## In this issue
– Westacre’s latest
– Seed planting ritual
– faunathing
– What you can do to help Westacre
## Westacre’s latest
Dear friend,
Although the weather isn’t as uniformly gorgeous as it was a couple of weeks ago, Spring is progressing all around us. The plum tree is budding, and the first few twigs of the apple trees are turning pale as they get ready to burst into life. This morning, the thrumming of a woodpecker accompanied my meditation out in the garden.
With the rain, we have returned our attentions indoors. Preparing to pour our concrete floors is quite a process. The floor boards had to come up, and then we had to find homes for them, either as building material for an outdoor wood store, or as burnable bits that fit into the wood burner.
Next, the joists needed to be carefully removed, making sure we didn’t damage the outer wall in the process. Alex is now busy shaping bricks into the right shape to replace them and cementing them into the holes.
His Dad came to help us and shovelled decades old dust and building rubble out of the hole into rubble bags. More is still to come out, and that’s before we start removing the old plaster off the walls.
Alex has also taken out the old heating and gas pipes, and old electrical wire. And he’s pondering how he will make provision for the new wiring and heating system before the concrete goes down.
We always knew we were taking on a huge task when we started this. On cold, rainy days the size of the undertaking can really hit us. We are having to gather our resources of inner strength and time for the cause of actually making progress in this building project.
It has become very apparent that we are both happiest when we are working together on the building project. We feed on each other’s enthusiasm and energy. Progress magically speeds up when we are working as a team. So we have set our intention to really concentrate on the building project and leaving other things until later.
The garden is one of those. We’ll put in some potatoes and leave them to look after themselves for the most part. And the lawn will get mowed, but the rest will suffer benign neglect until we have an actual house to live in.
Hopefully we will find our stride as the sun grows stronger. And hopefully there will be enough time gaps to keep the newsletters coming.
Hilde
## A Seed Planting Ritual
This is a great time for gardening. The new warmth in the Sun warms your heart as well as your back when you plant the first seeds in your garden.
You can do this ritual as you are gardening, with the soil in your vegetable patch and the seeds you are planting anyway. Or you can choose to make this into a more formal ritual and dedicate the seed to a particular project that you would like to see flourish this year.
Begin by gathering your materials. Decide whether you will need a pot and some potting compost. You will definitely need seed – one big one like a broad bean will do – and some water.
As you gather these things, ponder the symbolism of what you intend to do. The compost and soil are made of the growth of years past and the minerals that support life. What are you grateful for?
The seed is a new beginning that you would like to see flourish in the year ahead. It may be a project of your own or something in the wider world that needs to grow. For what cause will you plant your seed?
The water you will use is the nourishment you give to this new beginning. What can you give to this cause?
The sunshine will also help grow your project. You don’t have any control over it. It stands for the blessings of Spirit that support this new beginning. Can you let go of your need to control and leave some of your cause in the care of the Gods?
If you are doing your ritual in a formal circle, perform an opening as you normally would. If you are bringing sacred intent to your vegetable patch, be creative about how you open your rite. Would you like to call to the directions? Or would you simply like to sing to your vegetable patch until both of you feel peaceful and centred? Do whatever feels right and appropriate.
When you are ready, sit down in a comfortable position. Spend some time with the Earth that is present with you. Give the soil and the compost your prayers of gratitude. Remember that all that you have in your life comes from the Earth. Bring these things to mind now, and fill the Earth in your pot or your veg patch with gratitude.
Then hold your seed or seeds in your hand. Bring to mind the new beginning that you want to work with. See its potential in this seed. Imagine what amazing growth can come, what abundant nurture, from just this one seed. Dedicate the seed to your cause or project and fill it with your hope.
Plant the seed of your hope in gratitude. See how the things of the past, the things that you have learned and the efforts that have gone before, will nurture your hope. Now bless the water you have brought. You will have to water this seed a few more times if the days are dry or if you are growing it indoors. What actions can you commit to that will help nurture the new beginning you are working for? Make that commitment as you water your seed.
Now dedicate your planted seed to the Sun. Other than watering when necessary, you will have to leave the process of growing up to the mystery of Life. What do you need to surrender to the Gods in this area of your life?
Sit with your planted seed for another few minutes. Feel yourself supported by the Earth, bursting with hope for the future, nurtured by your own self-care and the care of others, and blessed by the Gods.
When you feel complete, end the rite to balance your opening. Don’t forget to look after your seed, and don’t forget to hold to the commitment you made.
## Futurestory
Somewhere on an internet forum, the word multi-media story telling was mentioned. I was intrigued and asked for a few resources. One of the links given is this web site, $(&^)(*&
There are lots of voicemail recordings, videos and other documents ‘from the future’ that have been ‘decoded’ so we can listen to it now. Together, they tell the story of a possible future or futures for our world in the next 50 years or so.
It is fun to explore the site and piece together your own image of the future from these disparate pieces. You can collect them and order them in a way that makes sense to you, giving your own direction to the unfolding story.
But it’s not easy listening. The future vision that comes from these story scraps is not exactly rosy. The environment has continued to degrade, and people speak of humming birds and snow disappearing. Yet life is carrying on.
Go and have a look and listen for yourself. You may want to use this web site as an opportunity to get in touch with your sorrow for this world. If you do, don’t hold on to it. Let it express itself in your own creativity or your own tears.
## How to help Westacre
We have lots of things that you can help with. Especially with the Spring coming on fast and both of us committing more fully to the building project, we can always do with an extra pair of hands.
In the process, you will learn about what we are doing in our eco-renovation, and how all the different bits work together. Inevitably, you will come across an energy saving trick that looks feasible for your own house.
Do get in touch!
You can find all our contact details at http://www.westacre.org.uk/contact/
Our renovation project is getting us to do things neither of us have ever done before. This week, we’re trying our hand at brick laying. Here are some things I never knew.
1. Like many DIY jobs, mixing mortar is a bit like making cake. You have to get the right consistency: moist but doesn’t stick to your hands.
2. A good proportion is 1 part cement to 3 parts sand. It’s a good idea to mix one part of cement with one part of sand dry in a bucket before you start the cement mixer. The hardest part is to get the stuff to mix properly in the mixer.
3. Just like cake, the amount of water needed depends on the kind of sand and cement you’ve got. The moister the sand, the less water you’ll need.
Alex’s first brick laying project finished.
4. Start with some water in the drum. Then add a couple of spade fulls of sand. Add the sand-cement mix last. This will quickly change the nature of your mix.
5. Aim the sand and cement at the watery mix. If you get it on the dry part of the drum, it’ll just stick there and not get mixed in. Then you need to stop the drum and push it all around with your hands.
6. Keep adding sand and cement. When the mix gets too dry, it will look like small lumps rattling around in the drum. Add a bit more water.
7. You’ve got it more or less right when the mortar becomes one big mass that falls down from the top of the drum as it goes round. A smooth lump sloughing down is what you’re looking for. Now is the time to stop the drum and do a hand test. It needs to be moist but leave your hand virtually clean.
8. Life is a lot easier when your bricks are wet. Put one in a bucket of water while you’re mortaring in the previous one. It’ll help your mortar stick to the brick and will save you a lot of trouble.
9. If you are using reclaimed bricks, make sure they are clean. Any dirt left on them will prevent them from absorbing the mortar and sticking together.
10. If you are a beginner, you’re bound to make a mess on the face of your brickwork. If it is going to be on show, it’s a good idea to remove the excess mortar with a scouring pad at the end of the day.
Good luck! And let us know how you get on.
I was hoping to be able to show you the finished product by now. But the construction of our tall raised bed has been slowed down by consecutive bouts of bad weather. First there was the rain of Winter, now there are Spring showers. But never weather dry enough for an amateur brickie to feel confident about.
It’s quite a mighty construction. We want to make the final product about as high as a kitchen counter, so that we can lose quite a lot of soil in there. Soil that will come from digging out the beds up against the house where we want external wall insulation and a clear gravel path.
To keep all that soil from pushing out the walls of the raised bed, they need to be quite sturdy. The foundations are made of concrete, with a double course of breeze blocks on top. The next layer is a single course of breeze block on the inside and bricks on the outside where the wall shows above ground.
Alex constructing the second course of breeze blocks for the raised vegetable bed.
They are reclaimed bricks that we’ve inherited with the house. They were stacked in the back of the garden for many years, until Alex moved them into the garage to dry out. Because sodden bricks do not make strong walls.
The superstructure will be made out of sturdy 4×6 planks, 6 layers tall at the highest point, and 3 layers tall at the lower level. They will be fixed to the bricks and to each other with steel rods cemented into place. And for extra strength, a few of the old floor joists from indoors will help to hold the longest, tallest wall in place.
Hopefully, with all that, we’ll be able to contain all that soil and have a smart, sturdy raised vegetable bed by the sunny wall of the house.
## In this issue
– Westacre’s latest
– Spring Equinox meditation
– Karuna Insight Design
– What you can do to help Westacre
## Westacre’s latest
Dear friend,
After a long, wet Winter, we have had over a week of stunningly beautiful Spring weather. It has been a joy to be outside in the warm sunlight, getting the garden ready for the coming growing season. The veg beds are mulched and the potatoes are chitting.
With this new Spring comes a new burst of activity. I am determined to get back to more regular blog posts and Newsletters, as well as more intense work on our renovation project.
In the coming months, you can expect more seasonal mediations, suggestions for your ritual practice, and interviews with other adventurers in connected living. I hope you enjoy the meditation with the Spring Equinox sunrise in this issue.
We have been making steady progress on our renovation project. The first task of the year was to install a 125kg steel beam to replace a rather inadequate stud partition that was holding up our roof. With the help of some friends, we managed to wiggle it into place and cement it in. The roof is still there, so we’re calling it a success.
Next, we started the removal of the floor boards in the old part of the house. Underneath, we have found a puzzling spaghetti of pipes and electrical cable. We haven’t found the destination of some of those yet. All of it will be re-designed and replaced for the new hot water system and underfloor heating.
Removing all the floor boards and joists is giving us a lot of wood, which we’re processing into firewood. Adding to the glut are the three big branches of leylandii that came down in the high winds last month. We are fast running out of space to store it all, so creating more dry storage space has become a priority.
The adventure continues as the seasons turn. I hope you’ll stick with us as the project gets more involved and interesting.
Blessings of the Equinox,
Hilde
## A Meditation for the Spring Equinox
Since the Winter Solstice, the days have been lengthening. Slowly at first, but around the Equinox the days stretch fast, at a rate of more than four minutes each day. Right now, the day is as long as the night.
The Sun increases in strength and warmth, and its radiance draws life up from the Earth. New growth sprouts everywhere, and the Spring bulbs are celebrating the new vitality with vibrant colours. With the moisture of Winter and this new warmth, Nature finds its strength.
And so do we. Take some time with the Spring sunlight, and let its rising power give you strength.
This meditation is ideally done with an actual sunrise around the Equinox. Look up the time of the sunrise, and get to your spot a little before that. If you can’t go outside, or you don’t have a view of the Eastern horizon, you can do the mediation in your own time in your usual meditation space, visualising the sunrise as you go.
Sit in a comfortable position in a dry spot or on a blanket outside, or in your meditation space. Face directly East, where the Sun rises at this time of year. Settle yourself with some deep breaths, allowing your body to relax as you exhale.
Allow your breath to come to its own natural rhythm and become aware of the Earth beneath you. Feel stable and settled on the Earth. If you like, put down your roots into the soil and feel at home there while you wait for the Sun to rise.
You feel the sunrise before you see it. The Earth responds to the coming of the Sun, and you will be able to feel it. Notice your own reaction, and the reaction of the wildlife around you. Let the energy flow through you. Let it feed you.
Watch the Sun (or sense it, if the morning is cloudy) crest over the Eastern horizon. As it does, feel the golden light mirrored in your abdomen. Breathe the sunrise into your lower belly. Let it fill your lower torso and strengthen your body.
Close your eyes when the Sun becomes too bright to comfortably look at. Looking directly at the Sun can damage your eyesight. You can feel its warmth on your face and your body. As the Sun rises comfortably above the horizon, let it be mirrored in your chest, in your heart area. Let the light of the Sun fill and strengthen your heart.
When the Sun rises even further, let its pure light be mirrored by your forehead. Let your brow be filled with radiant light. Allow your mind to be strengthened by the Sun.
Now let your attention move to your whole body. Feel the sunlight spread evenly throughout your whole body, filling every cell with radiance. Know that without this light and warmth, you would not exist, and there would be no life on the Earth.
When you feel full, bring your attention back to your physical body, without letting go of the radiance inside. Gently turn around so your have your back towards the Sun. Watch the morning light on the landscape. Feel the radiance of the Sun behind you and in you and moving through you.
Use your radiance to bless the life around you. Start with the things you can see right here. When you feel ready, also bring to mind places and people that you love, and send them some of your radiance. Shine the light of the Sun into your life, the positive aspects and the dark corners. Send your radiance to relationships that aren’t smooth. Radiate light out into all corners of the world.
Send out as much of the Sun’s energy as you need until the energy inside you gets to a level that feels comfortable. Do keep some for yourself, for use later, when your life needs a ray of sunshine.
Hold your hands to the ground and let any excess energy flow into the Earth. She welcomes these blessings and will use them for the nourishment of life.
When you feel ready, give thanks to the Sun and the Earth, and return to your life. If you feel ungrounded, make sure you have something to eat.
And may your Equinox be blessed.
## Karuna Insight Design
Karuna is a young Permaculture farm near Church Stretton in Shropshire. They have planted 10,000 trees since 2006. On Sunday, Alex learned how to graft trees, and a few other very useful things, from Karuna’s Janta Wheelhouse.
A friend posted about the course on Facebook. And as we have some very ancient apple trees that are nearing the end of their lives, I thought it would be a great thing for us to go and learn. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it. So I sent Alex off to Karuna on his own.
Alex really enjoyed his day. It started with a tree planting sessions (adding apple trees to the 10,000). As the learners practised grafting scions onto rootstock and got a tour of the nascent forest garden, Janta talked about his experiences.
Coming as an outsider to a small village in the wilds of Shropshire, with ideas about farming that are out of the ordinary, he got a lot of resistance from his local colleagues. Despite opposition, though, he managed to get planning permission for his workshop and help from the Forestry Commission to plant his forest garden. Apparently they had never received an proposal that involved so many different kinds of tree.
Alex came home with two tiny grafted apple trees, which have been potted up and are waiting for the first signs of growth in the greenhouse. Fingers crossed they will survive, and then we get to do our own tree planting session.
For more information, visit Karuna’s Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/karunainsightdesign?fref=ts
## How to help Westacre
With the new Spring, our renovation project is speeding up. There is always something to do that you can join in with. From prising up floor boards to carrying bricks and processing fire wood, we welcome any practical help we can get.
If you fancy the idea, reply to this e-mail.
You can find all our contact details at http://www.westacre.org.uk/contact/
In the last six months or so, Westacre has produced rather a lot of wood. As we will be partially warming our house from a wood burning stove before long, we need to keep hold of it. So we’ve had to be creative about finding places to store it.
It all started when the old wooden windows were taken out in November. There’s nothing much you can do with used window frames, except chop it into wood burner sized pieces. So that’s what Alex did. He stacked it all in the wood store behind the garage, along with the split bits of oak that we inherited from his dad.
In the stormy weather of February, part of the huge leylandii in the back of the garden came down and landed on the roof of the shed. As we couldn’t leave the three sizeable branches up there, we had to do some rope and pulley work to both get them off and make sure they didn’t fall in an uncontrolled manner. We certainly didn’t want them landing on our heads.
Once they were safely down and detached from the tree, Alex th
Old floor boards stacked by the fire place, ready for burning.
en started processing the branches into usable firewood. He had to make a new saw horse, a sturdy one that he could use with the circle saw without sawing through it. A few happy days were spent cutting and splitting the resinous wood.
But then where to put it? It’s green wood, so it really needs seasoning in an airy space. The wood shed was already quite crowded. We considered structures and places in the garden to put this new wood store, but didn’t really come to a conclusion.
The next job in the renovation project was to take up the suspended wooden floors downstairs in the old part of the house. There isn’t much you can do with old floor boards either. So we had another marathon process of sawing them into wood burner sized pieces. Most of those are now stacked in our living room, right next to the fire place, with room for more.
The leylandii logs seasoning in the new wood store – what you can do with a dog house and floor boards.
We also had an old dog house by the back door. It was taking up a lot of space, and we don’t own a dog. Alex had the luminous idea of using its roof and its floor to make an outdoor wood store.
In about half a day, he produced a tall contraption, with floor joists at the corners and floor boards as the open walls. He and his dad manhandled it into one of the flower beds close to the house, and Hilde stacked it with the logs from the fallen Leylandii.
We’re quite proud. It looks smart, and it keeps the rain out. The wood should be able to season quite effectively in there. And it’ll smell lovely on a fire.