Human Lifestyle

The morning was a re-run of yesterday.

Got to St Nicks for 10am, 'Saint' John welcomed them and introduced me (John the Rotter) and the other people helping, took the group on a walk, and back to the centre and split them into their groups, me with the Rotters first and then, after a juice and biscuit break, the Saints.

I had taken in several cakes and quite a few bags of biscuits, all out of date and destined for landfill, rescued by lil ol me in a freegan moment, and gratefully snapped up by the various members of the recycling crew.

I got a phone call from Gladys during lunch asking if I could pop round and help her get some apples from a neighbour's tree which overhangs her property... the neighbours are students and take no interest in the garden at all, so it was good that she had these dozen apples or so. There were also some plums, which Gladys doesn't care for but I really like, especially if dried. So I picked them too and brought them back.

I did a little bit of shredding before 3.30 when I got tidied up to meet Sasiki in town, at the City Screen cafe/bar. I met her at Austin's funeral and agreed then to have a meeting with her to learn about the plans she has for YUMI : York Unifying and Multicultural Initiative, which are to have a centre where people can meet, display art, cook in a cafe (and eat in the cafe!) and have a garden where interesting foods can be grown. We had a wide ranging conversation, including about links with York in Transition, York Green Festival and others. We spent over an hour chatting.

Came home via Country Fresh where Rich was in good form and I came away with 3 boxes and a sack full of compostables... as well as bought potatoes, cauliflower, eggs and a cucumber.

Spent a good chunk of the evening sorting out plums, for drying.

It's my sister Rosie's birthday today and us sisters are having cocktails and dinner tonight to celebrate the lovely gal's hopskotch milestone.

Distance: 3.2 miles
Elevation: 6,516 ft
Elevation Gain: 460 ft with some ups and downs
Dogs: Leash Only


Betasso preserve is a Boulder County open space a short distance up the canyon to Nederland. It is a pleasant shoulder season walk across hills covered in Ponderosa Pine. Taking the loop counter clockwise is easier and is recommended on the days when mountain bikers are allowed on the trail. The bikers much take the trail counter-clockwise and are NOT allowed on the trail on Wednesdays and Saturdays. If you can, hike on these days, your experience will be much more pleasant. While technically bikes are supposed to yield to pedestrians, this never happens.



I really do appreciate all of the open space that Boulder City and Boulder County have set aside for our use. I am frustrated that all of Boulder County open space requires dogs to be on leash. I own a German Short-haired Pointer who can out run the best Marathoner and still beg for more. Even a 10-mile walk on leash is not doing my dog any good.


When we decided to go to Betasso, I looked on the web site and it said that dogs were allowed. It made no mention of leash laws. It was not until we drove out there that we discovered our mistake. We might have broken the rules had a Ranger not shown up to hike the trail just as we were setting out. That is how I learned the general rule about dogs in Boulder County. I did mention that the web site needed correcting, but I just checked and it has not been updated.


If you have small dogs, no dogs, and want a close in walk that is in the trees, then Betasso Preserve might just be ideal. It is very pleasant, would be a great but short trail run, and is one of the few options available in the depths of winter.

Gill woke me up just before she went to school with our youngest, and again when she came back after 9. So I got up then as I was due at St Nicks at about 10am, and got there in good time.

The school party were late, they'd come over from Harrogate and got stuck in traffic I think.

'Saint' John did intros and split the group into Saints and Rotters. Then he led all of us into the Nature Reserve and along the butterfly walk where he explained about the apple trees which arrived as pips at the tip with the Rowntrees apple waste and some grew on the top, and are now mature fruit-laden trees. Then to the stone circle and back to the Centre, stopping to look at the green roof.

I then took one group and did a half-hour composting session with them, encompassing what happens in landfills, what happens in an aerobic compost pile, we found lots of beasties including centipedes, millipedes, worms, springtails, woodlice, beetles. Then had a good poke around the Can Of Worms wormery. Then an open Q+A.

After a break I took the second group and we did the same again. I was finished by soon after midday.

Home via Freshways where I was given a lot of interesting compostables/edibles, some of which will have to go in a tumbler along with shredded brambles and hedge.

I got our youngest from school and spent quite a bit of time sorting things out in the garden and brought quite a bit back in for re-use.

Excellent day.

Naughty me forgot to take a pictures of my flowers at my desk, first thing today tomorrow at the office.

Up early as I needed to do the minutes of last week's Transition meeting... and got an invitation to put my blog on http://blogs.gogreen.vc/.

I got the minutes done and sent them off to Peter for sending out. I spent half an hour in the garden shredding some brambles which Gill has removed.

Immediately after lunch I wend down to the station with my bike minus trailer, got a ticket to Hornbeam Park and took my bike on the train so I could easily get from the station to the 'Family Chiropractic Clinic' where Karen hires a room to do her acupuncture. She had booked the room from 2pm so she could continue her research about ADHD and acupuncture. I arrived before 2pm and she was waiting outside, no sign at all of anyone within, just a little sign saying 'lunch 1-2' and Karen had already rang their number, and it was on answerphone. Banging on the door and ringing the bell made no difference either. She got reasonably agitated about this and by 2.10, went to ask a nearby shop owner if they had seen any movement at the Clinic this morning. And then the person bothered to come down and open the Clinic door. I was a bit angry about this late start... as I had hoped to get the 3pm train back to York. She told me that they opened the shop at 2.15. I hope they change the note on the door... and give Karen a key so she can get in and get prepared for her clients.

She took a little while to get ready, and then did her pre-acupuncture routine which involves looking at my tongue and asking various questions and taking my pulse. We discussed my diet and food routine. Then I had the rather nice experience of having the needles put into my skin (most of them I couldn't feel, some I felt a tiny pinprick, one was uncomfortable for a couple of minutes) and then lying there for 45 minutes or so. I felt very relaxed and calm, almost knocked out, and I might have even drifted off to sleep at one stage. It is most curious. But at 3.20 I had the needles removed and I had another conversation about my carbohydrate-rich diet and four to six cups of coffee a day.

I cycled into Harrogate and popped into Waitrose to get some goats milk which Gill had asked me to buy, and onto the station where I got the 4.05 train back to York, along with 2 other cyclists.

I called in on Freshways and picked up a small box of recyclables, and headed home.

I did about an hour of loading a heap with shredded brambles and food 'resources'. For tea I had a sandwich with two small home-made veggie burgers from a couple of days ago (basically a nutloaf mix cooked in small patties in a frying pan) and some salad and potatoes.

At half six I went out to the Theatre Royal to see what I thought was a play by my friend Kate Lock. 'Script Factor' was in fact a weird concept... five new scripts or mini-plays, read unseen by volunteer audience members, the script writer/playwright answering a few questions, and then at the end, voting for the one you wanted to win. I liked Kate's play which was based on one of her early journalistic experiences, and the winning play which was by Charlotte Court, called 'Bus Stop 21', about a conversation between 3 women of different ages. Age, specifically youth, was a recurring theme in all the scripts, as the Theatre Royal is in the midst of a 'youth take-over' with a bunch of under-26 year olds in control, and free tickets for people under 26. The winner of tonight's Script Factor certainly looked younger than 26, and it was her first play ever read out to an audience. I think she deserved to win, as her idea was so simple and elegant. Kate's was more entertaining though... a play within a play, someone having a seizure during a sex scene, a sexist critic choking to death on a scone after being assaulted with a lucky Buddha... all good dramatic stuff... darkly humorous...

I left at about 9.30 and was home 10 minutes later. Enjoyed watching 'The Cell' on BBC4.

Far too early a start today... had to be in town by 9am. Urgh.

But, if there's one thing I'm good at, it's punctuality. So I got there on the bongs of 9am (I heard a church chiming in case you don't quite understand what kind of bong I'm talking about!) and got the York Rotters stuff together... various leaflets, and tied the marquee side back with some string begged from the butcher next to us. The Council waste minimisation people were there too, doing the Love Food Hate Waste bit of the stall.

I had a very full-on time... really enjoyed it, despite a bit of a quiet start, it was fun to smile at people and say, "Would you like to tell me about your compost heap?", and only one person said 'No' and walked away! I had a short time off at about 12.30 and found a stall selling Foccacia bread rolls with feta cheese and salad... it was a bit expensive but I got a receipt as I think York Rotters will pay me back... but it really doesn't matter as I had such a fun day. I particularly enjoyed working with 'MeJulie' who is a Council accountant but into waste reduction and recycling, and I met at John Morris' funeral. She was very friendly and chatty. Jo turned up just before 2pm and I was able to go after my 5 hour shift.

I popped into Country Fresh on the way back and Rich had more compostables for me... whoopee! Every day I go there is like a birthday!

Things were all quiet and calm at home so I had a few minutes with a coffee and the laptop, and then popped round to the house round the corner where one of the tenants Simon said I could have as many apples and pears as I wanted. Simon wasn't in but another tenant was, and he said 'go ahead', so I went back home to get some wooden fruit trays/boxes and my giant ladders, which reach up to 9 metres leaning against something or 6 metres freestanding in an A shape, with a ladder sticking out of the top, like a Greek lower-case Lambda.

I started with the lovely but rock-hard 'winter pears' which need to sit quietly for a few weeks and ripen, when they go very juicy and sweet and aromatic and soft and are perhaps my favourite fruit of all time. The tree is very tall and I wasn't able to pick them all, but did get about 3 boxes full. Then I picked loads of apples, which are eaters (not cookers!) and are delicious too, and ready to eat now. I also picked the small Victoria plum tree, so that Simon could have what he wanted from what I picked. When Simon came back, I was up the apple tree again and I came down and showed him what I'd picked. He had just a few of each variety but said that I could have everything else.

I came back for tea, Gill had made a lovely veg stew with broad beans, celery, potato, mushroom, butternut squash, Brussels sprouts and quite a few more ingredients, with a goats cheese cobbler - a scone topping. A delish nosh...

I did one more trip up the apple tree after this, but when it got too dark I brought the ladders back.

I popped round to Woodlands to pick up some logs, and met Debbie who asked if she could have some apples so I walked back with her with my first trailer load of logs, and gave her a dozen apples. Collected a second load of logs and came back home to put my bike away and relax.

What a busy day! Glad to have so much quality fruit to keep us going through the winter. Thank you Simon and the absentee landlord for not being interested in your bountiful fruit trees...

What a weekend, a lot to do. So i hadn't the courage to blog since friday. Also because i was away and busy.

A busy and tiring day, but fulfilling.

I got up early enough to be on my bike and going down to town before 10 to be a York Rotter at the Food Festival, from 10 til midday. There were assorted Council bods there already, doing the Love Food Hate Waste info and giveaways. I immediately launched into my Rotter mode and enthusiastically engaged with as many people as possible.

Town was busy and in the two hours I chatted to about 25 people about home composting and sometimes other subjects. Very enjoyable.

I came home via Country Fresh to pick up compostables and had some good chats with Rich before zooming back for lunch, a quick email session and then got changed and bike loaded with Fiddlesticks gear to go up the Hull Road to a four-year-old's party, booked less than a week ago. I'd suggested that as they'd already got a bouncy castle arranged, that a shorter circus skills show would be best, with reduced workshop content, followed by a balloon model giveaway rather than a workshop.

So this format worked well... most of the partygoers were four, two were twelve years old (I think) and there were plenty of adults too, which was good. Everything went as planned, and I was given a veggieburger when all the children had received their balloon animals, and a slice of delicious cake. I had to ask about the cake. It was unlike anything I'd had before... and I was introduced to the cake-baker, the Jamaican Grandma. I asked about the recipe and she said she never used a recipe. She used butter and sugar, blended with a bit of milk, and assorted essences, vanilla pods etc, and some raisins and currants soaked in wine for several months, gravy browning (!) and bicarbonate of soda, and a whole bag of flour. Oh, and some rum, white rum. The secret, though, was to add a few slops of rum to the cake as soon as it came out of the oven. So, and interesting and delicious creation.

I stayed on at the party well after the 4pm supposed finish time as I wanted to make sure that as children left, they had an intact balloon model... and of course there was fizzy pop to drink and the Jamaican Grandma to chat to...

But was home by 5pm and I got changed and did a load of chainsawing. Gill had made a sort of ... veggieburger for tea! I didn't watch the stuff that our boys were engrossed in (some Merlin fantasy stuff I think, and saw an awfully rubbish ITV programme on the other telly which was dire). I switched off and did a lot of Scrabble on facebook, and several interesting conversations with new facebook friends, including a gent who works for the US Environmental Protection Agency and was interested in my uber-low carbon lifestyle. Interesting stuff.

A quiet evening, bit of washing up, lots of computery stuff. (Gill finds this last line funny, can't think why!)

Distance: 6.5 miles
Elevation: 11,307 ft to 12,521 ft
Elevation Gain: 1,214 ft
Date Hiked : 9 August, 2009

Stanley Mountain is a lovely tundra walk on the west side of Berthoud Pass. It is not as topographically varied as Mt. Flora on the east side of the pass, but it is lovely none-the-less, and a great place to let the dogs run.




The trail starts out winding up through coniferous trees with occasional openings into cascading meadows with views of nearby peaks. The initial destination of this portion of the trail is a flat, rocky plateau. For those looking for an al fresco lunch spot, this would be sufficient in and of itself. 180° views of verdant peaks combined with interesting geology make this more interesting that your average picnic ground. It is a bit of a lung buster to get to this point though so leave the candelabra in the car.




A short walk across the plateau leads to a wall about 200 ft high. Tight switch backs ascend this wall in short but steep segments. This is the hardest portion of the hike. On top of this wall is the ridge and from here, it is just a tundra walk to the summit of Stanley Mountain.



On this trip, the temperatures were warm, but the wind was blowing at least 20 mph. We had to wear our rain coats the whole way, and since I had forgotten to put my newly washed gloves back into my pack, my hands were freezing. I walked with them shoved into the pockets of my pants, making for an awkward gait. This is one more reminder that even in early August, conditions in the high country can be unpredictable.



You can not see the summit of Stanley Mountain until you are within a 100 yards or so of it. The trail undulates across the tundra in a series of false bumps. That is in essence what Stanley Mountain looks like from the trail, a small pile of talus, a bump on the tundra. It is not until you scramble to the top of this pile that you realize you are on a mountain. The sides to the south and west drop off precipitously. The wind was blowing so hard and cold that we did not linger on top, but eased down part way to hide in the rocks and wolf down our sandwiches.



Those looking for a longer challenge can bushwhack across the tundra to the west and the summit of Vasquez Peak. There is no designated trail to this peak and the route descends quite a bit before heading straight up Vasquez, so plan accordingly.



We did meet two hikers on the summit who were doing a shuttle hike down into the tree filled gulch visible from the ridge. The far end of the gulch is accessible from the Granby area.



While I think that Mt. Florais more scenic than Mt. Stanley, this trip is worth doing particularly at the height of the tundra wildflower season. Consider it an altitude training hike for loftier, and more difficult pursuits.

I enjoyed several things today, including an early start when I settled down to write up the minutes of the York Green Festival meeting on Wednesday. This took several hours during the morning and Gill went out to have her hair cut. I didn't manage to finish the write-up, as I got distracted.

I was due to meet Hannah my Re-enactment friend during the afternoon, but she rang and put it off til Sunday afternoon. But I had to go into town anyway, as we're doing a SUMA order next week and I needed to shuffle some money around our accounts and put a cheque in from Melody. I looked in on the York Rotters stall after this to see where it was, as Parliament St is full of Food Festival stuff.

I decided to pop in to Kyi-Po on the way back, as I'd heard a rumour that because of their behaviour, Matthew and Sarah had been beaten up or even stabbed. Now their behaviour towards me hasn't been very nice, but whatever they've done I don't believe that they deserve this kind of treatment. I also wanted to ensure that I don't remain in their list of persona non grata, so I went in and chatted to them for a while. I was frank about my displeasure about their behaviour towards me, but also said that I was sorry that they had been attacked. Sarah showed me her huge bruises, but I didn't ask for any details about what happened. I didn't spend a long time there and soon arrived home.

However, I only had a half hour or so to have a wash and brush-up before I needed to get off to the station to get the 4.37 train to Scarborough for the launch of the 10:10 project there. I had been invited by Jane Gresham, a passionate activist, to do a talk to introduce the Age of Stupid film. On the way over I was able to continue typing out the Green Festival minutes, as I took my laptop and this train had a plug to keep my laptop knackered batteries going!

The venue was just across the road from the station, the Stephen Joseph Theatre, and I found my way through a labyrinth to the room Jane had been given. I was very happy to meet my friend Sarah there, and I chatted with her til the event started.... at about 6.30. Jane did introductions and I did my bit, perhaps 10 or 15 minutes.

I started with an introduction and a quick plug for Professor Fiddlesticks (people always like to know what you do!) Then I shared my green journey from the 1980s when I chose to live an 'environmentally friendly' lifestyle, which was soon labelled as 'low impact', and then during the 90s, when I got involved with Local Agenda 21, it was renamed 'sustainable'. It was at this time when I signed all my letters 'yours in sustainable development'. But more recently, my approach is relabelled 'low carbon'. I explained how I know it is low carbon, by using carbon calculators, and review your score regularly, such as I do with The Carbon Account. I didn't spend a long time talking about why I've chosen to live like I do, just a mention of climate change and more of an explanation about peak oil, and wanting to leave this precious resource in the ground for my grandchildren's grandchildren to use, sparingly. And that I wish to be remembered as a responsible ancestor, not a selfish and greedy ostrich. Finally, as I'm a solutions person, I covered, briefly, personal actions and group or community solutions, then how politicians can help... both councils and governments. I referred to the 10:10 movement and then introduced the film.

Then the DVD of The Age of Stupid was played. I didn't watch the first half, but finished typing out the Green Festival minutes. However, I did watch the second half and as usual, it rendered me into a blubbering wreck. I only just pulled myself together for the Q+A straight afterwards.

There were some interesting questions, observations and comments. And I think I made a few good points. Enough for two people to buy me a drink afterwards.

My train was just after 10pm and soon I was in York and home.

A very quiet day in many ways.... nothing much happened in the morning, apart from me washing up and Gill cleaning the fridge, and in the afternoon, again, not a lot to report. However, at 3.15 we had visitors... the solar panel people, Harris Construction, with a rep from Solarwall who will supply the panel.

So this chap took a couple of photos of the boiler, roofspace and from outside, the roofline. He said it would be very straightforward to install the hot water panels. We even have a choice between panels made in Germany or in Washington, Tyne and Wear. The UK ones aren't quite as efficient, but they're cheaper. So, we'll get a detailed breakdown of the choices and prices, and hopefully we'll get our system fitted quite quickly. There's only one problem... our loft is rather, err, 'congested' (read: untidy, chaotic, full of stuff) and it will be quite a job to get it sorted out, I estimate several days work.

Anyway, I'm glad we're moving on with this project.

Soon after 4.30 I headed down to Heslington Road, popped in on Country Fresh to pick up compostables, and then locked my bike up outside David's, so I could look at the most recent photos he took of Professor Fiddlesticks, and I could pick out the best ones. Dave will now put together an album of all the best ones taken over the past months, and from that I'll choose the best and most appropriate ones for my new advertising flyer. We agreed a price, in Yorkys and Sterling. Once a proof has been made, I will then get some printed.

This evening, Avaaz posted this video about Monday's myriad of ways in which people all over the Planet participated in the 'Wake Up Call'. What a brilliant stunt.. well done Avaaz and all the people who did these creative things.


We had Bulgar wheat and home grown green beans for tea and I chopped up loads more apples for drying. Enjoyed Question Time on BBC1.

Like i knew the pictures of my little apartment will not be for this week. Too busy today, i don't like to use the word "too". But in this case i have to, lunch in the afternoon, and now one again, so i have to run away in a couple of minutes. But i have to post an article today. 

This ends my series on my vacation of Nova Scotia. I would recommend that anyone interested in nature, relaxation, and seafood visit this Canadian province.

Unless you have several weeks, choose either Cape Breton, the Fundy Coast, or the South Shore as your base and try to spend as much time there. It takes longer to get around than you think and there is more to explore than the guide books make evident.

For my next trip, I would like to return in the fall when the leaves have turned.

I mentioned seafood above....I went on a fall color vacation to Massachusetts a couple of years ago and was hoping for seafood. We hardly found any. Not so in Nova Scotia. If you love the fruit de la mer, you will love Nova Scotia. Mussels were everywhere. I could have eaten them for breakfast, lunch and dinner! We ate lobster twice and I even ate pickled herring one night since it is a local favorite.

Our base as you know was Lunenburg. There are many restaurants in this town to choose from, which is another reason to make it a base. Most of the places close to the wharf are touristy but are relatively cheap. We ate at the Grand Banker, the Dockside Cafe, and Magnolia's. Only the latter would I recommend. One street up is the Trattoria Bella Donna and the Fluer de Sel. Both are outstanding but pricey. My lamb at the Bella Donna was $30 and my butter poached lobster at the Fleur de Sel was $42. The Fleur de Sel won Nova Scotia's best restaurant award in 2008. Some locals sitting next to us kept raving about it. Had it not been for Hurricane Bill, we would have missed out on that treat.

Only one restaurant, the Bella Donna, carried any of the renowned ice wines of the area. It was sold in the liquor store, but I wanted to taste it before buying a bottle. Sweet wine goes a long way. I was also anticipating more of a selection of other Canadian ice wines, but no joy there. I am just going to have to order through an on line retailer and have some shipped to me.

Finally, I need to shout out a big thank you to Ethan and Nancy Evans who allowed us to stay gratis in their home, who allowed us to rummage through their drawers for shorts and t-shirts, and whose beautiful home was the highlight of the trip. A true catharsis.

I also want to thank the neighbors whom we got to know quite well and who regaled us with all sorts of stories about life in Nova Scotia, including their health care system. They enriched our trip immeasurably.

Sometimes I think we lazy Americans forget that Canada even exists. It is there, it is significantly less expensive than Europe, and is culturally and geographically diverse. All I can say is go...enjoy!

Thinking on costumes for baby Syl this year. The neighborhood parade is always filled with the best costumes around. If you have any pics from that parade last year, please e-mail them to me and I'll post them on here. Here's baby Syl on her Friendship plane (my mom found this plane a few years back along the curbside).

Not a bad day really, certainly started out right with a lie in with Gill who then slept all morning.

I had heard what I thought was a chainsaw so I hopped on my bike to go and find it, but it turned out to be a petrol hedgetrimmer, so I came back home.

I sorted out some fruit to dry on the woodstove, cooked some slices of homegrown squash and then had lunch. At 1.30 the Yellow Pages/Yell dot Com lady arrived and we had some interesting chats before I signed the paperwork agreeing another year's advertising.

Gill went for our youngest and I spent quite a long time preparing potatoes, some knobbly Pink Fir Apple to add to tonight's tea. I did a bit of work in the garden and came in for tea, which for me was a pastie, four slices of fried squash from earlier and a handful of cold cooked potatoes.

I had a meeting at 7 up at Rand's house so I zoomed up to Acomb to meet with other Green Festival core group people to have the post-festival roundup. This was an interesting meeting as we had to analyse not just how it went, but our own role within that. I chaired AND made notes... and have now got these to type up and send out.. aargh! However, it was a good meeting, and there was wine and assorted food.

Quick cycle back, it's all downhill from Acomb! Then a long phone call with my dear old Auntie after which I tried to catch up with some more e-paperwork.

Well i think i kept my promise from yesterday. Oke, its not a full photoshoot. But what do you want the evenings are coming quicker dark and i worked later today. Not a very fantastic combination t get very nice pictures.