Sustainability

On the autumn equinox

~ Julia Kendal ~ Leave a comment
Blackberries grow along a log. One berry is already ripe, the others still red.

It’s come a day later than I expected. A welcome reprieve. This month has been one of abrupt pivots. After a dour summer, two weeks of heatwave give way to days of rain. The water butt is refilled but the damp soil has no need of it. The temperature drops below 10℃ overnight for the first time in months. And after today, the nights inch ever deeper into time. 

I swap the postcard on the mantlepiece; summer for autumn. Pull the water kefir grains out of the fridge door. For a few weeks, they were one thing too many to keep alive. Now, a little sugar and some fresh water should be all that it takes to wake up. On a roll, I grab a bag of flour and another glass jar. Another go at a sourdough starter. As I wipe the counter clean, I think of rye flour too. But perhaps that’s a bit too much fermented life for this season. I’ll review my motivation in a few days’ time. 

I change my jumper twice for sitting outside. Settle on a winter woolly for an autumn breeze. It’s warm when the sun shines, but the wind is confirmedly cool as the clouds pass across. 

There are uncertainties, unexpected. I am surprised by my surprise. There has rarely been a time when life has just run. A season is made of many seasons. The garden reminds me of this. Summer lingers in the reddening tomatoes. Autumn settles in with a blackberry hue. Winter hints in the browning leaf edges.  Endings, beginnings, middles coexist. 

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The weekend the swifts came

~ Julia Kendal ~ Leave a comment
Swifts flying in the sky above a tree

Despite three years of a biology degree, everything I know about bird identification I learned from my husband. There was a time when birdsong came and went with ignorant appreciation. I enjoyed the symphony without being able to name a single instrument. That’s ok; there’s beauty enough in the simple wonder. But over the past few years – and particularly those with the vernacular of ‘lockdown’ unexpectedly inserted – I have been slowly, accidentally, picking up some of the nuances to be able to name the visitors to my view as I tap away on the keys. 

To the point where this year, it was me who pointed to the sky and said: “Is that the first swifts?”

Two sets of eyes scanned the skyline.

It was. 

Black arrows cut back and forth across blue. They’d likely travelled from the African continent to be here, and signalled this happy news: warmer weather was here. 

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Being neighbourly

~ Julia Kendal ~ 1 Comment

being_neighbourly

A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to share some of the thoughts I’ve had and things I’ve learned about being neighbourly in the 21st century. Around 40 women had gathered to share breakfast and friendship, and to hear about an amazing charity called The Gate which works with women in the sex trade in Southampton. I had the privilege of putting the work of The Gate in the wider context of a call to be radically neighbourly in our day to day lives.

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Secondhand first in the wardrobe

~ Julia Kendal ~ 3 Comments

secondhandfirst2015

I don’t enjoy shopping. Saturday afternoon in a shopping centre is my idea of time poorly and stressfully spent. I do however love an hour spent pottering around a street lined with charity shops, taking the time to hunt for bargains and to marvel at some of the stranger donations that have arrived onto the shop shelves. I’ve written in the past about second-hand wares in the home (read ‘the why’ and ‘the how’) but I’m immensely satisfied that most of my clothes are secondhand. Without the opportunity to pick the version of your desired item in any colour or size, shopping second-hand can be more challenging, but more rewarding for it.

Here are a few things I’ve learned over the years to help make the most of secondhand shopping: Continue reading →

Microadventure

~ Julia Kendal ~ 3 Comments

microadventure_wharf microadventure_sunset

Friday evening had arrived. The work was done, or at least paused with sufficient peace to leave it for the weekend. It was an evening marked by early autumn – just enough light in the sky, warm enough to begin in a jumper; jackets would be pulled on later. The day’s stories would have to wait for when darkness came. For now we hastily found out high vis jackets, lights, shedding to-do lists and perceived obligations, and got on the bikes before any more light slipped below the horizon.

Once we’d turned right instead of the usual left, that feeling set in. Continue reading →

Local adventures

~ Julia Kendal ~ 2 Comments

Castleton SignHolidays have always been a big part of family life for me.  Each year as a family we would have a treasured three weeks traveling together, moving every few days, keen as we were to keep exploring new places. We’d take a stash of books that we’d all work our way through, sharing hushed conversations about unexpected twists in the tales, away from those who had not yet read them. As most of our holidays took place on boats, we’d often dine on delicious locally-caught seafood in small tavernas. Continue reading →