Solar Oven

 

Above is my latest WWOOFer and I displaying the solar oven that Magnus and I built.  Lucinda spent the afternoon lining the inside of it with foil windshield protectors, while I finished the outer lid.  We then hinged it onto the body of the box and put the card table stays on so the lid will stay up while cooking.  It works on the basis of reflected light.  From the lid, through the glass, onto the silver reflective surfaces inside the box.  We are planning to give it a test run tomorrow and will bake some damper and garlic bread.

A Blast From The Past

 

There is nothing like a friend revisited.  3 Weeks ago that just came to be for me and a young man I hosted during March and April of last year.  Magnus has returned.  What a welcome face it was to see disembarking from the bus.  He has been such a breath of fresh life here and so far we have managed to knock over a number of important jobs.  The floods that went through a while back had left me feeling very disenchanted and lacking motivation.  Part of that was also due to being on chemo for so long.  (glad that part of my journey is now done).  We have built new garden beds, adjusted watering systems, extended the compost bay (now have 4 small bays to make it work better) and done a great deal of preparatory work in readiness for the permablitz being held here on 27th April.  Another project Magnus and I have tackled, is the construction of a solar oven, in which we hope to cook the food for the folk attending the permablitz. Once again the folk from Ballarat Permaculture Guild are coming up to weave their magic and help with some of the bigger projects on the property.  We are planning to build a sand pad that will hold the hothouse, a potting shed and eventually a water tank, which will be utilised in the paddock.  On the same day we hope to get a wicking bed made, build a couple more raised vegie beds, do some planting and generally enjoy the time spent with fantastic people over shared meals.  (today I don't have much faith in the weather, a cold southerly blast has hit hard, even the wood fire is struggling a little).   Tonight, Magnus and I travelled down to the local bus stop to pick up another WWOOFer by the name of Lucinda.  I think she is an incredible lady who has such a wonderful journey ahead of her.  As she is deaf, I am back to using sign (although a little rusty).  She is endeavouring to teach me to sign without fingerspelling.  Will make life easier and aside from that I will be more proficient in something that means a great deal to me.  Tomorrow we start the first day of her time here and I can only hope she enjoys it as much as I know I will.  Here is to meeting a new friend I hope will be a long time friend.