Catch-up: WinterSeason09

The Winter season has been an almost total write-off due to the still-continuing drought. Good rains (46mm) last week might be the break we've been looking for.

In the ground currently:

• Self-sown Deer Tongue Lettuce and Cimaron Lettuce for seed;
• Kabouli Black Chickpeas, Winnifreds Chickpeas and (ordinary white) Chickpeas from the health-shop, all for seed;
• Spelt in 2 locations, doing quite well;
• Beets for eating;
• the Chenopod grex, which, though not doing particularly well, plods on;
• Amber Globe Turnip (also for seed);
• some surviving Chiles;
• and lots and lots of Chickweed.

The season is very warm. A handful of Tat Soi are flowering already! Lots of volunteer Tomatoes are still looking healthy, and they should be dead. Some Tomatoes are even still fruiting (though the fruits are not ripening.)  Golden Sweet Snow Peas: One batch got mowed by Rats or Guinea Fowl but survived and are just flowering; another batch are doing quite well. A small handful of Texas Grano Onions are doing quite well. Birds are gathering OB-fur for nestbuilding, and the Anna Apple tree has started flowering, so, taking a big chance on the very limited quantities of seed I have from last year's order of Chile-seed from Solana Seed in Canada, I've planted a 10x20 speedling tray -- 1 variety to a row -- of Chiles and putting them on the stoep, which should be warmer and sunnier than the seed-racks in the veggie garden. On cooler days I'll move them into Dale's room, which has proved to be quite a good hot-house for the few late-sown Chiles from last year (which are thriving!)

No compost. (See drought notes prior...) so it's going to be an interesting Spring/Summer. I believe that this new climate-regime is permanent. This is our New Normal weather. Welcome to it; Adapt Or Die.

Noisy Neighbours

So a Sailor walks into a bar. A ship's wheel is sticking out of the front of his pants. "Errrmmm.... Excuse me," says the barkeep, "Do you know you have a ship's wheel in your pants?"

"Oh, Aye!" replies the old salt. "It's drivin' me nuts!"

To the West we have Deon, a local farmer with very extensive lands - I would guess in the thousands-of-hectares range. He's bought himself a bulldozer - quite a serious machine - and is clearing areas of his land of weedy trees. He's already cleared out some watercourses to the West, and that's a good thing, especially with the drought still more-or-less in residence. It's actually quite fascinating to see the real lay of the land once the trees (and they're mostly all invasive aliens) have been removed. He's taking good care, too, that topsoil is not being stripped. Still, it's a pretty noisy business, this bulldozing.

To the West East we have the local Forestry company thinning the Pine Plantation, so on that side its chainsaws and tractors pulling out logs all day, not to mention the daily logging-truck growling past. The thinning operation has been going on for about 3 or 4 weeks now. At times it's pretty noisy, and other times we don't hear them at all until we go for a walk in that direction (our favourite walks) with the doggies. I find it quite fascinating, the weird and unpredictable ways that sound travels (or fails to travel.)

And to the North we have Ms Bayou Babe (the official Village Halfwit) engaging in Major Earthworks on her property. A digger-loader is now well into its third week of work on the land. They must be halfway to China by now! In a way I feel sorry for these people; it seems to me a kind of sickness, to hate a piece of land so much that you feel compelled to completely terraform it. What led you to acquire that piece of land if you did not love it for what it was? Anyway, it's noise there, too, from dawn to dusk.

And to think we moved to the country for the peace, quiet and tranquility!

It'll all come to an end, sooner or later, I know, but in the meantime, "It's drivin' me nuts!"

Chainsaw Woes 2

Following my whinge (winge? whinj? How the hell do you spell it?) to Husqvarna yesterday, to their full credit, I had responses by email from their MD and their Territory Manager by phone first thing this morning. That sort of response is pretty unusual in the Global Kakistopoly, in my experience, so full marks to Husqvarna South Africa!

The real point, as I reiterated to them, is that, so long as Topsaw is the sole agent/dealer for them this area, there is no way I will own Husqvarna products. The pain and uncertainty is just not worth it.

Just thought that Husqvarna's name should be kept in the clear on this, in all fairness...

Kakistopoly

Wrote up the origin and definition, with appropriate ranting, of the word "Kakistopoly," a word of (as far as I know) my own invention.

Share and Enjoy!

Chainsaw Woes

A copy of my letter to Husqvarna South Africa:

I recently took my chainsaw to the local dealer/agents in the South Cape, Topsaw, for a minor service. I was told that the expected price of such a service was in the range of R250-R400, which I accepted, with the clear instruction to phone me if any other problems were uncovered.

Upon calling to enquire about the progress of the service after a week, I was told that parts were on order and that the repair bill would be R1250! You can imagine my consternation. Times are tough, and I cannot honestly afford to pay that much.

Their report of the behaviour of the chainsaw after its service bears absolutely NO resemblance to the performance of the machine prior to the service, and I strongly believe that they have carried out this additional and expensive work unnecessarily. It is my considered opinion, in the light of disucssions with numerous friends and acquaintances who have suffered similar occurences at their hands, that Topsaw are no better than a bunch of thieves and con artists.

As a result, despite believing that Husqvarna makes a top-class chainsaw, I shall be selling the machine as soon as I have it back (though I fully expect there might be some further delays, obfuscation and additional expenses) in order to go and buy a Stihl, simply so that I never have to deal with this bunch of sharks ever again.

Notes to self...

Dry again, this month. 11mm to date. May is really too late to be planting things, but then earlier would just have been a waste of time and effort, this year.

Gave-up on the Brassicas that were sitting in trays -- they'd been there too long. Instead I direct-sowed some CopenhagenMarketCabbage inGardenBed1 and it is just starting to come-up. Carrots still have made no showing. RedMustard sowed last week in GardenBed8 for seed, along withEarlyPurpleKohlrabi. Must still sow more Brassicas.

Have been struggling to buy (any) grain in small quantities for covering a bed or two (and to gain experience with grains.) Might just have to go with the Buckwheat I've got.

Transplanted the (few) Winter-experiment Chillies that have come-up into tubes; I must move them somewhere warmer for Winter. From memory:JalapeñoPurple, AjiDulce, AjiAmarillo, Tabasco, Tschanad and a single (green) Jalapeño.

WinterSeason09

And Now For Something Completely Different

Jason returned from a short business trip to Sweden, and brought back something special: A copy of the (Limited Edition) new album by Folk/Pagan/Melodic Black Metal band Eluveitie, Evocation 1 - The Arcane Dominion.




All I can say is...

Awesome!

Don't be put off by the "Metal" tag... the album has not an electronic instrument in sight, yet still manages to pull of this weird fusion of Celtic folk, metal, prog-rock and even a bit of rap on one track! Almost all the lyrics are in the ancient and extinct Helvetii Gaulish language, giving a very Pagan, spiritual feel that haunts and teases some memory deep in the DNA.

I cannot praise this album highly enough. This is a work of genius.