Judith Russenberger

Count Down

Action 70: One month left until COP26. Take a quick review of your lifestyle: do you think you have taken actions that are: reducing your carbon footprint, safeguarding the environment, increasing your appreciation of the world?

Falling in Love 30

Clouds, like water, are fantastically varied – maybe because they are themselves made up of a myriad of mini water droplets. Here the clouds resemble little puffs of candy floss or maybe cotton wool. Although the air seems still, these clouds are constantly moving and morphing, and whilst down here it is a warm summer’s day, up there the temperatures are very much colder!

The world around us is full of curious, beautiful and amazing things. As small children our curiosity and our amazement knew no bounds. Every day would produce novelties- things to see, things to chew or eat, things to grab and hold, things to poke and explore.

As we have grow older we have often lost that sense of wonder. Things that were new have become mundane. In the rush to be busy, small things flop below the radar. Decorum dictates that we shouldn’t prod or lick things and, unless we’re wine tasters, swirling stuff around our mouth and spitting are frowned upon. Stopping suddenly just to look is discouraged – it interrupts the flow of traffic. Daily routines take over.

And our love for the world wains and falters.

The season of creation-tide runs from 1st September till 4th October, the Feast of St Francis. Let’s fall in love again with creation.

Count Down

Action 69: Baking without using the oven. Ovens use a lot of energy, so if you can avoid using them it helps reduce your carbon footprint. Instead you can use a heavy frying pan as a griddle and bake foods such as Welsh cakes, soda farls and potato farls, drop scones, griddle scones and Staffordshire oatcakes.

The Fragrance of God

I have no burnt offerings,

nor fragrant incense to offer –

Yet I will praise you,

God in highest heaven,

for the joy of the gift of smell.

The tantalising aroma

of fresh coffee beans

that presages

a heart-lifting brew.

The apple-ripe scent

of yeast

and the warm smell

of fresh baked bread.

The fragrance of strawberries

perfectly captured

in the jam,

as a delight all year round.

The complex layers

of red wine,

hints of berries and spice,

intoxicating my nose.

The sweet perfume of honeysuckle

and rose,

when I peer into the heart

of each delicate bloom.

The smell of the river,

with muted undertones

of weed and mud,

floats along on the breeze.

The musk of the stag

as the rut begins;

and the tang

of autumn’s decaying leaves.

Thanks be to you, Our God,

for such fragrant offerings

that lift heart and soul

in endless praise.

Falling in love 29

Hilda

Cats are both attentive and self-contained. Alert when they wish, and asleep when they wish: they have no hang-ups about what they ‘should’ be doing. Christopher Smart, the eighteenth century poet describes his cat Jeoffry as having a daily routine that is a life prayerfully aligned with God.

And our love for the world wains and falters.

The season of creation-tide runs from 1st September till 4th October, the Feast of St Francis. Let’s fall in love again with creation.

Count Down

Action 68: Enjoy porridge for breakfast. Porridge oats are the least processed of breakfast cereals and make an excellent hot start to the day. Oats are a good source of essential minerals and vitamins, provide slow release energy and help reduce cholesterol. I buy organic oats from Pimhill Farm which grows and mills its own grain: https://www.pimhill.com/

Longer living appliances

The longer we are able to use an appliance or piece of equipment, the more we recuse it’s carbon footprint: the carbon footprint of manufacture is spread over a greater number of years, and the carbon footprint of recycling it is deferred.

Before buying anything new, do some research to discover which make or model is most efficient to use, is durable and easy to repair.
Regular cleaning. Dirt and dust can all damage surfaces and wear moving parts.
Keeping your oven and hot plates clean, prevents burnt on food from reducing their heating capacity. Ditto for irons.
Remove crumbs from toasters – they can catch fire!
Dust the cooling coil of your fridge so that it can operate efficiently. (Working efficiently saves on energy and prevents premature wear of motor). NB there may also be a vent at the back off your microwave where dust can also build up.
Regularly defrost freezers and ice compartments to enable them to work efficiently.
Ensure there is a sufficient air space around both fridges and microwaves so excess heat can dissipate easily and enabling them to run efficiently.
Remove dust from ports and keyboards on mobile phones, tablets and computers.
Clean screens on mobile phones, tablets etc to maintain their touch sensitivity. Fingers are naturally greasy.
Invest in a protective case for your phone or tablet
Keep mobile phones, tablets etc up to date with software updates.
Remove unused apps as they will be a drain on your battery life.
Avoid letting mobiles phones, tablets etc get too hot (don’t leave them in the sun) not too cold.
Ideally don’t overcharge your batteries not let them run completely flat. The ideal is between 20% and 90%.
Replace the battery in your phone etc rather than buying new.
To conserve your battery turn off phones etc when not in use – eg at night time.
Clean seals around the doors of fridges, ovens and washing machines etc.
Replace seals when they do wear out.
Descale washing machines: the harder your water, the more frequently this will be needed.
Avoid over or under loading your washing machine.
Measure out laundry liquid – too much can lead to a build up in the machine
Empty pockets before washing to ensure small coins etc don’t get into your washing machine where they might cause damage.
Clean out the drain filter from your washing machine to prevent damage to the pump and / or flooding.
Descale kettles.
With LED televisions you can prolong the life of the screen by reducing the background level of lighting and by limiting the number of hours you watch.
Organise an annual maintenance check for your boiler.

Writing this, I am reminded that I should keep my gardening tools clean and the wooden handles re- oiled.

Falling in love 28

Log and moss, Lake District

Close up mosses create their own landscape in miniature. And the closer we look, the more detail we see. Delicate fronds and feather-like leaves; small rounded pebbles; a semi decayed leaf; a spike of grass; the age-worn grain of the log.

And our love for the world wains and falters.

The season of creation-tide runs from 1st September till 4th October, the Feast of St Francis. Let’s fall in love again with creation.

Count Down

Action 67: Learn a new skill: knitting, crochet, a language, bread making, fermenting, drawing, photography – something that helps you develop a greater engagement with the world.

Falling in love 27

Moonlight on the Lake, Ticino

If sunlight is golden, moon light is silvery. Living in an age of electric lights, we have forgotten the importance of the moon as a source of light. Less intense than sunlight, moonlight still casts shadows. And as we move away from artificial light allowing our eyes to adjust, moonlight is certainly strong enough for us to walk along roads and across fields.

And our love for the world wains and falters.

The season of creation-tide runs from 1st September till 4th October, the Feast of St Francis. Let’s fall in love again with creation.