Practical Ecology

Nature Switched On

 

 

 

 


in the Pyrenees  the first 10 years

introduction
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gallery 1: 2006-2012
gallery 2: 2012-
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>> 2010 Oct 30
<< 2010 Sep 17

 

Looking south east from the higher terrace.
12 Oct 11:09
 

                         a   S T A M M E R  project              

2010 October 2 to 14


It's getting notably colder and wetter. Temperatures don't pass 20ºC anymore and in the early morning they are getting well below 10ºC.  We still haven't lighted the woodstove as it stays quite warm inside with temperatures never falling under 20ºC so far.

 


With trees and shrubs showing yellow and red, it is remarkable how green the grass is turning, especially in the mown areas.

 


WWW   NSO

 

Looking east over the area of the ponds.
12 Oct 11:12


 

Green grass consisting mostly of the annual Bromus diandrus in the mown area around the house.
13 Oct 12:24

 

Iris pseudacorus (right) and Sparganium erectum with Lythrum salicaria at the back in the superior pond.
13 Oct 9:10
 

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With the introduction of a new washing machine we are almost reaching a decent standard of living. More seriously: life is getting a bit more independent over here.
We were a bit worried about its energy consumption and if the solar panels could cope with it, but after some measuring with an energy consumption tester it became clear it could, provided we don't use any water heating. This restriction isn't really any problem as we use the warm water from the solar shower system, which on sunny days delivers water well over 30ºC.
The washing machine drains into the same filtering canal and pond as the shower. We use of course biodegradable washing soap but nevertheless the pond turns quite white after the washing and aquatic wildlife is seriously affected. After some days the water is transparent again, but it is clear that the system needs more plant life to cope with the excess of nutrients in the waste water. My theory is that the necessary bacteria, algae and some mosses will start thriving on their own accord but higher plants will have to be introduced. I planted already many clippings of Veronica beccabunga and Lysimachia nummularia from the other ponds.

 
The washing machine stays outdoors under a simple roof and care must be taken to avoid damage by frost (by draining all the water inside).
2 Oct 13:22
 

 

Milky water in the drainage pond.
14 Oct 12:48
 

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Work on the house is limited to some finishing touches of painting and staining. The roof rim of black EPDM sheet was painted with a brownish red colour which matches quite well the pale brown colour of the earth plaster. We had to apply 3 layers of water-based acrylic paint to cover the sheet satisfactorily.

 
Looking north.
12 Oct 11:02
Looking north-east.
13 Oct 12:28
 

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The compost toilet uses straw in stead of water, but this straw has to be chopped for which I used a cheap weedwhacker. In order not to get choked by the dust myself and to concentrate the chopped straw in a bucket, I made a hole in the cover through which the arm of the weedwhacker was introduced. But this machine got probably suffocated by the dust inside and went out of order recently. Then I started to experiment with alternatives and found a simple and effective solution in the form of an electric drill with a mortar mixer. I tied some plastic string, used for the weedwhacker, on four positions around the mixer and it works fabulously. As the machine stays out of the bucket there is no risk of getting smothered.

 
  50 Liter bucket with the straw-whacker system.
14 Oct 12:40

introduction
floristic catalogue
faunistic catalogue
contact
index
gallery 1: 2006-2012
gallery 2: 2012-
map
>> 2010 Oct 30
<< 2010 Sep 17

 

 

 


 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Latest revision on:  01/08/2018