So, I had a bit of reading No Impact Man; it is really well written and very 'digestible'. I got up and got busy, although it was windy I did a bit in the garden and before lunch, cycled down to see Richard, minus trailer, and came back with two boxes and a sack strapped onto my luggage rack, plus a canvas bag of veggies.
After lunch I picked some beans for the boys' tea and collected more windfall fruit, as there was quite a bit as it was windy.
Then after 3 I got myself ready to go to the station to pick up Janie, as she was coming over to York for the York Flashmob's 'Night of a Thousand Lanterns' event. She came with her bike so we cycled down to the Millennium Bridge and then back to Hull Road via Walmgate Stray and the University.
After a coffee we went down the garden as Janie wanted to see the results of my composting Jeans; the only things which survives the process are the zipper, stitching and pockets, plus any rivets which go through any of this material. The pockets and stitching is nylon, which doesn't rot, but most of the trousers are cotton, which turns to compost in a year or two.
Then we picked nuts! I'd picked a hazelnut or three a few days ago to see if they were ripe. Eaten immediately, they weren't very good, but leaving them for a few days rendered them delicious. So they were ready for picking... and the trampoline was in just the right place for getting most of them, and I dangerously balanced the ladder to get the rest. Janie caught the nuts as I lobbed them down to the trampoline and put them in a bucket, which we completely filled.
Here's the result:
I was extremely happy with this... I'll have to let them dry off a bit by spreading them out either in the loft or the front room floor.
Then I had my tea... home grown beans AGAIN and potatoes and the last of the veg cobbler from yesterday. After which I took Janie to see the strip of woodland next to Windmill Lane, and we had a quick look at the new University Campus buildings before coming back. Then, after some nice chats with Gill, we cycled off to what I think is called Siwards Hill, between the Retreat and the Allotments, near the entrance to Walmgate Stray/Low Moor from Heslington Road. This hill is where I suggested Janie might want to release her lantern, as it has some protection with walls and trees but is one of the highest points in York.
Although it was windy and gusty, we managed to get the lantern lit and let go... it blew along the grass for a while and then took off and soared away. It was spectacular and a very moving experience. We then saw quite a few others floating by... maybe 15 in total, singly and in groups of two or three... it was lovely. For Janie, this was a meaningful ceremony, and signifies letting go of some things in her past and starting afresh.
So, a cycle home with the moon rising and then a very nice evening chatting and enjoying the stove, I prepared some windfalls for drying, Janie went on facebook whilst I washed up, and Gill tried to find a holiday cottage for next summer on various websites.
A memorable day. Lovely.
No comments:
Post a Comment