A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to have been invited to speak with JJ Walsh.
She hosts a series of live podcast from people from around Japan that are invoved with sustainable development. This (above) is a link to my session which also leads to the full series of talks for you to browse though.
After repeated attempts to drain newly appeared lagoon
After attempt at draining newly appeared lagoon
In 2018 we were hit by two particularly destructive typhoons, which took away much of the sand from our beach.
All this year it has slowly been replaced with the natural rise and fall of the lake’s water level and movement of the waves. Recently though we had high rainfall associated with the huge typhoon Hagibis.
This led to the creation of a sand bar and lagoon all along our beach which today I’ve been trying to drain. My manpower and shovel I realized are no match for the enormous power of the waves that constantly rebuild any break in the sandbar I tried to make. And what’s more, with the sunny weather these waves were barely bigger than ripples.
All the physical effort expended for very little gain (see photos) got me thinking how futile it is to go against nature – draining land that should be flooded, creating pasture on areas which were rich forest ecosystems, re-routing rivers etc. And of course the scale of such anthropic destruction, has only been allowed with the brute force bequeathed to us by fossil fuel.
Nature’s systems are cyclical. Everything is reused, replenished, recycled. From the largest systems – continental drift, volcanic eruptions, storms – to the smallest decomposing micro-organism.
All are important for replenishment and renewal. Unfortunately, there is only one system which works against the basic principle of taking and giving back – our economic system.
Currently it is ‘taking’ to such an extent that it’s breaching many of the earth’s natural boundaries -climate, nitrogen, biodiversity for example (see table). Unlike natural systems which are essentially cyclical, our economic system is a linear system of extraction, production, consumption, and disposal.
At the moment it is utilizing the equivalent of 1.7 earth’s worth of natural capital (Ecological Footprint.org) . Of course this can’t continue without tipping many natural systems towards irreversible collapse.
Summer 2018 in Japan has been extremely hot and with no rain for many weeks since the devastating rains which made world headlines in early June. It’s now a constant battle to keep the garden productive and the trees alive as the soil has progressively become drier and drier. Even the two typhoons that passed by failed to deliver the much-needed water to replenish the moisture in the soil.
Today is no different. It’s August 27th and the temperature outside is 37C. But in addition to the daily watering duties, this morning, more than usual, it was to be dominated by my interactions with nature.
A dead snake entangled in plastic netting
I think we all need to be more re-connected to nature and examine the consequences of the disconnect most people in the westernized world experience. Indeed, this disconnection is likely to widen further as modern conveniences become more and more engrained into people’s lives, and as more of the world’s population find themselves living in cities.
Today mother nature she kept me particularly busy and engaged – and although much of my mornings activity could reasonably be regarded as dealing with problems and trouble, I remain thank full for a lifestyle that gives me so much contact with nature, and for all the experiences, gifts and challenges she presents.
Last year we failed to catch a wild colony of bees, so this year we decided that in addition to trying to catch some again, we would order a nuc (nucleus colony).
This has now arrived (9000 bees on 3 frames) in a brood box. I added 7 empty frames and am now hoping they don’t abscond, but instead use the new frames to expand the colony.
When 7 to 8 frames are full, I will need to add a 2nd box (super) for the colony to expand into and make their food store for the winter months.
I’m now studying again and relearning what I tried to learn exactly one year ago. There’s a lot of jargon but it’s a topic that is easy to get engrossed in.
Needless to say, we are all enjoying watching these fascinating insects, that truly bring the garden fully to life. Hopefully our wisteria, honeysuckle and star jasmines will soon come into bloom.
I have also been weeding very selectively, leaving anything that produces a flower (speedwell, dead nettle, vetch …) well alone.
The above diagram shows the settling tank we now have. Grey water from the house must now pass through it before being released into the wetland area next to the pond.
The wetland area itself is at a level slightly higher than the pond allowing water to pass through the wetland area (and the network of plant roots) before reaching the pond.
The settling tank is made with two pieces of large water pipe that are used to create two columns of sand and gravel. This should help take out the worst of the contaminants from the water and is relatively easy to take apart and clean. Below you can see the tank and pipes which were used.
Any questions on the system or advice on how to improve it, please feel welcome to contact me.
The other day it rained for the first time in 9 days, and at the time, our harvested rainwater supplies were almost completely gone. The really bad news is – it’s only May and the long hot summer period that always follows the rainy season (June) is still quite a way away.
Summer dry spells over the last two years have become noticeably more frequent and watering the garden, more and more of a commitment. As a result, I have been planning various improvements to our water conservation measures. These are;
In addition to the dry spells we are experiencing, I also read an article which predicts a particular hot dry summer for North East Asia. Article here; 2017 Asia summer forecast: Heat to roast northeastern China, Japan And longer term, the prospects are not likely to be much better Japan may become 4.5 C hotter if no anti-global warming steps taken
traditional Japanese hive
By the end of this year, or more realistically, next year, we hope to add honey to the list of foods we provide for ourselves. To get us started a local beekeeper provised us with 3 traditional style hives to attract native Japanese bees using the scent of wax.
If successful the bees will start making a cone from a horizonal cross suspended at the top of the top box. As it gets bigger, it will extend down to a second cross bar at the top of the next box. When the cone extends far enough into the next box, the cone in the top box can be cut off and harvested. The now empty box is then placed at the bottom of the stack. And so on…
That is the plan, and a wonderful site explaining this much better with video can be found here http://warre.biobees.com/japan.htm
In addition to the earlier post here two other sources of winter fuel:
If you have any recommended venison dishes, please let me know 🙂
Winter is the time for both eating preserves made from summer produce and making preserves – for us this so far means marmalades – from the three citrus fruits the grow in our garden. These are Hassaku, a kind of Dekopon (may be), and Yuzu.
It’s also a time when we can appreciate the wood collected and prepared for the winter months. Collecting your own fuel for the winter connects you to the precious recourses nature provides, and also gives the feeling of achievement – securing the source of warmth for following winter season. This is much like the pleasure people get from growing, preparing and consuming their own home-grown produce, or creating handmade items rather than simply purchasing them off shelves.
Mid-winter wood cutting session
Although most of the wood collecting is done spring through to Autumn, above photos was taken mid-winter. This recently fallen tree was too good an opportunity to miss.
We’ve now been living in this house for 3 years and one of the greatest pleasures is walking into the house in winter and instantly feeling the warmth of the house – regardless of whether the wood stove is on or not.
The insulation we installed in the walls, roof and floor of this house, together with the triple glazing, are working beyond our expectations to keep the house warm in winter and cool in summer. While the house isn’t an airtight passive house (or Passivhaus), which generally employ heat exchanging air vent systems, we designed it to perform as close as possible to a true passive house.
In winter, and without any heating, the house only very rarely gets below 15°C, regardless of the temperatures outside. Today (23rd Jan 2017) is a good example. Outside is 0°C and snowing hard. The wood stove was on the previous night only until 11.00pm and without any heating since then, at midday the house temperature is still hovering around 16°C.
More information:
1st year data on the inside and outside temperatures – see Insulation – 1st year’s performance – to give a better picture of how the inside temperature changes are minimized by the effects of the insulation.
And further details of the insulation we used can be found at this other earlier blog entry; Insulation.
at the Kendall Permaculture Farm, Kin Kin QLD, Australia
Efforts for living a low impact slowlife on the shore of lake Biwa, in Shiga, Japan
I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.
Efforts for living a low impact slowlife on the shore of lake Biwa, in Shiga, Japan
