Time gardening [528]
Greetings from The Borders...
I’m Christian Payne, a photographer and writer who's tending a small steading. In this weekly dispatch, I share what I’m learning, consuming and explore the connections between people, place and nature. Thanks for reading.
#TheAction
Recently there has been a lot of green in the photos that start these posts. That's because I'm surrounded by it. Often immersed in it. Some mornings if the dog is not in a rush, i'll sit in it and see what I can see. Or even feel. And as an old(er) man with a greying beard, after existing and living in and around nature most of my life, I feel like I'm only just getting to know it.
There is a hidden complexity in nature, often not apparent to the casual observer. Systems and processes, from molecular interactions, to ecological networks, which if more of us understood, might inspire a deeper respect for our environment and wiser choices about how we live within it.
It’s been a busy week, family visits, meals out, my lad finishing his GCSE’s, The reuniting of the fam in one place, grafting and ordering a massive shed. Outside of these things one standout day was exploring Paxton House.
It's an amazing 18th century Palladian mansion sat on the Tweed and only a bike ride away from us. It was built by Patrick Home to impress a Prussian heiress and contains one of Scotland’s finest private Chippendale furniture collections. Stuff so expensive you are not allowed to photograph it in situ. Probably because of the massive heist opportunity. I may regret typing that.
Worth a visit if you are in the area.
#ThePictures
The ultimate wildlife photography tutorial.
Gardening has been on my mind this week. So here are two videos to reflect that…
After dropping the van off for a service I managed a quick jolly on the Brompton.
#TheWords
My friend Adrian wrote a book and you can get it here.
Been looking for gardening resources as my Wife has dabbled in using garden planing apps but has decided to pick the brains or my more experienced Mother in Law as well as ask Chat GPT (she has the paid for version for work) to help with the planning. Although the video above will show you it is certainly not all knowing.
Here are some of the links I have found.
Sustaining myself with a 4x4 garden, my journey with chatgpt
How I used chatgpt to plant a thriving vegetable garden
Save time on garden planning with chat gpt
Gardening with chtgpt
Obviously if you have a green fingered neighbours, local gardeners, or community allotmenteers, they can probably give you better info on soil, frost dates, pests and can recommend plants and veg that actually thrive in your area.
Failing that you could get a ouija board and attempt to contact Masanobu Fukuoka or better still get a hold of his book… One Straw Revolution.
#TheSound
Day Fourteen / Day Fifteen / Day Sixteen / Day Seventeen / Day Eighteen / Day Nineteen / Day Twenty
#TheConsumed
Generate your own mediaeval ale house with this handy game. What a great way to learn about alewives and ale houses.
This wine and these beers were sent by an old friend of mine. A friend from school and a time long ago when the teachers were allowed to beat you with sticks.
He was present at one of the most defining moments of my life. [Not seeing Pearl Jam live or realising through an acid infused haze that we had left the camper van parked on a beach at low tide many hours before, although he was also there]. We have also travelled together and enjoyed many a fine Ale and wine so I truly appreciate his curation. The clue to who he is is linked in the audio above, but he works with The Grape and Grain Warehouse at Arkell’s Brewery in Swindon.
I’ve been logging the beers on Untapped and I’m very much looking forward to the wine. I’ll drop my thoughts on that in Vivino. In the usual style.
#TheBody
This is a very useful article. Especially if you or someone you know has ADHD. Managing it can start with medication although it’s not a crutch. For many it is a foundation to build structure on. Then you can better interact with external systems like to-do apps (Todoist is mentioned), routines, and journaling which can also help you stay on track.
Something I’ve heard time and again is to choose tasks based on your energy and interest at the same time as reducing visual distractions. Mostly screens. Make sure you check your inbox on your own terms and dial the notifications right down. Booking things like travel in advance or teaming up with someone so you are accountable for each other goes a long way to build those systems that reduce mental friction and help you keep going even when you get bored or your motivation dips.
Here is the article again, as you probably skipped over the first link ;-): Notes on managing ADHD
It was interesting reading about melatonin as I've used it in the past when flying long distance. It helped me better adjust to new timezones and worked well. It was also available over the counter in the US.
Further reading says regular use of a low dose (1mg or less) is not habit forming and there does not appear to be any long term effects.
I'm certainly someone who gets a second wind around 11pm and it's often hard to get to bed before midnight. But on the rare occasions I've been so tired to flake out before 11pm, I feel far more creative in the morning than I am at night. I have no idea if I actually have 'delayed sleep phase syndrome' but if I can get some melatonin I'll see if I can shift my sleep clock a little earlier.
#TheThings
I was gifted a pack of Dictator Trumps last weekend.
It’s dark reading the stats and strange to think that there might be an expansion pack available soon. I’ve checked Etsy and can’t find anything yet. If there was a D Trump card it might read: Years in Power 5 - Invasions 0 (yet) - Death Toll ~400,000+ (mainly from COVID-19 mismanagement; no death stats directly attributed to ICE enforcement yet) - Wealth $2.6 billion (estimated by Forbes) - Children 5
I’m clearing some tree limbs reaching over the house and sawing them up for firewood. Rather than make a saw horse out of pallets or logs, I picked up this foldable sawhorse from Screwfix.
It was easy to assemble and although light enough to carry with one hand, when loaded with a log, it’s rock solid. I have used it with small logs of 3 inches across with a bow saw, all the way up to large logs around 7 inches across and up to 9 feet long.
As i’m sawing in a variety of places, this kind of portable saw horse is perfect and i’m pretty sure it will take even bigger logs.
I also bought an adapter for a ladder so I can climb onto the apex of the house and trim trees. If you don’t get any more posts from me you know why.
#TheThanks
Massive thanks to the paying subscribers who continue to support this dispatch and the adventures/experiments that make it. You know who you are. ♥️
Should I fall off the roof and land on my chainsaw, I shall endeavour to have the names of all supporting subscribers read out at my funeral over some suitable music.
So… If you value these words, ideas and curation, please consider an upgrade to paid… It’s not too late to get on that list.
#TheWeb
Mobile Gardening apps for developing green cities
Yes! The Documentally community map is growing. As is the resistance.
Infinite Mac OSX
Competition in the world of reusable rockets comes from… Honda.
Some of my other places include these… And supporting subscribers also get access to a Discord server. Message me for a link. 👍🏽 I also managed to post something to Strava this week and Untappd is about to get busy with some reviewing. I’m not on Threads and rarely (if ever) use Insta, so perhaps we can connect on Bluesky?
Have you downloaded Natural Atlas yet?
#TheEnd
Tomorrow I’ll be at Pride in Edinburgh and this is the final reminder for the picnic at Orwell’s Grave next week on the 25th of June. I’ll meet you at Eric Arthur’s grave (aka George Orwell) around 11am onwards. Behind The Church of All Saints, The Green, Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, OX144AE.
Perhaps see you then, have a great week.
“The single greatest lesson the garden teaches is that our relationship to the planet need not be zero-sum, and that as long as the sun still shines and people still can plan and plant, think and do, we can, if we bother to try, find ways to provide for ourselves without diminishing the world. ” ― Michael Pollan
Plant.
See you out there.
Over…
That linked article on ADHD is superb, as is this piece ;)