Berry Nice Days

It is a wonder, and I call it the MOABB - The Mother Of All Blackberry Bushes. 
Just a short bike ride from my home, a lush patch of purple-black berries hangs heavily from heaving, prickly canes along an old logging path through the woods. 
For the past few years, I've made it a point to visit this spot every year around this time to reap the abundant forest bounty.
My first day of berry gathering was serenaded by the calls of a raven in an unseen nearby tree. 
The sun shone brightly, and the temperature and humidity combined to create that perfect sense of oneness with nature - where the boundaries between self and surroundings blur.
Over two glorious days of picking, I collected several litres of perfect, dark berries. When I got home I made a few cans of long boil jam with no added pectin and a moderate amount of sugar.
I find immense joy in living off the land as much as possible in my area and continue to learn and expand my knowledge every year.
There's something thrilling about gathering and processing free food from the forest or my garden, year after year.

How's the bounty in your area?

You Don't Need as Much as You Think

You are in space orbiting the Earth in a large tin can. What do you really need?
As two astronauts contemplate a short stay at the International Space Station turning into a possible 8 months, people down on the ground are wondering what they will do up there without more stuff.
I saw an interview with an astronaut who has spent time on the space station, and she had words of wisdom for viewers, and her colleagues on the ISS.
She was laughing when asked about the "they need more stuff" situation and responded, 
"You don't need as much as you think.''
Clearly, she could also be talking about life on the ground.
Whether you are orbiting the planet or are on terra firma, you probably don't need as much as you think you do.
Over the years, I have been ridding myself of stuff I don't need, and I don't miss any of it.
Indeed, jettisoning all the excess baggage from my life has only made things better. I am living lighter, am less distracted, and feel more focused on what matters as a result.
When the two astronauts finally return to Earth, they may look at all the stuff in their homes and ask, "What is it all for? I just spent 8 months with enough possessions to fill a small bag, and I did just fine."

We can learn valuable lessons from space for a simpler life down here.
1. Reassess your needs: You might be surprised by how little you truly require.
2. Let go of excess: Jettison unnecessary possessions and distractions like your life depended on it.
3. Focus on what matters: Clarity and freedom arise from simplicity.
As the astronauts continue their journey sans stuff, everyone's perspective on "stuff" may forever change, inspiring a new appreciation for the beauty of minimalism no matter where you hang you hat... or helmet.

The Nag Factor: How to Overcome Manipulative Marketing

The "nag factor" refers to the ability of children to persuade their parents to buy something or allow a behavior by repeatedly asking for it. This phenomenon is not only used to influence purchasing decisions but also to manipulate parents into permitting behavior they normally wouldn't allow.

The Alarming Statistics

• Teenagers nag their parents an average of nine times for an item until they get their way.
• Social media influencers who promote products exacerbate the nag factor.
  
  

The Concerns

• Parents may unintentionally reinforce nagging behavior by giving in to their children's demands.
• Using children to nag parents is a exploitative marketing technique that adds to the challenges of parenting.
• Many products that kids are programmed to nag for are unhealthy, addictive, and poisonous.
  
  

The Link to Commercial Television

• The more commercial television children watch, the stronger the predictor of nagging behavior.
  
  

Overcoming the Nag Factor

• Establish rules around nagging and pestering, and stick to them.
• Praise children when they display appropriate behavior to reinforce positive habits.
• Ignore negative behavior and the advertisers recruiting children into consumerism.
  
  

Protecting Our Children

• It's crucial to shield our kids from the trillion-dollar advertising industry's influence.
• By being aware of these tactics and setting boundaries, we can help our children develop healthy relationships with consumerism.
  
  

Breaking the Cycle

By recognizing the nag factor's influence and taking steps to overcome it, we can empower our children to make conscious choices and resist the allure of manipulative marketing. 
As adults, it's our responsibility to protect and guide them, teaching valuable lessons about self-regulation, critical thinking, and responsible consumption. 
Together, we can break the cycle of nagging and foster a healthier relationship between our children and the world of consumerism, raising a generation that values what truly matters.

The New Off-Grid: Not on Google Map's Street View

Off-grid living in the modern world - my residence is not on Google Map's Street View.

“The natural flow of technology tends to move in the direction of making surveillance easier.” 

-  Phillip Zimmermann

Is your house on Google map's Street View? Mine is not, and from a privacy perspective, I like it that way.

Not everyone wants to be on-grid. That is because being off-grid has its advantages.

Off grid used to mean disconnected from the utilities most of us take for granted. Now there is another kind of off grid.

This alternative off grid, is when your home has not been surveilled by Google Map's Street View vehicle, and uploaded to the net so anyone with a computer can see that wrapping for all your stuff we call a home. 

Now, some homeowners that are currently on-grid are trying to get semi-off-grid by having Google blur the image of their home on Street View.

But you can't win in the high techno wars, except by disconnecting from the whole mess entirely. You have to escape your pod.

Now when thieves are looking around your neighbourhood from the comfort of their computer, they are  also looking for the blurred homes, assuming (possibly correctly) that the owners must have some juicy stuff to hide.

On-grid, or semi-off-grid - they have you either way.

The best way to be officially off-grid is to live in areas without the google map surveillance vehicle prowling around.

My house is off grid because I live in a rural location away from a substantial population centre, or major road. 

If you want to rob my home, you will have to physically case the joint the old fashioned way. Today's cyber-based thieves are too lazy for that. 

Probably rural thieves are more fit than city thieves, so I am not sure if I actually have an advantage.

It's alright - i have nothing of value to steal anyway, which is the best protection of all.

Are you on-grid, or off-grid Google map's intrusive Street View surveillance? 

It's a blurry conundrum.

10 More Ways to Tell That You Are Living Simply

When you live simply, you do thing differently. You are an island of calm and control in a stormy ocean of out-of-control, hedonistic consumerism.

Here are some other ways to tell that you are living simply.

10 Ways to Tell That You Are Living Simply

1. Your idea of an exciting evening is waiting for your can's lids to ''POP'' after taking them out of the canner.

2. You are older than 12 and still ride a bike on a regular basis.

3. You have to explain to people that you home is sparse because you are a minimalist, not poor.

4. You know how to cook, and like it.

5. You value time more than money, and relationships more than things.

6. It feels better to get rid of stuff than it does to acquire more.

7. Diogenes, Saint Francis of Assisi, Henry David Thoreau, Gandhi, and Marie Kondo are familiar names.

8. Your garden is bigger than your outdoor entertainment area, and might actually BE your outdoor entertainment area.

9. There is no need for off-site storage space for extra stuff because you don't have any extra stuff.

And finally,

10. You aspire to have the environmental footprint of an average Bangladeshi, and you actually know what that is - about 2 acres as opposed to 20 or more for most everyone you know. 

How do you tell if you are living simply?

Minimalist Memes

Me: 2024 is not very funny. I need some humour.

The Internet: Can I suggest some minimalist memes?

Me: Yes. Let's do that. The world needs more funny. And more minimalism.

I laughed at this selection of minimalist memes because they are simple, straightforward, relatable, and with an understated delivery. 

I like that minimalist memes find their strength in simplicity and the truth they convey at a glance.

I hope you enjoyed these, and had a laugh, because all we really need is each other, and to share some mirth together on a regular basis.

That is my kind of minimalism. 

Ha, ha, ha.

Do you have anything funny to share with us? Or minimalist? Or funny minimalist?

Grow Potatoes

The Potato Harvest by Fritz Boehle

Bill Mollison, a pioneer of the permaculture movement in the 1970s, offered simple yet profound advice:

"Grow potatoes."

Permaculture is a design system and philosophy that aims to create sustainable and regenerative living systems by mimicking nature. Developed by Mollison and David Holmgren, it's based on the following principles:

Permaculture Principles

1. Observe and interact with nature
2. Catch and store energy
3. Obtain a yield
4. Apply self-regulation and accept feedback
5. Use and value renewable resources and services
6. Produce no waste
7. Design from patterns to details
8. Integrate rather than segregate
9. Use small and slow solutions
10. Celebrate diversity
11. Use edges and value the marginal
12. Creatively use and respond to change
    
    

Applications of Permaculture

• Ecological design
• Sustainable agriculture
• Regenerative agriculture
• Agroforestry
• Eco-friendly architecture
• Community building
  
  

Mollison emphasized the importance of growing potatoes as a staple crop in permaculture systems due to their high yield and nutritional value. He often referred to potatoes as a "superfood" and encouraged their cultivation in permaculture designs.

I used to be a couch potato. 

Now I grow potatoes!

Sometimes the answers are as simple and doable as that.