them.  When "Irish Water" came to install a water meter at my house, there were no private security goons or gardaí accompanying them as it's fairly remote.  My partner and I parked a crashed car (that's another story) over the piece of ground where the meter was to go and that was enough to discourage them.

I've always been concerned about water wastage and take whatever steps possible to use water efficiently.  Below is a picture of a very simple rain water harvesting set-up that is in place "a wet week" (just since last Saturday).  If you look closely you might be able to see that container is holding 700 litres of rain water! It's a bit too efficient perhaps ...and it's been a particularly wet week.  The whole thing cost nothing at all.  An old rain gutter is tied on with gardening wire to the corrugated iron roof and withstood last night's storms. The water runs into the 1,000 litre container that fell off the back of a truck.  The large container has a run off pipe that flows into the wheelie bin and that came with the house.  The hoses are old pipes (cleaned) from the central heating system.  

The water must be put into a bucket before it can be used for watering plants/ washing vehicles/ flushing the loo.  It's also really good to wash in this lovely soft water.  If anyone reading has ideas or experience about drinking this water please share because the tap water in my home is not potable.

[trilliansthoughts]

This miniature ecosystem has been thriving in an almost completely isolated state for more than forty years. It has been watered just once in that time. The original single spiderwort plant has grown and multiplied, putting out seedlings. As it has access to light, it continues to photosynthesize. The water builds up on the inside of the bottle and then rains back down on the plants in a miniature version of the water cycle.

As leaves die, they fall off and rot at the bottom producing the carbon dioxide and nutrients required for more plants to grow.

[snakecats-deactivated20151123]

if you don’t think this is fucking rad then get out of my face

[houndoom]

This makes me happy

[burnchurchpunks-blog]

BRUCECHURCH  BURNSTEEN

[makinghaywhilethesunshines-blog]

wow. 50,000 people (and 80 tractors) marched on Angela Merkel's office in Berlin to protest against factory farming, GMOs etc,.

Ireland doesn't grow GM crops but buys in millions of GM animal feed - it's not marked as such on the supermarket shelves.

http://www.gmo-free-regions.org/gmo-free-regions/netherlands/gmo-free-news-from-the-netherlands/news/en/30239.html

[makinghaywhilethesunshines-blog]

hi folks, i sing in "burnchurch" and our album is on the cusp of being released on sexy vinyl. gatefold art by your friend and mine sfitzgerald-art.tumblr.com.

check out this track in which the protaganist whoops the ass of depression!

http://burnchurch.bandcamp.com/track/greater-than-fear

[makinghaywhilethesunshines-blog]

what would you like me to be?

well, i overheard two little girls wondering what gender i was in the shop today... it's been years since that has happened to me ... i am cis-female by the way.

-this used to upset me, but now i don't really care a whole lot

-i feel a moment of solidarity with trans* folks, however i have the privilege of finding someone pondering my gender aloud to be not threatening

- bringing up the idea of trans* with kids (and adults) you know can only be helpful. 

- kind of on the topic is an article (follow this link) relating to the portrayal of LGBT characters in hollywood movies.

"Perhaps the starkest fact is that than none of the films, not even the ones praised by Glaad, featured a gay character in a lead role."

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jul/23/hollywood-criticised-lgbt-gay-characters-glaad

[elfpen]

why are bats stigmatized as being creepy?

I mean

look at these things

they’re like tiny

fluffy

dragons

but instead of breathing fire they squeak and cuddle 

in caves

and leaves

and they have funny ears and noses

I mean really

bats are amazing

[bodypartss]

This post is so fucking important to me

[bornunderabluemoonbaby]

That last one looks like a ballerina with wings.

[makinghaywhilethesunshines-blog]

reposted for leiloes!!

[makinghaywhilethesunshines-blog]

it seems recently all the assholes of the world internationally and locally are making a concerted effort to make the world a shittier place then it usually is. but this is chien he was rescued about 8 years ago, he got a new bed from a local charity that sells bric-a-brac to raise funds for a drop in centre for folks with cancer and his smile is making me feel alright today.

[makinghaywhilethesunshines-blog]

Ouch!

Been collecting nettle seeds for a mate.  My fingers sting.  It feels like a really womantic gesture (like bromantic except twixt females)... "here's your jar of seeds.. I got stung for you".

Why, I hear you ask... 'cos they're good for you innit? Fatigued adrenals and all that. Sprinkle on your muesli, lob into your salad.

read more here: http://www.henriettes-herb.com/blog/nettle-seed.html

photo by - whisperingearth

[imagefuturist]

Always Working (Photo project 2014) - Michael Ryan

[makinghaywhilethesunshines-blog]

This is nice!

[makinghaywhilethesunshines-blog]

Stay Classy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTVGUyb4kqw

1. great lyric "sometimes I can't remember why i want to live then i think of the freaks and i don't want to miss this"

2. these days reminiscing about stuff and realising "that was 20 fucking years ago" (or 19 in the case of this song). I am old and it is deadly.

[makinghaywhilethesunshines-blog]

Move over Nigella... there's a new domestic goddess in town!

Tofu-rkey, Nut roast with lemony gravy, brusselers and those crusty mussed up roast potatoes.

[makinghaywhilethesunshines-blog]

Knockroe - The sun also sets

When the sun rose on 22nd Dec. 2013 I was already on the side of a seemingly inconsequential hill in County Kilkenny.  It was cold but the sky was clear and as the sun slowly moved into view a handful of warmly dressed people appeared from behind hedges and trees. We stood near this pile of stones above and the excitement was palpable. This mundanely commonplace occurrence - the sun appearing in the sky became THE most important thing on the planet at that moment.

And as the beams illuminated the tiny passage that was once the centre of a covered structure, the rocks became a golden colour...really beautiful. It felt great to be partaking in this simple ceremony and carrying on a 5,000 year old tradition.

[makinghaywhilethesunshines-blog]

River Silt

A friend told me about how river silt is good for plants.

I put river silt in the soil of the aloe vera plant in the white pot, the plants were of a similar size at the time.

Make sure you collect from an unpolluted river. I get into the stream with wellies on and use a trowel and a plastic bucket to collect.