Happy New Year!

It's been a big year.

The birth of our beautiful boy in March.

September 2013 with Granny at the park

Rediscovering myself and my talents in motherhood. Not insignificantly for me, learning to breastfeed - which we did exclusively for around 6-7 months and looks like continuing for a while yet.

I enjoyed reading about breastfeeding, balancing my mostly western perspective. This one is a cracker - Breastfeeding in Mongolia. Seriously funny. Apparently, the best wrestlers are breastfed until they are nine. No comment!

My husband Rodney and I continued our shenanigans.

Note from me for Dad when he arrived home from work (one of Reuben's words on card)

Note from Dad for us on our return from a walk (on the back of an envelope)

Doing a feed with Sir Patch Paddington, the kitten, snuggling in.

yay!

Hello 2014, I'm looking forward to getting to know you!

I'm looking forward to gardening, organic food cooked from scratch and showing our beautiful boy our world.

Stay Calm and Carry On

Some days I feel frantic, without any space for thought... a mad rush to do... not much! How often do you feel like that? Of course, I usually only realise after the day is done that I haven't actually achieved all that much, other than add a few grey hairs.

We've had several days like that in the last few weeks, thankfully now I am feeling the "slow and gentle rhythm" (as Rhonda would say) of being at home, caring for our son, pulling together a fast dinner and casually catching up on a week's worth of washing while chatting on the phone ;)

The secret is, I've heard, habit.

 if you haven't heard of it, a quick description...

Slow is about considered action creating a leading a life worth living... a life fully experienced moment by moment. In taking the time to fully live each moment, life yields multiple synergistic benefits in happiness, well-being, frugality, sustainability and more.

Of course, this might be a rose coloured view of what we can expect... but optimism is better than pessimism! 

Claire blogs about her Slow journey and a recent post nailed how to create new habits:

"3-Phase habit hacking approach using Slow principles

Phase 1 – reflect and observe to understand context before devising strategy

Phase 2 – create the habit hacking plan

Phase 3 – implement plan"

Slow and steady wins the race!

Sourdough starter

Recently, I have been consistently making my own bread, although not sourdoughm I've settled into a routine that takes about 5 minutes using biodynamic wheat! This is what I like to think of as a happy medium rather than striving for perfection and ending up with store-bought bread ;)

I've also been picking something from the garden every day - this habit drives the other habits to water, fertilise and sow. The garden isn't much now, but those zucchini flowers I fertilised the other day are promising! Beginning with the end in mind leads me to ask 'will we eat that?' and 'will it yield?'.

David's cherry tomatoes

I hope to revisit the Slow philosophy from time to time with this blog. Check out your local library for more information ... a good place to start is - Carl Honoré.

Being a Parent in a Declining Ecosystem

I've been reflecting on how I feel about having brought a child into this unsustainable and hectic society. Good... but why?

Given that our global society has a few challenges to address like ecosystem collapse and declines... we should have a few concerns! Climate change is the biggie.

The conclusion that I've come to is that I am optimistic. I love people and I trust our better instincts.

Hope springs eternal, but it is somewhat justified. Industrial ecology and permaculture exist. Paul Stamets exists - he's awesome, see his 6 ways mushrooms can save the world talk!

His trials with turkey tail mushrooms helped to save his mum's life

He is hope embodied for Fukishima locals. He's suggesting ways to capture leaked radioactive material that has made its way into their ecosystems. Awesome!


I trust our family unit. I hope all families are as lucky as us.

I admit to a deep mistrust for the kind of people that watch TV and can't 'see the wood for the trees'. The kind of people who gave a mandate to our Australian government (in 2013) to ignore our changing climate... since then many worthy programs have been de-funded.

Ross Garnaut (economist) reported in 2011 that "households will pay almost the entire carbon price", but of course, this was to be a means to the end of saving costs from climate change in future.

Since then, Tony Abbot (who studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics) has gone on to begin to unravel many of the government institutions put in place to either understand or address climate change.

Lawyers and economists have no business managing our environmental obligations with a bunch of spin and rhetoric! Not much hope here in Australian politics - Or is there?

This is an awesome little clip with a vision for my hometown, Perth.

I find my hope in small steps that people are taking like slow living, home composting, innovations in renewable energy, people like Greens senator Scott Ludlum! Just to name a few.

I am a firm believer that if we are healthy and our value systems are healthy - that we will make the right choices.

Are you pushing in the right direction?

Double Yolkers: Insects and Sustainability

Chickens just love insects!

I've come to love insects too!

Insects love doing something I think of as 'up-cycling'... take some offal, or worse (!)... and feed it to insects to create high protein, high fat food for chickens.
This is so much better than bought food.
Why? Well, whenever our chickens get a lot of really awesome food... they have twins!! Awesome!!

Double yolker!

Bow before your leader...

My favourite is black soldier fly larvae, an excellent alternative to a worm farm although you can do both!

Ringo the chook hanging out like a junkie near the black soldier fly larvae composting unit (foreground).

Of course, insects can also be fed to other animals and I'd like to suggest... bartered to people with chooks or fish.

I can't get enough of them! Black soldier fly larvae can be cleanly frozen and delivered whenever you visit ;)

Pregnancy, supplements, creating a healthy and happy member of the next generation

It's been a while!

As requested, this blog is sharing notes on pregnancy and nutrition for those who are interested. But first an update :)

With Grandma Helen

With Mum

Our son Reuben John Longhurst was born 7th March 2013. At 10 pound 4 or 4.65kg he was a big baby.

Getting a kiss

Content

 

Our family friend Jeanette Paterson (midwife) came to our home first and then travelled to the Family Birth Centre with us... with a wonderful light massage on the belly for each contraction I was truly blessed to have her with us. I was able to stay calm and had a very good labour ('the baby making machine').

My tips are; healthy and  control your breathing to a nice calm slow rate while imagining yourself in a happy place like the beach.

We only had one hiccup (and it might have been just that!)... Reuben did a poo in his waters and then inhaled it! Doh! At 40 weeks and two days, merconium in the water is common.

About two days old, in hospital being observed after merconium inhalation which proved to be no problem for such a lovely healthy baby

A big thank you to Kay Whyte of Ecology Medicine, who is an old friend from Subiaco Church of Christ and also a nutritionist, midwife and nurse. I found that she could resolve any problem I had during pregnancy and leave me feeling pretty good the whole way along. This post will sum up most of her advice for those who might care to copy. She has not approved this blog and I recommend that you have a consultation with her before taking any of the more particular supplements, or high doses.


In the early stages, before getting pregnant, it is wise to dramatically reduce the following (total exclusion is best):
- sugar
- alcohol
- additives, preservatives and other chemicals in your food.

Gallavanting at Joni and Jethro's party (about 4-5 months pregnant?)

If you have been on any medication, including the pill... you can consult with a nutritionist to see about compensating for this strain on your body. Chances are that you will have some areas of weakness, B6 or B12 possibly. You'd be wise to sort this out before you get pregnant and try your best to avoid the associated morning sickness, fatigue, feeling teary, poor sugar metabolism and potentially even miscarriage that can result from these deficiencies.

Baby Shower, l to r, Granny, Annora, G'ma Dot, Grandma Helen

This is what I used:
- Either Antiox C or Respiratory Formulae approx 2-4 tablets (to gut tolerance)
- Mineral B Formulae approx 2-4 caps but more towards the end of pregnancy
- Orthoplex Heme 100 which includes folic acid, iron and a few other goodies
- Orthoplex Activated B6 only to treat nausea (I had a little post-flu)
- Spirulina - more depending on whether you are having breathlessness
- Biodynamic staples including flour (Eden Valley) and milk (prefer Demeter certified if possible)

- plenty of organic olive oil and olives (no preservatives)
- plenty of meat and salads, preferably organic but I would often not worry about this.

Duck with Orange, salad, roast vegies

I made a modified sprouted seed bread with soaked seeds, biodynamic flour and a sugar free bread mix (order from here).

Baby Shower, feeling fine!

Your recipe might be better than mine so I won't share here. Get online and see what you think. Sprouting is a great idea as it makes the nutrients more bioavailable... including seeds is a great idea for Vitamin E (makes for a good labour and strong baby)... using organic and preferably biodynamic is a great idea too!

I would use coconut oil which helps to keep the bread fresh for longer, but note that not all brands are created equal. In warmer weather, when the oil has melted in the glass jar, look for a colourless liquid with no yellow tinge. After the baby is born, you may prefer to avoid rye and pumpkin seeds, which can be harder to digest for some.



Going sugar free is a very good idea. You'll feel stronger and better for it.

Early in pregnancy I had minor bleeding and Kay gave me a dose of B12 and the problem resolved plus I felt better emotionally and my eyes sparkled more ;)

At one stage I encountered a few days when I had some problems with my memory, having trouble remembering to take my glass from the study to the kitchen to get a drink! Kay immediately put me on zinc and the problem resolved itself. I was able to continue to consult and use my brain until the last weeks of pregnancy. Zinc deficiency shows as white spots on fingernails, it is deficiency in Western Australian soils.

Regarding seafood, please be very careful! Fukishima is a problem!

So, don't eat any tuna... at least. I stuck to salmon and red snapper, which are both low in mercury and good.

Particularly towards the end of pregnancy, Vitamin E (olive oil) and magnesium become important for a good labour and strong baby. Magnesium should not be over-supplemented as it can delay labour... but do get enough to not swell up terribly like a balloon... hommus, sprouts (do them yourself for safety) and greens.

For labour, Kay recommended an organic lemonade if I needed a boost and said for a long labour, I might need some Vitamin C if I felt fatigued... my labour was less than 12 hours long and I felt fine. Rodney tried to feed me a bit of banana but I wasn't keen.

About three months old

We almost had a perfect water birth, but there was merconium in my waters... so off we trotted to King Edwards. All up, a very good experience :) Water births rock.

About five months old, playing peek-a-boo

The connection between our environment's health and our own

There have been some great articles hitting my computer screen recently - about the connection between microbes and human health.

Last year I posted about sour dough bread - which I'm convinced is healthier for us - and the link between depression and unsustainable agriculture. This post connects a few more ideas.

This article is an interesting one, the lower rates of allergy in Amish communities. Some aspects of diet, environment or lifestyle have been helpful: Amish farm kids remarkably immune to allergies, study finds

It describes the connection between gut health and mental health - particularly autism and the now common disorders of the brain including ADD and dyspraxia:

Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAP syndrome or GAPS)

We've all heard people asking 'is ADD a real problem?'  and people who work with kids responding 'oh yeah!' ... 'if so and so doesn't take their medication he'd be climbing the walls'. My feeling is it might be worth re-framing the 'disorder' into a collection of symptoms. In other words - these kids have a lot of trouble concentrating and have a collection of symptoms which vary from child to child and which are improved by medicating them. The 'medicine' shows us that symptoms can be improved, but it doesn't tell us much about the heart of the problem.

For me, it seems obvious that the rates have gone up dramatically when compared to older generations and that therefore there must be an environmental variable, or several, that have changed dramatically.

The microbes that we live with are one possible explanation:

Environmental biodiversity, human microbiota, and allergy are interrelated

Sadly, I don't think that we understand perfectly the connection between microbes and our own health. We know that intestinal flora provide us with significant assistance in digesting and properly absorbing nutrients from our food... this includes manufacturing B vitamins. Yet biodiversity of microbes also seems to play a role. Even the pH or acidity/alkalinity of your gut likely influences which bacteria will live there - this makes sugar and refined carbohydrates highly suspect!

My personal choice is to play it safe and avoid chemicals and 'new' foods as much as is practical. At home we eat foods that our grandparents might have eaten. Perhaps this includes too much sugar! This link shows you the major foods included in the diet of my American Indian ancestors including Jerusalum artichokes which are known to be helpful for intestinal flora. Happily I'm growing some in the garden and very much looking forward to harvesting them soon.

We don't use commercial cleaners with antibiotics or strong chemicals. We don't regularly eat or drink out of plastic, nor do we cook much in our microwave. The best way to summarise our philosophy is that we try to live the way our grandparents did, plus some technology.

Our environment is worth protecting - both in terms of its intrinsic worth and because we might need something from it later!

Shiitake logs, beeswax and turning poo into food

Last weekend was a real joy as I was able to convert a sad event, a neighbour's tree being chopped down, to a good thing - new mushroom logs for us. I popped over and had a chat with the lady, who I'd never met before and made a new friend and got two free logs.

I got the idea from reading Mycelium Running, a book that still excites me when I talk about it!

Check out Paul Stamets' website

I have understood for some time that we should always try to use a resource for the highest purpose possible. High quality 'waste' goes to the chickens versus lower quality material being composted. This way, we get a second or third yield, in this case eggs, from our 'waste' stream and keep the energy flowing.

Happily there are some organisms that we can eat that are fairly low on the food 'chain' which might surprise some people!

Detritivores are creatures who like to eat muck filtered from the water - classic examples are mussels, prawns and, the classic Australian favourite, marron. People grow these critters by sprinkling duck poo on their ponds, which in turn grows algae and boom! Food from poo, which just makes my day.

Permaculture gardeners should all be familiar with Black Soldier Fly Larvae as the best way to compost and produce high protein, self harvesting feed for chickens or fish.

Mushrooms are a whole other 'kingdom' in the same way that plants and animals are very different, so are fungi and plants. Fungi are ancient amazing organisms which are skilled survivors in highly competitive environments and in some cases, could well save your life. Read Mycelium Running if you have cancer or a troubled immune system.

The thing that fascinates me is the way that mushrooms can convert a log which would otherwise be left to decompose or burnt - into high quality food. Or better yet, poo into food. The old fashioned way was to simply get some horse manure into a compact garden bed, allow it to hot compost, then roughly chop some mushrooms into the mix and tamp it down. The new way is to mix in extra nutrients, hot compost or sterilise and then inoculate with cultivated mycelium growing on dowel or agar. Of course, you have to match the type of mushroom to your growing media.


Months ago I purchased Rowen Reid's Shiitake mycelium on dowel which arrived in a snap lock bag similar to the ones used for school lunches!

One fascinating thing that I noticed before I started my wood work was the rather wide ant 'highway' trekking to the logs and their sweet sap. This sap sits close to the surface of the bark and is sent around from the leaves to feed the rest of the tree and often, soil biota that have symbiotic relationships with the roots.

The process itself is simple:
1. Trim the log so that any cut surfaces are fresh and not contaminated
2. Drill holes around the circumference of the log
3. Put in a dowel plug to each hole
4. Seal any exposed wood and holes with beeswax

Keep moist and in the shade.
They say you should shock them into fruiting by dunking them in cold water... I'll keep you updated on whether you really have to torture them or not!