GONE TO THE DOGS - ZERO FOOD WASTE

Well, that's another Christmas down, and fridges around the country are groaning under the weight of all those family dinner leftovers (in fact there is a food advisory ad campaign doing the rounds here right now to warn people of the dangers of food poisoning from tidbits that may have sat around in the summer heat for a little too long).  I didn't make it though the month completely guiltless despite my zero food waste efforts - I can own up to 1 cucumber, half an eggplant, quarter of a pot of yoghurt and a bunch of mint. So I'll wrap up the year with another quick couple of suggestions before coming up with a different personal challenge for January (but including a resolution to come up with a better food plan system from now on).

Anyway, now might be the time to indulge your pets a little if you do have more food than you can handle on your plates. That glib remark that I made in my first post about never having leftovers if you have a dog was based more in fact than humour. My dog, the first dog I've owned, is a little over 7 years old now and he has been instrumental in keeping my food waste to a minimum since he arrived -  puppy size -  into my life.

BOTTOM OF THE VEG DRAWER

I'm a serial offender when it comes to having a couple of limp carrots, a shriveled chilli and a few black spotted tomatoes hiding away at the bottom of the veggie drawer. But team it up with a dried up cob of fresh corn and some kidney beans and you've got the makings of some delicious vegetarian nachos.

LOST BREAD

Just a sprinkle of sugar, promise

The pre-sliced plastic wrapped grainy bread so favoured by folks in this part of the world is something of an anomaly in France, where they have a much greater fondness for the staple white baguette. Personally I prefer to buy my loaves from a baker (and consequently have an elaborate wrapping system of cloth and paper to keep them fresh for as long as possible in the fridge - though it's worth noting that bread freezes very well).

THE LONE BANANA - GO ZERO FOOD WASTE

nobody loves you, sad banana

Ah, the sad tale of the leftover over-ripe banana. Some people can only eat bananas when they're just past green and no further, personally I think they taste better when riper...but there comes a point...

FINAL 2013 MINI-CHALLENGE

One of my many delicious farm shop hauls from a local village in Kent, UK

December is a pretty excessive month overall; a merry-go-round of gifts, meals, drinks and parties means a pretty full fridge and a lot of leftovers. So my final month-long mini challenge will be a zero food waste December. To be honest I'm pretty good at not throwing out food but it does feel like over the last couple of months that regular small shops have been replaced by less frequent larger ones, and that I've also been buying more produce before finishing off what I have in the fridge. To put it bluntly, my shiny non food waster badge is getting a little tarnished. To top it all off, food goes off in a blink at this time of year (in the tropics) so it's even more important to keep those eyes smaller than your stomach!

URBAN GRIT

A street scene from Berck Plage, northern France.
Most of my images have a very strong nature theme to them. This is partly because I spend a lot of time wandering around on beaches, in woodlands, near rivers and in parks. But another reason is that while I love the look of gritty urban landscapes, I'm not very well practiced in capturing them.

MEMORY LANE

Over the last few days I have finally got around to merging sections of my old blog (mostly my life in France in the mid 00s) into this one, which has meant reading and reviewing each post to decide whether I wanted to keep it as well as reformatting and refreshing images from my photo archive.

Initially I was undecided about whether to do this (and in the end I decided to publish only a few of the more neutral posts and relegate the rest to my own private files). It was a different time, place and blogging community and though I have come full circle (in the complete sense, I am back living in a studio at my parents' place in my former home town!) I am in a much different place as I was when I first entered the blogging world and have a very different approach to what and why I share online.

EARLY ARRIVAL

You know those mornings when you get your first real impression that the season has turned? My favourite has always been autumn, with its first hint of crispness and the fragrance of woodsmoke in the morning air, the first browning of a leaf and blush of purple in the blackberry bushes.

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).

IT'S BETTER TO TRAVEL ALONE THAN WITH A BAD COMPANION

How does that William Morris mantra to minimalism go again? “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful". (Great advice dude, but there are some people out there that think their room full of beanie babies is a beautiful thing, just saying.)  Granted, my idea to take a camera around more often as a better way to make use of my downtime was exactly what I needed (my DSLR is great, but it's not very practical to carry around day to day), but it seems my go-to point and shoot impulse buy from a couple of years ago is an awful piece of gadgetry...well, that is to say it works but doesn't come close to what I want out of a camera. Maybe I'm too picky, but it's decided - I don't like it and we're not friends.

STICKY MOMENTS

Storm, incoming!

Right now in the Top End we're full swing into the build-up. Also known as troppo season as the eternal sticky, muggy and downright oppressive conditions, mixed with the generally high levels of alcohol consumption in these parts has a tendency to send people a little off the rails.
Some mornings start with grey skies. Black clouds on the horizon show a hint of a promise, and though you know rain is unlikely so soon in the season, a downpour would only make it worse anyway. But for a blessed 20 minutes, it's slightly cooler morning than normal. After a while the breeze drops, and even the cloud cover can't keep the heat away. As the humidity gradually climbs, the slightest exertion makes you break out in a sweat. In between showering and changing clothes you're not entirely sure if you accomplished anything worthwhile at all. By the way, it IS actually possible to sweat in the shower.

WASTE NOT

The first question people generally ask about Buy Nothing New Month is 'does this include food?' Well, no it doesn't (unless the freegan life is the life for you, ho ho) but it doesn't hide the fact that food waste is a huge problem in our convenience society (think about it, if we had no waste and ate less meat then we could easily feed, house and clothe 9 billion+ people). Collectively, we Westerners throw out anything up to 40% of the food we produce (this includes food that spoils or is discarded before it even makes it into our homes). I grew up in the New Zealand agricultural/horticultural sector and even by the late 80s, when I was still a young teen, I had a disturbingly clear picture of what soil to plate food production looked like, as well as an insight into how free market trade could crush a local industry.

LOW TIDE AT SUNSET

CORNER OF BISHOP AND SNELL

There's not a huge amount of street art in Darwin unfortunately (though we do have an active collective of decent artists in the city). So whenever I see anything clever or insightful, it tends to catch my eye. I spotted this illustration in Darwin's industrial area of Winnellie during my commute home. Pretty on point for a Buy Nothing New Month I think!

ROMA

The Roma Bar has been a Darwin fixture for as long as I can remember, which isn't surprising as it opened in 1973. Once further down Cavenagh Street (and on the other side of the road) than it is today (which used to be a cafe by a different name - possibly the Groove Cafe, I forget), it's a great spot for a coffee and a reasonably priced meal, by Darwin city standards anyway. Open from 7am, they have ample indoor and outdoor seating and a stack of decent newspapers on offer, including the Guardian (international edition). Their signature sandwich is a pan bagne, and they also do a mean Virgin Mary. Although their standard menu is a simple affair, it's worth keeping an eye on the daily specials. Today's offering was esquites - a Mexican corn salad served in a lime and chilli mayo with coriander and feta garnish and a side stack of tortillas.
Roma Bar
9-11 Cavenagh Street
Darwin
Open 7am-4pm

SHADES OF LUNCHTIME

One of the upsides of working in the city is I can go for a stroll by the waterfront, the park, or wander round the mall. One of the downsides of working in the city - at this time of year - is that it's stinking hot, and a casual wander generally turns into a casual browse in an air-conditioned shop, which often leads to the casual purchase of a casual item.

Not shopping is super easy when you don't go to the shops, I've discovered (call it a eureka moment) - but when the beckoning CBD is a useful and healthy excuse to get out of the office, then what?
So as an alternative to casual consumption, I've decided to do mini photo-walks instead. Whatever I can find and shoot in half an hour, give or take. At the absolute worst time of the day for photography. The added bonus is that it will hopefully kick-start my photography mojo, which has been flagging these last few months. And, as I'm waiting on a new (secondhand) battery charger for my DSLR, I'll be using my neglected point and shoot. I've never really clicked with it (no pun) so it'll be a good time to figure out if we're going to get along in the long run.

SLEEPY SUNRISE

My dog isn't a bed sleeper per se, but every morning at about 5.30 he hops up for a morning cuddle and will loll around for as long as he can get away with it (or until he gets hungry). It's quite a sweet ritual, so I'm pretty indulgent... (i.e, a sucker)

FLOTSAM AND JETSAM (BUY NOTHING NEW MONTH)

I always fancied myself as a professional beachcomber. You know how that daydream goes - tanned, lithe, living on a tropical island (the food magically grows itself, probably), living in a driftwood hut and scouring the shoreline every sunrise and sunset for ocean treasures which are invariably useful and/or beautiful in some existentially meaningful way . I would make wonderful art and decor from it and there was probably a ruggedly handsome Spaniard somewhere in there doing some useful things on a boat. We would have no need for pah!, money, because th..

THE HUMBLE JAR (BUY NOTHING NEW MONTH)

Last month I had the chance to spend a wonderful afternoon in San Francisco's mission district with a couple of old friends. At the end of the day we decided to pop into a funky restaurant and grab a round of cocktails because what did you expect, really? Made and served in the same vessel, our mojitos came prepared in reused jam jars...which I instantly decided was the coolest thing ever and have since added a couple to my meagre home collection of glass tumblers.

SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING USED

Because I enjoy my challenges;

October is Buy Nothing New Month!

It's no newsflash that we first world citizens overconsume. Between planned obsolescence, rapid upgrades to technology and the constant consumer drive to makeover our lives to whatever post-modern retro minimalist bohemian trend is in next-last season, we're consuming at levels far beyond what our planet can sustain. Necessity may be the mother of invention, but creating artificial need is her evil twin.

CALIFORNIA LOVE

Leaving SF via an icon

Once I was done and dusted from Burning Man, I decided to take a little tour up the northern Californian coast and check out the rugged Pacific views. Last time I came over for the festival, I took a short solo tour through Yosemite (which this year suffered a terrible spate of wildfires so I figured a return journey wasn't the best idea). I also wanted to check out the town of Mendocino, which had been recommended to me by a friend who proclaimed it as the town where all the 60s San Francisco hippies had gone to retire.

DUSTING OFF

So I took some time away from my life under the relentless sunny skies of northern Australia to go and holiday...ummm, under the beating sun of the Nevada desert. Which is to say I went to Burning Man. Again.

TALLY UP

I'm not sure if it's the increased awareness of a thing you're trying to avoid that makes you feel like you're attracting more of it into your life (much like the exercise where you're not allowed to think about elephants), but at times Plastic Free July seemed like it was raining plastic.

During July I finished off a lot of product that I bought 'pre-plastic avoidance' (a year or more ago in some cases). But, since then I have been able to find a plastic free (or less) alternative (eg shampoo, moisturiser, deodorant) for a lot of items. Overall - I intentionally bought much less plastic, but hidden packaging, freebies and impossible to find alternatives added to my tally. I did buy much less hard plastic than I think I've ever done before though (remember, no elephants).

COCKATOO SUNSET

Red tailed black cockatoos at dusk. Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin

BITTER SWEET

A couple of weekends ago I finally got around to heading down the track for a Territory-style minibreak. Though some may wonder why people living in the tropics would crave the experience of immersing ourselves in thermal pools, rather than say, waterfalls, the numerous thermal pools in the region are quite popular with both locals and tourists alike.

MY CHAI

I can't remember the first time I had a chai tea, but it was probably at some event including wall to wall tie-dye, dreadlocks and nag champa wafting on the breeze. I do recall the first one that made an impression on me though, at an autumn food festival in South Australia, served from a huge steaming pot, milk and honey already added and being kept on a low boil throughout the afternoon.

MIDWAY

One word that ties together two parallel subjects, 'Midway' is the title of a Chris Jordan film about the devastating effects that plastic pollution is having on albatrosses nesting in the Midway Atoll of the North Pacific ocean. I saw the trailer late last year, utterly devastating and a well past due wake up call. The full film is scheduled for release in late 2013. Here in Australia I've been reading up on our own 'Midway situation'. The remote and pristine paradise of Lord Howe Island is yet another distressing case study for marine plastic pollution and its devastating effects on bird life - namely shearwaters. Learning about both of these situations within a short period, as well as the alarming microplastics statistics from recent surveys, was the jump-start that put me onto a path to concerted plastic reduction.

HERMIT PARTY

Last week I participated in the Darwin Harbour Clean Up Day, and headed out on the early ferry to Mandorah, a small community that is a short 15 minute ferry ride from the Darwin CBD, though by car it's closer to 2 hours! There is a pretty amazing assortment of shells on some of the more remote beaches around the Top End, so I tried to squeeze in a little shell collecting on the side too.

DIY DUKKAH

Dukkah, or 'duqqa', is a type of Egyptian side dish made from blended spices, herbs and nuts. This palate-piquing accompaniment can be made using a range of different ingredients - including hazelnuts, sesame, cumin,mint, caraway and coriander. Whichever recipe you prefer, investing in a good mortar and pestle alongside a small collection of common key spices will keep you in cheap homemade dukkah for years! You can of course buy it pre-made in delis but it can sell for prices bordering on the criminally insane.

PREPPING FOR PLASTIC FREE

Though I'm unsure why the month of July was chosen, I do know that Plastic Free July is an initiative started in Perth, Western Australia that challenges people to go a month without plastic – either by seeking alternatives for a few key items or going cold turkey on everything packaged. Though I haven’t posted any updates for a couple of months (oops), my own efforts to keep my plastic consumption down have ebbed and flowed with varying degrees of success over 2013. My usage of single or short-term use plastic is way down but I have fallen afoul of hidden packaging on a couple of occasions (namely with appliances, most companies use very little plastic in their packaging these days but you still get the odd anomaly). While I’ve been making decent inroads, it’s probably a good time to try and kick start some new habits for the areas I still haven’t tackled yet. So I’m going to try and go completely plastic-free for the month, and will post a tally of any plastic I do accumulate, plus tips on what I use in an average day and how I found a replacement for it.

RE-IN-CANE-ATION

I have a knack for spotting good *trash* (and here, as everywhere, I'm stunned at what people are willing to throw away) and after seeing this one sitting around on the street for a few days I decided to take it home and turn it into a herb planter. I'm starting a modest tropical style vegie patch this year, and as I'm still a green thumb in training, the most sensible option is planting in containers that can be moved around the garden til I find the optimum spot.

FROG BLOG

Frog visitation highlights from this past wet season

DOWN BY THE CREEK

I'm continually stunned that there is such a beautiful freshwater river system running through what is mostly a suburban area. I often see kids swimming and playing in Rapid Creek while I'm walking or cycling through the surrounding parks. My hound also has his own favourite plunge pool along the way;

REFINED

Prompted by a subscription reminder message, one thing led to another over the weekend and I ended up entirely overhauling my blog because the old style wasn't really doing it for me.
....And also because I get easily distracted.
.........And because I need a holiday.

I also merged some of the posts from an older blog I had going when I lived in Europe so everything lives here now.

It's only taken me about 3 years to get around to this.

AUTUMN IN MELBOURNE CITY

I recently went for a jaunt down to much-loved Melbourne city. Only my second visit in as many years, it's a city I'd always planned to visit back when I last lived here, but never quite made it to. Acclaimed for its coffee, vintage thrift, trams, food, art and hipsters, it's touted as one of the most liveable cities in the world. It's certainly a great city for photos (the meagre selection I came back with was down to a combination of non photo-walk friendly footwear (rookie mistake) and a relatively short visit).

RED IN THE MORNING

Darwin is usually better known for its spectacular sunsets, although sometimes the sunrises can be just as stunning. My bed faces east and sometimes the strange light pouring in of a morning is enough to wake me up before my alarm clock does.

A WOE THAT IS MADNESS

I’m going to take a little time out of my Friday night schedule (*cough* packed as it is) to talk to you about whales, whaling and why Australia – and the global community – needs to step up and tell countries that persist in the commercial hunting of whales to sit down and have a cup of chai already.

For context: articles like this one  that I read this morning are less interesting to my mind for a supposed ‘slip’ by the Japanese Fisheries Minister where he openly admits whaling is not happening for scientific purposes (but it’s their whale-meat catered party and they’ll hunt if they want to) but rather the reason behind why they think the rest of the world are hypocrites that should mind their own business. By the way, ‘scientific whaling’ is just a loose term for destructive population monitoring (apparently DNA samples aren’t enough and it’s just better off to kill the whole thing because science). In short they need to kill some whales, so they know when there’s enough whales, so they can kill lots more of them again.

PLASTIC LITE PROGRESS

There are certainly challenges to living a plastic-free life in Darwin, some can be solved with a bit of effort while others either remain on either a 'deal with it later' list or the too hard basket.

First things first. Despite Darwin's distance from other population centres, our local Shoal Bay Recycling Centre takes all recyclable plastics

Another recent recycling initiative worth mentioning is courtesy of Coles supermarket, who are rolling out a nationwide soft plastics collection. I'll pause here to say I won't give my opinion for or against shopping at one of Australia's major food suppliers as it's up to the individual to decide how they shop, but either way I think this is a positive step in removing a large part of what is often unavoidable plastic from landfill. It hasn't rolled out in Darwin yet but for now I'm saving all my soft plastics until such time as it does.

2013 - THE YEAR OF PLASTIC 'LITE'

2012 was the first year I can remember that had such a major theme for me. Towards the end of 2011 I decided to move from my somewhat quiet rural life in England, where I'd been living for 5 years, and head back home to Australia. Of course with great moving, comes great sorting. I gave myself 6 months to sift through my houseful of possessions, and decide what was making the journey over with me.

A funny thing happened; the more I sorted, and the more I sold or donated, the more I realised that there was a hell of a lot of 'stuff' in my life. Probably slightly less than the average Westerner as I don't own many gadgets, but still I'd somehow gathered what seemed like a lot of moss. This was surprising as I've always considered myself as not owning that much. There's nothing like packing it down into a few boxes to challenge that perception.