Here in Painted Post, we are now well into the Fall. Overnight temperatures are down to freezing level causing the autumn colors to shift to reds and crimsons. Hooray that DLS ends next Sunday with daylight shifting a hour back to the beginning of the day!
Have you noticed how, during the shorter days of Fall and Winter, your energy slowly slips away? When I worked in Kennewick (in eastern Washington state) I chose a four day working week. This had me at work from 7 AM to 6 PM, leaving my apartment in the dark and returning in the dark. When the Spring finally came and the trees burst into flower, I was amazed at the surge of energy I experienced. I finally realized that my energy had been gradually seeping away each day without my realizing what was going on.
Strictly speaking, this was not Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) but nonetheless a serious depletion of mood. I suspect it affects many of us. In Australia, I had not noticed this. However the latitude of Kennewick is about 46 degrees while that of Melbourne is about 46 degrees. That means that in Melbourne Winter daylight is much longer. Besides, there are always some plants flowering, like the beautiful wattle.
What can be done about this? Our mood is highly related to the level of serotonin; this chemical washes all around our body but is associated in the brain with elevation of mood. This is why recent drugs developed to combat depression aim to increase seratonin levels. Researchers at Austin Hospital in Melbourne have found that seratonin plummets during Autumn to as low as 20% of summertime levels. They also found that spending 20 minutes midmorning outside, even on cloudy days, could produce impressive increases. Adding exercise outdoors, like a 20 minute walk around the block, further assists to this effect. It is important not to wear sunglasses when doing this. Looking up from time to time at the sky also helped.
Exercise that produces slight sweating for about 20 minutes also increases other 'feel good' chemicals, endorphins, in the brain. Regular exercise has the effect of training the brain to produce these hormones earlier in the exercise period. Regular exercise also signals the brain to instruct the body to shaft away from the "slow down, winter is here" metabolic rate.
One can increase seratonin by eating dark chocolate. In addition to the active ingredient in chocolate, the sugar assists seratonin levels to increase. We are only talking of eating a few (more than two and less than five) small pieces of chocolate each day. The calories in this amount of chocolate will be burned off with moderate, regular exercise.
Lots of folk find that fluorescent lights help as do 'full spectrum' globes with a color temperature of above 5,000 K. These used to be very expensive (like $12 each) but now can be readily purchased for about $2 each. The great thing about this is that you also reduce your energy bills when you use these bulbs (plus, following Al Gore, if every household in America switched five regular light bulbs for five fluorescent bulbs, it would be the equivalent of taking 1 million cars off the highways for a full year.) Feel good...do good!
Autumn seems to be the danger period when we begin to feel that we ought to stay inside (maybe because our bodies are not used to the sudden onset of cold conditions). Toward actual Winter, we get outdoors again to ski or just go for a drive or a walk. In 1992, I was in Alaska in the little town of Anderson to attend a blue grass music festival. I talked to the sheriff about the long winter days (I was there in midsummer). He told me how they arranged outdoor competitions under lights. He said it was those who stayed indoors who suffered 'cabin fever' and were at risk of depression and even suicide.
What do I do about it? I use the full spectrum lights, make sure I exercise in some way each day, get outside before lunchtime (like yesterday when I turned the compost before lunch) and make sure that I eat enough (trying to stay on a strict diet can cause serotonin levels to drop really seriously). Yes, and I think that I will buy some dark chocolate next time I hit the supermarket!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
COMPOSTING: ANOTHER PASSION?
Here you see a picture of my initial composting heaps. When I was over here last Fall, I was amazed at how many leaves had to be raked and carted out to curbside to be carried away to "whoknowswhere" for "whoknowswhat". However, I noticed that where the leaves had been left they had turned into nice soil.
I thought, This is what I am going to do next year: turn all the leaves into compost for the 2008 garden. The first thing to do was to research composting; the University of Minnesota has some good material on this topic. I determined to use bins constructed of chicken wire. This comes in 25 foot lengths and is 4 feet high, making it possible to construct quickly two bins 3'x3'x4 (with a side that can be opened up like a gate). I have placed them 4 feet apart so that I can use the space between by adding two lengths of chicken wire for a third bin. I may end up with five bins at the bottom of the yard. Our mower has blades designed for mulching and, cleaning out the shed, I found the catch bag. By mowing selected areas of the lawn I have been able to layer grass clippings with leaves (mixed with clippings). The mower chops up the leaves very nicely. Each mowing (about 7 to 10 days apart) just about fills up a bin. I put in coffee grounds and odd kitchen scraps as well. After about a day, I can feel the heat generated in the bin and at the end of one week, the contents have reduced to about half the original height. I turned out the first bin (the one on the right) after about two weeks and noticed that it seemed to be too dry. Once the layers had been turned over I placed them back in the bin and added a few gallons of water. Two mowings in that bin are now only about a foot deep and I can tell you, it is really cooking along.
I have been lucky with the weather as it has been quite warm and this has assisted in keeping the heat going in the mounds. The big test will come as the weather cools and it is mainly leaves that go into the bins. I hope to have the bins working up to Thanksgiving and that will take care of most of the leaves. After that, things will slow down prior to serious cold and possible snow. I may have to wrap the bins with mostly leaves in them (maybe with plastic) to preserve the heat but, my, don't those bacteria go to work!
I thought, This is what I am going to do next year: turn all the leaves into compost for the 2008 garden. The first thing to do was to research composting; the University of Minnesota has some good material on this topic. I determined to use bins constructed of chicken wire. This comes in 25 foot lengths and is 4 feet high, making it possible to construct quickly two bins 3'x3'x4 (with a side that can be opened up like a gate). I have placed them 4 feet apart so that I can use the space between by adding two lengths of chicken wire for a third bin. I may end up with five bins at the bottom of the yard. Our mower has blades designed for mulching and, cleaning out the shed, I found the catch bag. By mowing selected areas of the lawn I have been able to layer grass clippings with leaves (mixed with clippings). The mower chops up the leaves very nicely. Each mowing (about 7 to 10 days apart) just about fills up a bin. I put in coffee grounds and odd kitchen scraps as well. After about a day, I can feel the heat generated in the bin and at the end of one week, the contents have reduced to about half the original height. I turned out the first bin (the one on the right) after about two weeks and noticed that it seemed to be too dry. Once the layers had been turned over I placed them back in the bin and added a few gallons of water. Two mowings in that bin are now only about a foot deep and I can tell you, it is really cooking along.
I have been lucky with the weather as it has been quite warm and this has assisted in keeping the heat going in the mounds. The big test will come as the weather cools and it is mainly leaves that go into the bins. I hope to have the bins working up to Thanksgiving and that will take care of most of the leaves. After that, things will slow down prior to serious cold and possible snow. I may have to wrap the bins with mostly leaves in them (maybe with plastic) to preserve the heat but, my, don't those bacteria go to work!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
PASSION: THIS WILL DO FOR NOW?
I seem to be acquiring two passions during this Fall season: Bread Baking and Composting.
I got a great recipe for "Kneadless Bread" out of New York Times
and see what you think of it. The trick is to make the dough fairly wet and sticky and then bake it a covered hot pot (a bit like making damper) to release a surge of steam to create a delicious crust. I am trying to work out how to load photos...As you will see, I am using a multi-grain mix by a miller in Wisconsin (purchased off amazon.com). It is a bit tricky and I will need one or more essays to get it right. I gave the first loaf 6.5 out of 10 and this second loaf 7.5. The first photo shows the bread on its second proving and the second shows the actual baked loaf.
I got a great recipe for "Kneadless Bread" out of New York Times
and see what you think of it. The trick is to make the dough fairly wet and sticky and then bake it a covered hot pot (a bit like making damper) to release a surge of steam to create a delicious crust. I am trying to work out how to load photos...As you will see, I am using a multi-grain mix by a miller in Wisconsin (purchased off amazon.com). It is a bit tricky and I will need one or more essays to get it right. I gave the first loaf 6.5 out of 10 and this second loaf 7.5. The first photo shows the bread on its second proving and the second shows the actual baked loaf.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Settling In or Setting Out?
Here I am...back on my blog after almost a month of neglect.
Chris Crowley (remember the book I mentioned, Younger Next Year?) makes the point that successful retirement involves a complete break with the past and a reinvention of oneself. The long journey across the US provided an effective buffer between my last life and the next. I will write a little about the net effect of that drive in another piece. However, now that I am here, it is not so much a matter of settling in as setting out. Part of this is finding a passion. One of my past passions was flying. I started out with learning to fly in gliders (real full size sail planes) and then got into flying things with a fan at the front end. This led to many adventures. As part of sizing up life in Corning/Painted Post, I discovered the original site of gliding in the US (on a ridge called Harris Hill, overlooking the regional airport). One day, I rode my bike out to have a look at the operations there; it was quite a climb up to the ridge. After watching the launch of several flights and the return of a couple of gliders I realized that this now was quite boring for me. On another bike ride, I dropped into the local airfield and tried to imagine myself getting back into that scene. When I took up flying, I knew there would be an end to it and sensed that, when I came to the US, that I would probably leave the flying business behind. Early on, in Portland, I did some flying with an instructor in preparation for my US license renewal. Dropping into the local airfield the other day did not ignite the old fire.
What would a new passion look like? Now take my friend Michael; he devotes lots of time and energy to getting his Buick Electra ready for its big test in Nevada next year. Last Saturday, we went to the drag strip about 70 miles away. The car went well. We had to wait all morning and part of the afternoon for the strip to dry out. Only 1/8 mile was available; nonetheless, one 'rocket' was timed at 146 mph at the end. All that work for 4.6 seconds of experience!!! But what an experience! Not my brand of passion however.
In the meantime, following the advice of Crowley and Lodge, I go to work each day at the office of exercise. Currently this is a couple of good bike rides each week, and, most days, around 5000 meters on my Concept2 Rower. To this routine I have added an early morning bout on the roller skis of about five kilometers (sic...the non-US readers will have to accept this instead of kilometres). I pole and skate around in the dark, my headlamp pointing to the front and, at my rear, a red blinking lamp to warn overtaking motorists. With the ski season mind, I have added strength training to the weekly exercise routine. This must be doing me good as I have lost another five or so pounds (2.27 kg). Crowley is right...you have to treat this as the new job.
Still looking for that passion. I have a few little projects in mind. Remembering last years autumn leaves, I am using Uma's lawn mower's mulching capacity to convert lawn clippings and fall leaves into compost and am in the process of constructing compost bins at the bottom of the back yard. The completed bin is almost full as a result of yesterday's mowing. And last night I baked my first wholemeal loaf (nine grains) of bread. I am considering doing the two day High Performance Driving Course offered by the local chapter of the BMW Drivers' Club. Learning to pilot my Infiniti G20 as swiftly as I am able around the Watkins Glen Raceway sounds like an interesting and exciting thing to do.
Watch this space...you may see passion emerging!
Chris Crowley (remember the book I mentioned, Younger Next Year?) makes the point that successful retirement involves a complete break with the past and a reinvention of oneself. The long journey across the US provided an effective buffer between my last life and the next. I will write a little about the net effect of that drive in another piece. However, now that I am here, it is not so much a matter of settling in as setting out. Part of this is finding a passion. One of my past passions was flying. I started out with learning to fly in gliders (real full size sail planes) and then got into flying things with a fan at the front end. This led to many adventures. As part of sizing up life in Corning/Painted Post, I discovered the original site of gliding in the US (on a ridge called Harris Hill, overlooking the regional airport). One day, I rode my bike out to have a look at the operations there; it was quite a climb up to the ridge. After watching the launch of several flights and the return of a couple of gliders I realized that this now was quite boring for me. On another bike ride, I dropped into the local airfield and tried to imagine myself getting back into that scene. When I took up flying, I knew there would be an end to it and sensed that, when I came to the US, that I would probably leave the flying business behind. Early on, in Portland, I did some flying with an instructor in preparation for my US license renewal. Dropping into the local airfield the other day did not ignite the old fire.
What would a new passion look like? Now take my friend Michael; he devotes lots of time and energy to getting his Buick Electra ready for its big test in Nevada next year. Last Saturday, we went to the drag strip about 70 miles away. The car went well. We had to wait all morning and part of the afternoon for the strip to dry out. Only 1/8 mile was available; nonetheless, one 'rocket' was timed at 146 mph at the end. All that work for 4.6 seconds of experience!!! But what an experience! Not my brand of passion however.
In the meantime, following the advice of Crowley and Lodge, I go to work each day at the office of exercise. Currently this is a couple of good bike rides each week, and, most days, around 5000 meters on my Concept2 Rower. To this routine I have added an early morning bout on the roller skis of about five kilometers (sic...the non-US readers will have to accept this instead of kilometres). I pole and skate around in the dark, my headlamp pointing to the front and, at my rear, a red blinking lamp to warn overtaking motorists. With the ski season mind, I have added strength training to the weekly exercise routine. This must be doing me good as I have lost another five or so pounds (2.27 kg). Crowley is right...you have to treat this as the new job.
Still looking for that passion. I have a few little projects in mind. Remembering last years autumn leaves, I am using Uma's lawn mower's mulching capacity to convert lawn clippings and fall leaves into compost and am in the process of constructing compost bins at the bottom of the back yard. The completed bin is almost full as a result of yesterday's mowing. And last night I baked my first wholemeal loaf (nine grains) of bread. I am considering doing the two day High Performance Driving Course offered by the local chapter of the BMW Drivers' Club. Learning to pilot my Infiniti G20 as swiftly as I am able around the Watkins Glen Raceway sounds like an interesting and exciting thing to do.
Watch this space...you may see passion emerging!
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