Catrina Liesch

Simple and slow solutions

We are two women aged 66 and 75 and we move, build, grow and investigate quite a lot on our 1 hectare homestead. With the technique "Brain not brawn - no strength? Use your brain" and always looking for Simple and slow solution we are achieving quite good results. With our helpers we observe that the first solution that comes to mind is often a complcated one. Here is an example of a simple and easy solution to sieve compost:

In the opticians shop they said they can't fix this because the glasses were cheap. My friend fixed it for me four years ago.😄 And I got lots of compliments for them.

Some changes in our garden

Tina Wolf wrote:Did you know there is International Permaculture Day?! It is the first Sunday of May. We have our own day!

Many like to gather to celebrate, share information and learn about Permaculture on this special permaculture day! I love to share Paul's permaculture playing cards to introduce folks to permaculture. A couple other things I share are his Jumbo DVD Set and Building a Better World in your backyard book.

If you wish to check out what's going on, celebrate, or otherwise participate in International Permaculture Day, here are a couple of the websites:

https://www.permacultureday.org/

https://gaiafoundation.org/international-permaculture-day-sunday-5th-may/

https://nationaltoday.com/international-permaculture-day/

https://www.youtube.com/c/PermacultureDay

Regardless of what we do on International Permaculture Day, we are Permies so already contribute a tremendous amount to Permaculture just by being here! I'm in great company! Happy International Permaculture Day!

A good place for meeting permies from the whole world and myceliate with people this week.

https://permacultureeducationinstitute.org/permaculture-festival-ideas/
Sorry for the two pictures it seems I can't remove the file🥴

Jim Fry wrote:Something I have struggled with for a very long time is, ... my art. ~~Before this country was a country, William Penn traveled to Europe to find recruits for his colony in the New World. My family was artists to the King in the area of the German-Swiss border. Penn convinced us to come to Pennsylvania. We later moved to the Ohio Territories. And every generation has continued being artists, each in their own way. Being artists just runs in our family. It's what we do. My brother created major art installations in hospitals and corporate headquarters. One sister created flower arrangements used in all sorts of venues. Another sister put on major art shows at Art Centers. Another sister made clothes you wouldn't believe, and she taught art in school. We have art displayed all over our town and region.

But then there's me. I don't have an artistic bone in my body. Can't paint a painting or do a drawing to save myself. I've always wondered why our family art gene passed me by. So I have just gone about my life doing what I do. Work. I created beautiful, raised bed organic gardens. More recently I have moved 40+ historic buildings to our farm. Rebuilt, restored and arranged them as a village. Every one of them is filled with displays of historic articles, 1820 to 1900. And now several photography groups make regular trips to take pictures. I can't tell you how many awards they have won for their compositions.

So what does this all have to do with the original discussion of art? Well, what I finally discovered in many years of thinking about it, is that art comes in many, many different forms. Most often we think of art as paintings and pictures. But it is much more than that. Sometimes art comes in building villages. Sometimes in creating a better bicycle. Sometimes in planting and tending gardens and growing incredible amounts of healthy life-giving food.  While at the same time creating a space that soothes the soul and sometimes inspires Ceremony. And sometimes art is the creation of wonderful music and song.

The point being, maybe try not to let your view of art as being just one thing. Live your life pure. Be joyful. Let whatever you do in life be filled with "art". And then share it with as many folks as you are able.

Exactly, I used to paint and doing other art stuff. Now I have my huge paint brush to paint with flowers, trees, vegetables, walls, different garden beds etc. in my garden and nature participates , or not 🙃 with my ideas of the picture and I adapt including nature's ideas.

Jim Fry wrote:Something I have struggled with for a very long time is, ... my art. ~~Before this country was a country, William Penn traveled to Europe to find recruits for his colony in the New World. My family was artists to the King in the area of the German-Swiss border. Penn convinced us to come to Pennsylvania. We later moved to the Ohio Territories. And every generation has continued being artists, each in their own way. Being artists just runs in our family. It's what we do. My brother created major art installations in hospitals and corporate headquarters. One sister created flower arrangements used in all sorts of venues. Another sister put on major art shows at Art Centers. Another sister made clothes you wouldn't believe, and she taught art in school. We have art displayed all over our town and region.

But then there's me. I don't have an artistic bone in my body. Can't paint a painting or do a drawing to save myself. I've always wondered why our family art gene passed me by. So I have just gone about my life doing what I do. Work. I created beautiful, raised bed organic gardens. More recently I have moved 40+ historic buildings to our farm. Rebuilt, restored and arranged them as a village. Every one of them is filled with displays of historic articles, 1820 to 1900. And now several photography groups make regular trips to take pictures. I can't tell you how many awards they have won for their compositions.

So what does this all have to do with the original discussion of art? Well, what I finally discovered in many years of thinking about it, is that art comes in many, many different forms. Most often we think of art as paintings and pictures. But it is much more than that. Sometimes art comes in building villages. Sometimes in creating a better bicycle. Sometimes in planting and tending gardens and growing incredible amounts of healthy life-giving food.  While at the same time creating a space that soothes the soul and sometimes inspires Ceremony. And sometimes art is the creation of wonderful music and song.

The point being, maybe try not to let your view of art as being just one thing. Live your life pure. Be joyful. Let whatever you do in life be filled with "art". And then share it with as many folks as you are able.

Exactly, I used to paint and doing other art stuff. Now I have my huge paint brush to paint with flowers, trees, vegetables, walls, different garden beds etc. in my garden and nature participates , or not 🙃 with my ideas of the picture and I adapt including nature's ideas.

Ra Kenworth wrote:Catrina, I love your banana circle!

Maybe not for climate zone😉stay warm.

Depends where you live. I live in a subtropical arid zone of the canary islands and we made a bananacircle. We digged a 2 meter diameter hole to a delpht of 50 cm. You can find instructions on www.foodwatershelter.org.au
In the hole we throw garden cuttings. The greywaterpipe from the washing machine goes in the middle of the garden cuttings and not directly to the plants and we use biodegradable washing papers. The banana circle and the field around it is thriving since we did that and we can harvest bananas, papayas, turmeric and sweet potatoes. It is good to have access to the pipe which is in the hole because it can clogg up and needs from time to time to be cleaned.

Pearl Sutton wrote:

markus Carroll wrote:
I wish Probably regret this, but I wish I could see soil microbes with the naked eye.

Granted! But when you see what they are doing, you turn white, throw up, and never go out in the yard again.

I wish I had wings!

Granted. Unfortunately you have butterfly wings and you weigh 120 lb.

I wish for my house to clear itself up.

When you cant sleep at night because you‘r planing where to put the biodigester.😂