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Beardy Guy Musings

Experimenting with ways to live a low impact life in a tiny house in the woods. Graphic and web design at Beardy Guy Creative . I often write about the Climate Emergency, Apple and the iPad. Living on the traditional territory of: O-ga-xpa Ma-zhoⁿ (O-ga-xpa) (Quapaw), Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, Kaskaskia, Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo)

Tiny Life Journal

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    Tiny Life Journal - How I’m surviving summer without taking a flight in service of a vacation:

    I understand that long distance vacations are a luxury and not a necessity of life. I choose to respect my fellow humans and the other species of the planet rather than shit on them.

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    Tiny Life Journal - On a short evening walk with Cosmo we passed by this very small, delicate flower, Iris domestica, commonly called leopard lily or blackberry lily. Also making an appearance, Misumenoides formosipes, white banded crab spider.

    A peach colored flower with dark red spots covering its six elongated petals. There are three pollen covered yellow anthers rising from the center of the flower. Another flower on the same plant is blurred in the background. The background is blurred dark green forest. A tiny pale yellow spider is sitting on the right-most petal. A peach colored flower with dark red spots covering its six elongated petals. There are three pollen covered yellow anthers rising from the center of the flower. The background is blurred dark green forest. A tiny pale yellow spider is sitting on one of the petals.

    A peach colored flower with dark red spots covering its six elongated petals. There are three pollen covered yellow anthers rising from the center of the flower. The background is blurred dark green forest. A tiny pale yellow spider is sitting on one of the petals.

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    Tiny Life Journal - Waste Reduction

    Over the past few years I've been making an effort to eliminate foods and products that come in plastic containers. This not only reduces waste of plastic but it also saves energy and reduces carbon in that often the replacement is more condensed. As is always the case, these might seem like small changes but magnify them by millions of people making similar changes and the savings of energy/carbon would be significant.

    Read More →

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    Tiny Life Journal - I've been seeing a lot of smallflower desert-chicory mixed into the various tall grasses. It's such a pretty flower to visit! Soundtrack: Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting and White-eyed Vireo.

    A close up image of a many petaled yellow flower with a darker yellow, orangish center that has 20 or so dark brown to black colored stamens, each tipped with a yellow anther. The tip of each petal is fringed. Dark green foliage of trees and bushes are visible behind the flower.
    A close up image of a many petaled yellow flower with a darker yellow, orangish center that has 20 or so dark brown to black colored stamens, each tipped with a yellow anther. The tip of each petal is fringed.
    A close up image of a many petaled yellow flower with a darker yellow, orangish center that has 20 or so dark brown to black colored stamens, each tipped with a yellow anther.
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    Tiny Life Journal - My morning walk with Cosmo was, as usual, a feast of birdsong and sun sparkling on dewy grass.

    The gold light of the morning sun lights the top half of a close view of dew covered grasses. The image becomes more green in the lower half where a cluster of tiny white flowers forms a bowl-shaped flower of Queen Anne's Lace in the mid-right portion of the image.
    A lush green carpet of grass in the soft light of a woodland. Somewhat hidden but in plain view a whitetail deer looks out at the photographer. The image is frame by a foreground mix of tall native plants.

    A few minutes later bike ride takes me past an opening in the understory of the woods lit by soft light over lush grass. I stopped to admire it and saw a friend in there.

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    Two laundry lines strung across a wood porch deck with a variety of colorful clothing hanging to dry. Also on the porch, a fat-tire bike leans against a table. There are several shoes visible on the deck and a woodland in the background.

    Tiny Life Journal - Laundry day! I don't wash clothes nearly as often as most do. And I keep clothes until they are thin and falling apart. Many of my shirts have holes in them. Also, hang dry is a free, low-tech way to use the sun.

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    A small white porcelain bowl full of ripe blackberries
    A mason jar of dark purple blackberry smoothie with a straw.
    A yellow bowl containing baked oatmeal in front of a window. The oatmeal is mixed with blended blackberries so it's purplish pink with apple wedges across the top

    Tiny Life Journal - The first blackberries of the season have been teasing the past few days. I harvested a small bowl today, half for a blackberry lemonade smoothie and half for blackberry-apple baked oatmeal. I eat oatmeal almost everyday, sometimes twice a day. It's at least 30% of my daily calories so I buy it in bulk in 50lb bags. It costs a lot less and I can compost the paper bag.

    I say baked but really, it's microwaved because I don't use the oven in the summer as that works against my effort to stay cool. But what I've found is that it's entirely possible to make baked oatmeal in the microwave. A recipe for a one person meal or perhaps a 2-3 serving snack:

    First I do this bit: 1/2 cup oatmeal blended into flour with 1tsp sugar, 1/8th tsp salt, 1/4th tsp cinnamon 1/2 cup oatmeal

    Then 3 tsp sugar and 1/4 cup soy milk blended into blackberries for a second. Mix that into the oatmeal. It's thick like batter, evenly wet but not soupy like oatmeal. I usually make this without the blackberries in which case I use 1/4 cup soy milk and 1/4 cup water to get the right consistency.

    Then slice a small apple or half a large apple. And put it on top, kinda push it into the oatmeal a bit so some is mixed in, some is on top.

    Microwave 2-3 minutes. Cover it with a plate and let it sit for 10 minutes.

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    Tiny Life Journal

    Morning sun rays shining through trees along a gravel road.

    I've been pondering a change in what I post here. In the past year my tendency has been to post several times a day, usually links to recent climate or human rights news which I'll continue but to a lesser degree. I want to shift to more personal posts about aspects of living a simpler, climate adapted life. What does it mean to live with an intentional goal to draw down energy consumption? What does a low energy life look and feel like? I'm thinking I'll call it Tiny Life Journal. I could just as easily call it Slow Life Journal.

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