Consequences of Insane

I'm not meaning to harp on the topic, but just want to show you the consequences of below average rainfall last winter, and non-existent rainfall this summer...

8 January 2017

The pic above was taken on the 8th January 2017 - a very sad looking dam indeed. 

There is evidence of nocturnal visitors in the exposed mud

A week later...

The state of the dam on 16th January 2017

What was interesting was to see what nocturnal visitors had left a sign of their visit / search for liquid refreshment in the wet mud.

But, it's not just the land which needs some moisture.  There is another very important part of the equation which is suffering.

Bees - clamouring round a rapidly drying lump of clay on what used
to be the bottom of our dam - seeking any moisture they can find

 Even the bees are battling to find water.

Bird bath / water bowl below the lemon tree.  In times of
 plenty it is a bird bath.  In times of drought, it is merely
a water bowl filled with anything to help retain moisture
 for the birds and the bees

 I have a "bird bath" / water source positioned below a lemon tree - the bees are making use of that.

Close up of the bird's water bowl - I added bits of wood
 chip to aid the birds access to the water, and to try and
 prevent excessive evapouration

Taps, which recently spewed out water, are being requisitioned for whatever remnants recently passed through the damp spout.

Damp taps - another important source
 of moisture for the bees

 This is the state of the land: 

Crisp and dry and depressingly brown... :(

 And, as for the dam...

The state of the dam on the 23rd January 2017.
The white which is visible on the bottom is no longer water,
 but is an indication of the bentonite which we added to
the dam to try and help seal the dam floor

A different angle of the dry and cracked dam floor

The dam is in a very bad way.  It has not run dry since we added the bentonite.  Now - it is a cracked mud hole in the ground.

These cracks in the mud at the bottom of the dam are at least 7 - 10 cms deep

At least the dried out cracks allow us to see the bentonite we added way back in May 2013.

The birds - they're fine.  I have various water bowls scattered around, as well as the sugar water bird feeders which we ensure are always topped up.

Our 8 X 5000 lt rain water tanks?  They certainly helped, but we'd need a 300 000lt reservoir to provide us with enough water to see us through a summer.

Following below average rainfall for quite a while and the distinct lake of manna from heaven this summer, the Western Cape is in a full blown drought situation with less than 40% water left in the dams which supply our towns.  That equates to less than 88 days of water left for the inhabitants of the Cape Town metropole.

Rainfall graph from November 2013 to date

Prayers, rain dances, whatever rocks your boat - please do any of them.

We need rain - urgently...!

Insane

40oC - in the shade!

This is insane...!!!

We shouldn't be hitting these temperatures until late February / March...

Alternative presentation, same contents

Getting greens into RMan is never easy.

But, thanks to our daughter, Natasha, RMan is now happily eating more greens :D

RMan phoned Natasha to ask if she knew of anything I would like for Christmas.  RMan and I are at an age where gift buying for each other becomes problematic as we basically have everything we need.  Married for 36 years, with kids long flown the nest, we really don't need any more "possessions".  In fact, if truth be told, I am currently offloading still useful things I haven't used for years on my children...

But, Natasha and I have been chatting about spiralzing marrows in an effort to reduce our carb intake and improve our veggie consumption (for our read "RMan" tee hee).

So, naturally, Natasha suggested a spiralizer to her Dad.

RMan, blindly accepted her suggestion, (thank you Natasha) and this is what was in the present that I opened at Christmas.

Being quite bulky, I have no where to store this, so it is
 "hanging about" in my under stair cupboard

Talk about fun lol

Spiralized marrow, potatoes and (not so successful) carrots
 together with the first of my homegrown heirloom tomatoes,
 and red / orange peppers

Carrots, zucchini and potatoes were put through the machine last week.

The spiralized stir fry with peanut chilli sauce

All the veggies, except the potatoes were stir fried, and, with the addition of a peanut chilli sauce, some crumbled feta and chopped walnuts, were served for dinner together with...

I have to confess, this spiralized dinner was d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s :D

...deep fried spiralized potatoes (and a small steak for RMan).

It was outstanding.  And, more importantly, RMan declared that he "thoroughly" enjoyed his dinner, and would, in fact, eat that every night :D

The deep fried potatoes worked really well, and would also be ideal if you have unexpected guests and need a "snack" - viz. homemade crisps, not shop bought.  I have recently been diagnosed with slightly elevated blood pressure, so salt free (and added chemical free) homemade crisps is just the ticket!!

The carrot didn't really form spirals, but their different shape was obviously more appealing to RMan.

Plus, I have a couple of homegrown butternut that need experimenting with.

I have a fancy to make something else as well...

If it works out, I'll share it with y'all ;)

For more info on how you can obtain your own Foothills DryAway solar / wind food dehydrator please click the link.

It's all about proportion...

RMan and I watched "The Day After Tommorrow" again last night.  DsTV showed it over the holidays, so I taped it.

When the movie was finished, I checked news on my phone (I live in hope of beneficial changes in this country so check news when I wake, and just prior to going to bed...)

What was on Sky News?

California

The US of A

Europe

and, locally up north of SA
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10158045619180553&set=o.776021659127170&type=3&theater  or https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210598060723625&set=o.776021659127170&type=3&theater  ...

Seemed quite appropriate to read that news - and I found it quite sad and sobering - that a 2004 film has had no noticeable effect on day to day life on this planet.  Okay, it is just a film, but it has an important message.

I came across this the other day and have had a lot of fun with it:

http://thetruesize.com/#?borders=1~!MTU3OTkzOTY.NjE1MDkwMw*MjAzMTIxNg(MTUxOTcyMzE

I couldn't resist, could I - I had to see how South Africa figures when it is not placed on the mercator map.

South Africa in terms of the world

South Africa in terms of Alaska

South Africa in terms of Australia

South Africa in terms of China

South Africa in terms of the east coast of the USA

South Africa in terms of Europe

South Africa in terms of India

South Africa in terms of Russia

South Africa in terms of the west coast of the USA

So, starting the day out feeling like we live in a Mickey Mouse country (I think the current "President" has something to do with that personal outlook) I am left encouraged that South Africa CAN make a difference on this planet.  We just need the correct leadership, vision and commitment to play as large a part as anyone else in combating climate change / global warming.

Do we have a large enough (collective) voice.  Yes.

Do we have the (collective) will?  Yes.

Do we have commitment?  Yes - providing we are all on the same page.

Such a beautiful country.  Such an amazing planet.

Where there's a will, there's a way... :D

For info on how you can obtain your own Foothills DryAway please click the link.

Rye bread

All good wishes for 2017 to all my followers.  I hope it contains all and more than you hope for.

We had a wonderful, relaxing family-filled Christmas, but, all good things must come to an end, and work looms on the horizon again from next Monday... 

So, back to more mundane matters.

I have been disappointed in my bread machine.

Not because the bread it produces is inedible, but because the bread doesn't stay as fresh as shop bought bread. 

Well, duh, there are no added chemicals / improvers in my locally manufactured stone ground flour, homemade bread, Dani!

But, I was feeding the chickens / chucking away too much bread - RMan and I can't eat a loaf in 2 days.

I have, however, made some other excellent recipes in my bread machine - such as four ingredient corn bread, chocolate cake, banana bread.

Then I had a thought.  RMan and I love rye bread.  So, after contacting our local stone ground flour manufacturers, Eureka Mills, they kindly sent me a recipe for 50% rye bread to bake in my bread machine.

Too much dough which couldn't cook properly and caused the
 loaf to sink.

The recipe they sent was too much for my machine and caused the bread to sink in the middle as it couldn't cook properly.

The consistency of the 50% rye bread is great!!

I then tried halving the recipe, but, although the appearance of the baked loaf was better, the resulting loaf was teeny - barely enough to sink your teeth into.  Dainty sandwiches are great, but, sometimes you need a decent sized sandwich clutched in your grubby paws - do you know what I mean?

Half the recipe resulted in a teeny-weeny loaf

So, I finally tried 3/4 of the recipe.

This one is slightly misshapen, but 3/4 of the recipe gives me the best
 result 

That was much better :)

Soft, delicious - with an extended "shelf" life - without the
chemicals :D

If you would like to try out the recipe for yourself, here is the (adjusted) recipe with the quantities I use in red.

My 50% rye bread recipe for the bread machine

This rye bread stays "fresh" for a good 3 - 4 days, which is perfect for RMan and I.  I have taken to tossing in a handful (tablespoon) of fennel and caraway seeds together with all the other ingredients.

Yum :D

Wrapping my bread in towels doesn't keep it fresh in our dry climate, so, once the loaf is properly cool after baking,  I store it in a clear plastic bag which gets cleaned (washed out and hung to dry) out prior to another (new) loaf being deposited into it.  I think I have recycled the same plastic bag a good 4 dozen times thus far... ;)

Fresh bread in the house means we'll not go hungry this year... :D

For info on how you can obtain your own Foothills DryAway please click the link.