SPECTACULAR

A few weeks ago (somehow, already) I chipped in a little elbow grease to the annual Tropical Garden Spectacular down at Darwin's beautiful botanic gardens. After taking a little time out during the week to help prepare some pop up garden beds (and remembering that while shoveling soil is good dirty work, due care is needed to avoid unwanted muscle twinges - or complete spinal displacement come to think of it), I also lent my barista skills over the weekend at the community cafe.

BIG YELLOW TAXI

I'm probably what you'd describe as a lukewarm activist. Never one for crowds, slogans and rallies, I prefer to let my consumer persona do the talking. I have steadily imposed a personal bouycott on so many unethical and/or environmentally damaging brands over the last 20 years that there are certain supermarket aisles I now no longer even bother with. Then there's my attempts to live life 'plastic lite'. The fact that I don't own a TV. Trying to support small businesses. Cleaning up beaches. Buying a lot of goods secondhand. Donating to environmental groups. Writing letters. Getting three degrees in environmental science...that kind of thing.

Still, I've always tried to bring a scientific balance to my inner knee jerk hippie that likes to commune with nature and eternally wonders where 'everything else' is meant to live. I try to consider the reality of development in the face of a growing global population as well as recognizing the mineral, petroleum and energy resources that, as a citizen of a developed country, I use every day.

GROWING SPACES

Why is it that as soon as you hit October, the rest of the year comes rushing at you like a train full of hard slogging optimists grasping for rays of light? So, I was completely planning to do a wrap up of Buy Nothing New Month (I bought nothing new), review my new/used camera (it's awesome), take and post dozens of images (a series of annoying incidents left me without an especially usable camera for the month) and feature some local op-shops (ask the Monster Who Ate October about that).