BogaLetter

You are welcome!

2011-12-07T03:48:00.001-08:00

This area is dedicated to be a place to lounge, dine & receive guests, having a green world hanging from the glass house frames and so creating the atmosphere of a small paradise. The water comes from the roofs and is collected in an underground reservoir. It will be filtered through reeds and sand. We will also let it fall to create a water sound. The stove that is now in the new kitchen will be our outdoor stove. It will be replaced by a design that more fits inside climate requirements. A combination between heating, cooking requirements & beauty.

Luck

2011-12-01T03:55:00.000-08:00

One day we were discussing what we would put in the vertical plane of the glasshouse this winter. That same day Mile and I went to the local school. Windows were being replaced. Of the whole school... I looked at Mile and smiled. What will they do with that, we asked. It turned out we could get the whole lot. With the frames. They were sawed trough because of removing from the wall. But there is so much material that we can build three glasshouses.Barbara was already on the road to inform about closing material. We were already discussing solutions. And down came this bonanza!Sometimes one needs a little luck in a project. By the way it saves about 25000 kuna's. More than 3000 euro's. Mile's diplomacy did a lot for us to also get the old vacume windows. Excellent material for any next project. Like toilet, shower and water house.

Croatian hospitality

2011-11-27T03:51:00.000-08:00

Mile's family and Pieter from Belgium. On the table a meal fitting Breughel. Home made sourkraut, pork and potatoes. To be flushed away with either rakia, beer or wine. The whole day had been occupied with the butchering. Hard work if you consider the temperature and the weight of the animals. They had been born in spring. They walked around on the terrain for the whole year and have been fed only natural ingredients. The mother spawned 13 piglets. All had been sold except what was kept for personal consumption. This cooperation and the feasting afterward one sees whatever they do together. Sitting together at the end of the day comes with a lot of socialising. All the elderly walk in and join in whatever conversation. Always a little jesting a little remembering and at our adress a lot of questions. How is it going? What are you building?

Constructing a greenhouse

2011-11-14T03:42:00.000-08:00

Building of a glass house that is to harbour our guests in a green surroundinig next year. In it is also the place were water is gathered from all the surrounding roof surfaces. Next year water sound will fill the glasshouse and it will also will be a place where we have our outdoor kitchen. It will be a small paradise where when it rains we can still eat outside.Almost every house in Croatia has an otudoor kitchen. In Istria at a house of friends of mine they have a roof on the north side, specially for being outdoors during warm periods.

New kitchen

2011-10-19T03:45:00.000-07:00

We are now using the original kitchen as new kitchen. This stove you see burns wood. We are discovering that a fire sucks a lot of air from inside the house. Next step will be to design a stove that gets it's air from the outside. We are working on that. There is exchange with some of my Croatian friends about techniques, materials etc. There are obviouslyy the classical designs like tilestoves. There is a mass of stone in them that when warmth has gone in them they radiate heat a long time there after. Meanwhile cooking on this simple stove is extremely enjoyable. For rapid heating put the pan right (above the fire) for slower work, move pan left. There is even a round hole in the top above the fire in which our 'wok' fits perfectly. I like this design.

Changes and old techniques

2011-10-15T03:50:00.000-07:00

The old is fading away, or is it? Here you see a typical horse and wagon combination that has been already dumped by many after the second world war in the midst of the new ways of transport. The forged iron detailing on some of these wagons is priceless. What tool is decorated like this these days? The cars around it certainly are not in any way. Besides decorative value, concerning change and how to handle it, the question could arise who will survive the next change? Let's assume that 2012 will be a year where we will go through an extreme change of our reality. Who survives depends on what is there after the change. So who fits what! Anyhow, what we are discovering in our gardenening project, too technical solutions do not always work. Noisy machines can be easily replaced with sythes. For this discovery one does not need big change and maybe no mayan calender. Maybe those that stay close to the technique with which this guy is crossing the bridge will be the survivors. Who knows? That is, if change comes suddenly, is global and has drastic consequences. Anyhow, if I think about next year, it is the mayan year. How accurate are predictions? That is and has been through the ages, food for philosophers, insurance agents and other advisers. The owner of this carriage is doing it his way. In the midst of all car fumes. Slowly but surely he goes werever he goes. Untill he returns to ..... :) known ends.

Itadaki mas

2011-10-05T03:46:00.000-07:00

Saki came from Tokyo to volunteer with us and fitted naturally in her temporary surroundings. Calligraphy is her specialty and she is an artist. Every day she takes her bike to go to her studio in the heart of Tokyo. Her creativity became visible immediately through her effect on Nol. He changed style over night. Experimenting with ink and paper and a Japanese influence he connected to Saki naturally. She also cooked a Japanese specialty. Every meal she thanked for there being a meal, the cook & the hospitality of the moment. Itadaki mas is the saying! Thanks. Also Mirko and Mile connected very well with Saki. Mile took her to his family and friends. When they came back we were ready for dinner. We asked them if they wanted to eat and drink anything. With a defensive gesture in front of their stomachs they declined laughingly.

Bear ham with Mile

2011-10-01T03:39:00.000-07:00

Snacks at Muljeva with Mile. The special aspect of what we're eating there is bears ham. The restaurant Muljeva is a recently restored inn in the middle of the thickest forest around Petrova Gora. Petrova Gora means something like 'Peters Heights'. So Peter's mountain. I should feel very at home there. More important is the partisan history of the place. During the second world war it was the place where the partisan Croats took care of the wounded in underground bunkers. Now as in many parts of Croatia restauration of this area is waiting. Nowadays it is a beautifull area for wandering around. Take a stick with you. There also seem to be wolves in the area.

History ends in the scrapyard

2011-04-23T04:57:00.000-07:00

History is reflected in the scrapyard. Because I want to create metal objects again I visit the local scrapyards to see if there is anything I might use in the coming designs. What you see is a german helmet and a set of axles. This type of axle has been used for some time since the idustrial revolution. Most of the time they are converted to tractor connecting carts. But sometimes things don't have use for the owner. Practically all old tools are becoming museum objects or are given away. With some nostalgia my neighbour explains the working of those tools. Their way of living is in transition. They might think their way of living is ending because the median age is rising. But at the same time there is an intense interest in living off he land again. And learning the old techniques and use of old tools.
Two wars have not helped in maintaining the self sufficient way of life in these parts. Nothing however will stop youth from picking up old tools and stuff at the scrapyard and learn from the past. We will do our utmost to boost this movement. We are enjoying these first beginnings. You are welcome too.

Nol's house from a different angle

2011-04-23T04:55:00.000-07:00

Crooked nature elements add challenge to woodwork as well as charm. Beauty is our main orienting element in what we create. Nothing we ever done before, like building this little house. Or making garden paths or maintaining a forest for that matter. We are slowly realizing that all different skills come as needed. If we cannot do something we study it first, using either books or internet. Certainly there are people around us that have a lot of skills. they have to, they have lived here for 500 years.

Nol's palace with breathing foil on top

2011-04-23T04:51:00.000-07:00

Wood of the roof put and foil done. It is a breathing kind of foil. It seems to can handle a trickle but not a downpour. So we found out. During nightly rain I got out to check. It was leaking. So I put an extra layer of foil over the tools for protection. Returning to a warm bed after an impromptu shower. Leaving bed for any ruckus during the night is never attractive. Although we have a dog that knows the terrain, our area is not enclosed yet. So I tend to inspect some disturbances during the night. The next day was sunny so work could continue.

Garden work in the kitchen

2011-04-23T04:49:00.000-07:00

Beginnings in the kitchen. It means there is no greenhouse yet. Seedlings get tended by Barbara before going out in the garden. They stand behind the windows for a time. You see they reach for the light. If in an unconscious moment one moves the box 90 degrees, next day there is a squiggle in their stem. I once turned the box 90 degrees one direction. Next day they had corrected their position. On cell level it means a lot of work is going on changing pressure in one side, relaxing on the other. I don't know exactly how they do it. It is like the sunflowers following the path of the sun to get optimum exposure. Anyhow, this is preparation for garden produce. A greenhouse is in the planning. From around the world we see extraordinary experiences with food coming from greenhouse heated by sun. High in the Rockies or near the Arctic circle people are finding that it is entirely possible to produce through the dark days. I am looking forward to it.

Hills around the house

2011-04-23T04:48:00.000-07:00

On a sunny day, this is a view of the hills around the house. Green where ever the eye roves.

Wandering around our green hills

2011-04-23T04:35:00.000-07:00

Cement art; Couple having slightly different opinions

2011-04-23T04:33:00.000-07:00

Nol's house building in progress

2011-04-23T04:28:00.000-07:00

Different materials go into the construction of Nol's personal house. He designed something. We go to work. Collect chestnut trunks, beams of a 100 year old shed, burned parts of the old roof of the house. The burned part turns out to have a beutiful tan because of age of the wood and that it has been burned. It gets a varied hue during cutting off the charcoal.
We used an age old axe for that. Or actually I don't yet know what to call it. But around the tool is appreciated for it's quality. The young neighbors also appreciate the tool. Sinisa, a Croat good friend of mine in Blatusa, is also building in wood. He is discovering and learning about wood also. I sense a healthy interest in crafts here in Croatia. The older generation also reflects on the experience with wood houses compared with stone. After all, they like the wood houses better. They were warmer. That speaks for itself I would say. Stop building in stone. Costs less energy. Wood is renewable. And everybody can build themselves what they want. For the heavier work you invite your friends. Afterwards you can renew friendship with a drop of this and a bite from that. (Rakia, wines & swines)

What..... huh, risk?

2011-04-23T03:49:00.000-07:00

I was ordering steel for my building lift. We were making our list when out of the corner of my eye I saw an amazing way of transporting a tube. Have a look, it sticks out the front and back because the standard lenght of 6 meters...... :)

Binding the seasons grapevines nowadays

2011-04-23T03:15:00.000-07:00

Working the land has it's necessities. Among other things, wine, a telephone and very flexible young willow shoots. Probably the most ancient technique I have witnessed ever. One can wonder how long that binding technique goes back. Probably thousends of years. And if one breaks one just drops it and it will be reused by mother earth. Amazing really.

Green grass effect of other dream locations

2011-04-23T03:08:00.000-07:00

This is a group of dreamhouses which we have found. In a beautifull area of Croatia with the most beautifull views. Also the fact they are made of local stone gives them a character we would be looking for next couple of years. Actually, our present project has remarkable views too. From the top we can see north of Zagreb, about 100 kilometers away. And also far west of Karlovac. And beautifull too.

Roof finishing and enjoying each others company

2011-04-23T02:47:00.000-07:00

More about the development of the frame that supports this roof later. We are in the stage of putting on the wood ridges for keeping the tiles in place. They are 100 year old tiles. None of them are the same. But due to the flexible nature of these small pieces of wood they hang onto the roof perfectly well.
We found a way of working to gether with ease. Everyone finding the place where a hand with it's character and background functioned perfectly well. Michel had worked on a 4 story project in Germany before. In the beginning he had no hands left when they asked him to hand over a tool. Because he could see the church clock on the opposite side of the street, he experienced it as so high he would use every limb to cling to the roof. The masters were sauntering all over the place as if they were comfortably on the sidewalk. Together we move alover the roof. It is holding well due to heavy beams from the woods around our house. Chestnut fresh wood, old oak also a 100 years old and leftovers from the big roof of the main house. Craft learning and working together is very satisfying. Michel and Agnes again. Together with Nol and Barbara. We created a line together to tranport the tiles quickly up the roof. We already discovered there are some things we need to look into on other roofs to know how to finish the edges. That will come later.

First (adorable) pair of wooffers in the garden

2011-04-23T02:33:00.000-07:00

Barbara, Michel and Agnes in the garden. Michel and Agnes arrived a couple of days ago intending to be with us for two weeks before travelling to the middle east. They are travel lovers. They have extensive travel experience one of them having been to Mongolia. In those areas apparently you say 'cho!' to a horse to make it move forward. I tried it on Agnes but she didn't respond. I was not using the right intonation. What seems to work with the animals also has a relation with people by the way. Buying broccoli which is called 'brucola' in croatian you can have a hard time getting what you want due the specific nature of the sound. Despite the fact you are really in the vegetable department. We were most certainly not in the electronics department, under wear for that matter.
There is probably a lot we can learn from them and our experience together. Strangers never personally introduced, suddenly living in close quarters. They stay in the 60's caravan we lived in before. Together with Barbara they already produced amazing results in the garden. A horseshoe bed and some other beds already. As well as part of a roof. Now took a hike to Petrova Gora with the hunter restaurant and hotel at it's base. A hike of 5 hours back and forth from our place.

Bigclaw delivers wood

2011-04-23T02:18:00.000-07:00

These steel claws have seen some tons of wood in their time. The machine was welded back into workable structure whereever one can imagine a new weld. It was huffing and puffing, heaving and creaking up the hill and finally delivering on our place. The wood is cut off result of a wood processing unit close to us. It costs a fraction of the price of dried wood. With it we can build animal lodgings, fences etc. There will be a lot of woodwork to be done this and following years. Chicken, garden tools, compost need housing. To name a few applications. We have bought old woodworking tools. Ancient I must say. They are probably 100 or 200 years old. Handmade and kept in perfect condition. I am exercising with them. I want to learn the ancient european woodworking techniques in this time of transformation. Back to more down to earth techniques. More about that later. We are still working with a lot of present age machines. Using fuel, breaking down. Making us dependent on delivery of repair and fuel delivery.

Fleur Jelena Portia's birthday

2011-04-23T02:10:00.000-07:00

The lovable little being has been with us now for one year. Two children we adore. We learn a lot from them. Like looking, listening and working with their ever variable moods. Nol is changing teeth. He lost one of them in the garden. He thought it was a piece of stone in the bread he was eating. The cake was the first one made in the wood oven. It had risen according to plan and was soft and tasty. Weldone Barbara.

Picking up building materials

2011-04-23T02:01:00.001-07:00

Roto bales. Bought last year. They were stored at the farm where we bought them. Per piece they will be transformed into smaller regular bales. While we were helping the driver to move the bales to more favourable position, we awakened a porcupine. She was still rolled up in winter position. Spring had not penetrated under the bales yet. While it has already been warm since february. Insulation is exactly why we are applying them.
By the way, the porcupine I lifted with both my hands out of it's winter berth. Under protest of the guys. You cannot lift this animal bla bla. I put it in a safe place under a tree. So it could gently come to out of his winter conciousness. It got out remarably fast and sauntered of in search of new lodgings.
The farm at wich we bought the balas is owned and run by a three generation family. They have about 80 hectares and 60 cows. Every time we came we would sample their domacia products. Home made. Every family has preferences and style. Things are recognisable same product but definitely different in taste. That goes for the rakia too.... :)

Crazy colors in Bosnia

2011-04-23T01:52:00.000-07:00

Blue and something. Also nice design..... Note balconies, don't walk off please.

United colors of blues

2011-04-23T01:46:00.000-07:00

We went to the market in Velika Kladusa, just around the corner in Bosnia. There are minarets, kebabs, clothes, tools, cars, turkish coffees and also jeans.

The ongoing work of nature

2011-01-01T04:19:00.000-08:00

The work of nature is ongoing till the day of today. If I look at our daughter in this picture I think nature must still be meaning well.
We were at an antique and fruit market near the square Brittanica in Zagreb. When she passes everybody wants to hold her. She was very tickled by the banana. She ate half of it and as you can see, it gave her a special gleam in the eyes.

2011-01-01T02:23:00.000-08:00

Ishi the last Yahi. The man in this picture is demonstrating how stone age man makes fish prongs. He walked into a village in the area of Sacramanto, California in 1911. He had just left his whole world behind. At the moment he was found, he was in between two worlds, in nothing.
He had lived on the run for 40 years. On the run for an encroaching civilisation we are assuming is normal. The professor who took care of him described him as a man that exercised the filosophy of patience. Without a trace of selfpity or bitterness poluting the purity of the rest of his existence.
We knew many things. Many of them wrong things. He knew nature, always truthfull. He had characteristics that always are valable. He had a good heart; He had courage and selfposession and although all had been taken from him in his heart was no bitterness. His soul was that of a child while his mind was as wise as that of a philosofer.
Looking at what we are doing in Croatia and our work in nature; What style of living has been handed down through the ages? How is the impact of this style in every context of our life? Isn't it time every country in the world had an area where a totally new eko friendly village could be built? Where everything done & built has it's direct connection with nature and only natural materials? Thinking and operating cradle to cradle?
And look at the expression on the face of Ishi. Busy in the here and now with something holding his whole concentration. In all humility this is one of the examples we want to follow. In learning from nature and living in nature. And the mindfulness of which Ishi was an example. Probably without knowing, or did he not?

Finished roof!!! Come snow come rain, nema problema!!

2010-12-30T10:13:00.000-08:00

Finished roof. Snow and rain can come but the house will stay dry. Cross fingers...

Every cut acurate judging by result.

Upper last corner and crew down on the floor and safe home. What a result for the last working day of the year. To be continued in january.

A loft with a view

2010-12-30T09:49:00.000-08:00

Richards view again. It was Richard's remark that made me think to cut out a part of the roof to get this view. The team working on the roof gaze in the distance too sometimes. I am looking forward to closing doors, making balconies, building in kitchen, shower and all that is needed in this insulated highplace. In the distance, a lot of kilometers away, outliers of Gorsky Kotar can be seen some say. There is still some discussion what these mountains really are. Because from gorsky Kotar down to our area still is some 90 kilometers. We enjoy the view anyhow. And will find out what we are seeing exactly in the next year. We are sure that to the left is a big cherry tree. The birds enjoy most of the cherries. We enjoy it's shadow in summer.

Roof building details

2010-12-29T06:44:00.002-08:00

The roof is becoming beautiful. Along all lines the roof building team makes very exact cuts in the tiles. Tiles are lying on a line along the small roof constructed above a little balcony.
By the way, if you look to the top left of the house, the big vertical beams are the area around which there will be a balcony. The balcony will be cut off from the room by sliding doors. The whole gives it an enormous view tough the long valley of river Radonja to a mountain range some 40 kilometers away. The view I should call Richard's view. That will be explained later. Richard deserves the credit for his insight. For the time being building will stop till the 7th of january. Hopefully there will not be snow combined with high winds like last year. The snow will build up inside the house. I will be shovelling.

Wildcat spotted near Zagreb

2010-12-26T06:21:00.000-08:00

Driving to the city of Zagreb to visit Christmas markets and sniff some city enter tainment we were driving via Karlovac and then along the highway. Normally we see al kinds of Buzzards and other birds of prey we cannot yet determine. One moment suddenly out of the bush a very big cat came. We were looking out of the car. It worked it’s way along a bush edge. The way it moved was very catlike. Except it was considerably bigger than an ordinary housecat. Long tail distinguishing it from a Lynx. Length much more than a fox. The way of walking had clearly distinguished it from dogs. Much more supple. Never before we had seen a wild cat. Especially not the big kind. The cat we saw had quite a bodily volume. The length of the tail was remarkable. Certainly excluding the Bobcat. Also the bobcats body is shorter.We checked two sources; Wiki and croatian wildlife sources on internet. Felix Silvestris silvestris. We are quite certain what we saw was a wild cat. Amazing.
There is a huge space between the Bosnian border, our area and the city of Zagreb. So big in fact that if you are aware of where the villages are, you can walk all the way to Greece or Rumania without walking into a village. No wonder, Croatia has 4.4 million people while at the same time being 1 ½ times the size of the Netherlands. By the way, the picture fits the situation more or less. Actually we took it from internet, a picture from the Wiki database. This particular cat was spotted somewhere south in Germany.

Wow winter!

2010-12-24T12:01:00.000-08:00

Every year is different. Now I can only say: ' Wow!' Although snow is not always welcome, looking allround is gratifying. The beauty, the light, nature, the place we chose to live.

And have a new little one come into our lives.

Is especially romantic. Wonderfull things happen.

Tomorrow is Christmas.

I am thinking of those that have contributed especially. Maybe without knowing. Maybe my father, who was a designer more than a chemist.

I am thankful for where we are.

Leiden Gentlemans Canal

2010-12-11T05:34:00.000-08:00

The end of the year is near. The coming new period with it’s own perspective. Things to learn, goals to manifest, visions to define. Also that where we come from comes in view. Sometimes walking through the mud on our terrain the streets of Leiden are very attractive. Water where it belongs, stones not mud under foot, boats in canals. All nicely where it should be. Natural disasters would put the nice houseboat on the next house, but that Leiden or Holland doesn’t know. That happens only in the tropics, New Orleans and such.
Leiden, an old city that has so much attraction to us, we could if we buy a house in the right place, start old age planning. In the meantime we like being a tourist in Leiden as we are in Croatia. This canal around the corner of our house is called the Heerengracht, or Gentlemans canal. Gentlemans….. In olden times there would have been a developing economy lifting Leiden out of the middle ages, launching it in an industrial period where sheets, blankets, brandy was called Harteveld or Kaagwater was made. The street names remind you of the history of Leiden. Where the animals, turf or other goods were brought in from the land around, where there was a blacksmith working etc. The area, where we have a house in Croatia, is named after the families that lived there. Same thing. Different scenery though.

Handling big beams

2010-12-03T11:44:00.000-08:00

A beam as heavy as a motorcycle, manhandled into place. Previously holes had been drilled in a couple of places. The holes are for letting the 16mm thread bolts on top of the building through. This was the first serious piece of wood being put in place. It was also the first day for this building team. Heavy built guys used to heavy work. At least that was what they looked like to us.

The fact that the beam went into place without a hitch was a confidence riser for everybody. The present team preparing the stone construction and other details concerning partition inside, bathroom, kitchen space etc. was apprehensive about the quality of the new people. Apparently there was nothing to worry about. Like two teams of horses being introduced to each other, a little jostling took place to get used to each other. The new team carried those beams into place in one movement. One big step for our project. I can’t wait for next steps.

Firebirds competing on the internet

2010-12-03T07:19:00.000-08:00

It tickles me that searching the web with the word ‘firebird’, produces a huge collection of images of american muscle cars. A big boys toys symbol of adultness. When you reach the age of 16 in the US, seeing it will create drooling and other civilisation induced top of mind list artificial behavior.
Googling further brings Wiki info about the Phoenix’s, a firebird, ability to be reborn from its own ashes. Implying that it is immortal. The firebird appears in many countries. Connecting with the feathers or other parts of the bird brings great fortune or a sense of beauty from within. Making beauty or being connected someplace cannot be replaced by being given fortune by someone else or being taken to some paradise. The paradise realised as being so close that it cannot be touched. Or where ever I lay my hat is my home.
A good friend of mine reacted that the essence of life is life itself. It prevents empty talk about the meaning of life. It points in a direction. In doing it will be felt. It is the untouchable, unspeakable.. Where did I here that before? This is the beauty I see around me in nature. This is the energy we want to work with in our initiatives. The alive energy that changes the landscape, bringing children and their drawings.

Catching the rainbow

2010-12-03T06:51:00.001-08:00

Autumn light combined with a slight shower of rain brough us this rainbow. Vaguely above our area. The seasons change brought along colapsing tents, the workshop tent also having colapsed with the lounging tent, stopping building, bringing gas shortage, wood hauling, snow shovelling and all that goes with wet and cold weather.

Barbara had been sick for a solid week. The whole household needed to move from caravan to temporary brick house accomodation. To have a higher level of facilities so Barbara could sleep better and get rid of her virus.

The total of these experiences as well as coming back from a great week with my fraternity buddy club made my landing home a little harsh and slow. The phenomena outside having effect inside. To say the least. One side of the firebird legend. About which more later.

I went into a short gloomy period. While walking our sopping muddy terrain I thought what am I doing here? This way I lost precious energy. I decided to do a session of reconnecting to my values and vision to catch the ever elusive creative energy. It is like catching a feather during a raging storm and or catching the rainbow. This brought me back on track. Inspiring a new design of tent, closer to our vision.

Snow and ice, white & silver tinkling, sprinkling, sparkling decoration

2010-12-03T06:29:00.000-08:00

Although the big processes of putting beams on top and closing the roof have stopped many things still can be done. Living goes on. Designing for next year, planning of and marketing trainings, fine tuning programs and our year agenda can be done. Together with a glass of local wine.

By the way, I just read the mail of my cousin Jacobo from northern Spain. What says the guest after the host has told him the wine grows on the hills around the bed & breakfast? It does not travel well.....

The B&B is probably located on a SLOW farm. Where tourism ads a little income. And by the way. Everything here goes SLOW too. We are going to found a foundation for ECO initiatives called: SLON. Slow Land Owners Network.

Anyhow, this beauty of nature sparkling freshness is what I live out here for. The SLOWness it induces is sometimes (always) untimely. I sometimes miss the known charming city of Leiden and it's parks, old buildings and channels. This silver treat however is mindblowing worthwhile.

Summer camp colapsed.

2010-12-03T01:43:00.000-08:00

During building we needed extra space for living. Especially during wet times. So we decided to put a tent next to the two caravans. In the tent there is space enough to hang around, have some company in, cook, read, draw or do nothing and not sit in the way. The caravan to the right is our office & guest house. It is a dutch design of an old still existing Limburg factory called Yvonne Mostard. It is quaintly sixties. Not well insulated in contrast with the recent German product from the Knaus factory.

The insulation is so good it withstood last winters minus twenty centigrade. And on top of that a meter of snow on the roof. It's structure is apparently sufficient to survive the pressure of some tons of snow. The tent now in winter looks slightly different. During the night I heard snow and later icerain fall on the Knaus's roof. I thought vaguely about things forgotten. Could not make the link while sleeping. We woke up to a scene where summer had drastically changed to winter. Summer camp colapsed. Things came to a grinding halt with the snow falling. Building has stopped. The land looks totally white.

Evening dream

2010-11-07T02:57:00.000-08:00

Weather changes are subtle. These november days are especially mild. Sitting outside for lunch and working in the sun is especially enjoyable. The changing of season results in a redbrown blend settling over the countryside.
The higher peaks in the distance are probably part of Velika Kapela mountain-range 50 kilometers away. This is the kind of view I envisioned in the past, dreaming of a life in the countryside. I am looking forward to completing our building and finally reading a book enjoying this view. And dream about all adventures still waiting. While enjoying what is now.

Meeting a fire salamander

2010-11-07T02:21:00.000-08:00

Walking along our newly cleaned old road many beautiful things are to be seen. Lighting can create special effects in the evening because of the location. The trees hang at a friendly slanted angle over the path. Giving it an ancient atmosphere. The path has been there a long time. There are some small pools along the side of the higher area that is our terrain. The water seeps out of the lower sides creating nice places for just these creatures. Just amazing! I never saw one like this before. It appears that the spots are individually spread. So every individual can be recognised.
More surprising is the poisonous nature of this beauty. Directly behind the eye there are glands that jet out alkaloïds samandarine (C19H31NO), samandaridine (C21H31NO) en samanderon (C22H31NO2) among other niceties. The glands are located all over the body. Touching therefore is not wise. To make the picture I handled it softly. Some mistake! Muscle contractions and hallucinations are among possible effects if poison gets in via the mouth. Next time I will even put on glasses because it can jet it's defence over a meter. Severe pain comes from a drop in the eye... Enjoy and take care meeting these fellow beings!!!

Autarky out of neccessesity

2010-11-07T02:18:00.000-08:00

It used to be the pump of a refrigarator. It creates air pressure up to 8 bar. Enough to pump up tractor tires, my digging machine's tires, and everything that needs to be pumped up. Every part of a machine that is still usefull gets converted into something usefull. Croats here are masters of improvisation in many fields. They avoid to pay for services of someone else if they can create their own solutions. A way of life one can see is practically everywhere. Only if they really can't do it themselves they go to someone else. They know how to slaughter and process their animals, build houses, barns, till their land, find food in the forest and even medicinal plants. They have a lot of selfreliance and with it a lot of peace of mind. There is not so much they cannot do themselves.

Grand parents on Mreznicki Brig

2010-11-07T02:14:00.000-08:00

Bridge over the Mreznica. 'Mreznicki Brig'. A location with beautifull swimming pools in summer, restaurant, tennis court, and extended camping. We went to have a look to see if there was any activity so late in the season. Also to have a meal with family. The water that flows through these areas leaves a layer of chalk on everything. Also grass stems get calcite layered on them so long they vanish in stone. It is comparable with tufa you find in mountainous areas in Switserland too. There are all kinds of organic materials enclosed in the stone. The result is a kind of stone filled with little cavities, imprints of leaves, branches etc.
This trip from Vojnic goes through Barilovic. The grand parents I think were charmed by the area. So are we.

The wonder of creation

2010-11-07T01:56:00.000-07:00

Branko again. Looking at first results. Acacia trees stripped of bark. Acacia is especially good for structures.
As a preparation for a bigger construction we choose to build a composting toilet. The drawing on the side is Nol's rendering of a house. We were starting to make a little house that would end up square. We decided to go for a more pyramid like line. In doing so, letting loose of all the squareness of regulatory forms. In order to be legal one must use prescribed materials and processes. Anyhow, the drawing of Nol is normative. The result will be more a sculpture like facility in which one can wonder about creation. While shitting.

Cat inspection team member

2010-11-07T01:51:00.001-07:00

32 cubic meters of wood has arrived. Dried in a drying chamber to 12% water content. There is every form of wood we need for finishing the house from top to bottom. The place where it is stacked, is a location we like to be empty because it is in front of the kitchen. It reminds us that we are still living in a building location.
The cats like all change to their environment and inspect every new change with carefull attention. Here Pippy is indicating there is something wrong with the location of a particular piece.
Now the wood is dried to the core according to a computer program. They had been in a drying chamber, of which relevance I wasn't aware before. It appears that wood shrinks 8% through drying. Over a length of 12 meters..... What that does to your construction I left to imagination. I followed the advice of the architect to take the much more expensive dry wood. The cats agree.

Eko Selo, an answer to war

2010-11-03T12:00:00.000-07:00

An inspiring trip to Eko Selo we took together with founder Zjeljko, Branko and me. Branko you'll see on our terrain working together with me starting wooden constructions. Zjeljko tells me that he started Eko Selo because the war touched on something in him. He told that the pilliging, the killing and rest of the horror made him choose a distant location to invest money he had earned in Germany. He soon ran out of money. His idea was much bigger than his budget. Everything he did, he did with his two hands with an incredible result. Not to forget he has an industrious wife and daughter. Many days up to 10 busloads of children would come. He would explain to them why he had chosen to live in this natural spot. They would sit with gleaming eyes and aborb his way of life word for word. In other instances he would come storming in on his horse. A true cowboy.

Constructing aids from unlikely parts

2010-11-01T02:08:00.000-07:00

Studio K solutions I should say. The master himself is working in view. Against the background there is his contraption that can lift up to half a ton of materials. Actually it was a machine to break earth to reach underground water sources. Now it is converted to a lift. A ton of bricks cante-levering the load. It doesn't budge. And croatian character shows the way the guys work under the lift. They don't give it a second thought to walk under it while smoking a cigarette. Courting death in may ways we would say. We saw earlier that our digging machine they handled in a way we thought was an invitation to lose a limb. Anyhow, things get done.

The nicest coffee

2010-10-31T17:10:00.000-07:00

One beautiful day in late autumn Grandpa, Grandma Zwanenburg and rest of our family were sitting on the veranda in the soft southern wind. There was a distinct aroma of sljivovic on the air. Sljivovic (rakia) is the distilled drink of sljive (plums) that comes on the table whenever you are invited to the kitchen. Next to the Turkish coffee. The wind was blowing from the direction of the forest. So we were fantasizing that there was someone living hidden in the forest distilling illegally. Distilling alcohol could become illegal as a way of life when EU entry of Croatia has it’s completion. Also we were puzzled by the distinct taste of rum in our coffee. How could that be? I got everything I used for making the coffee out of the kitchen. The package, the cups were cleaned. New coffee was made. And again this strong taste. In the end we discovered that what I took for a water bottle was a bottle of sljivovic by accident ending up in our collection of water bottles. Oma Zwanenburg remarked that she normally does not drink coffee, but this one was extraordinay nice. Unknowing about the real content. We went for a walk to get it out of our bodies.

Off the road

2010-10-19T06:27:00.000-07:00

Maintaining roads on our terrain is one of the areas of attention. This old road on my terrain was in the old days enough to let tractors and trailers pass. It goes to the back area of our terrain and connects via our terrain to the villages at the other side of the forest.
Time went by and the road filled in slightly. As all roads in the surrounding area. In the past traffic was much more intense than these days. The population is aging and dropping. Trees start to grow and all kinds of plants kreep where normally one could ride to the next village. Along this path in autumn there are all kinds of mushrooms and a lot of edible chestnuts.
The jeep I use to drag trees out of the forest, transport equipment and buildingmaterials. Also to explore the surrounding forests. I was assured I could pass with my jeep. I tried the first 50 meters. I was too late to react because the back wheels slipped off hill. Well, one has to test some limits here and there.

Tomato's expected 2011

2010-10-15T06:24:00.000-07:00

Beans make place for tomatoes. To prepare for next season Barbara is digging old roots out and putting in new plants. Barbara is combining tomato's with basyl, persil and calendula. This combination keeps out pests and attracts right insects aswell as supporting each other.
This way the earth is replenished. We don't do things big scale. We are slowly bringing into use as much terrain as we need. We started with a jungle. Now it is more organised. For those that are looking for an orderly garden it still can be confusing. The one making and maintaining the beds knows where is what. And yesterday we had a mix of tomato saus and fennel that were blended & slowly cooked on the woodstove. Fresh and yummy combined with Basmati rice.

Crafts & kilowatts

2010-10-12T01:35:00.000-07:00

We are making great strides to have civilisation touching our terrain now. In the blacksmith's workshop we will use welding and other heat needing processes. In the carpentry workshop we will have kilowatts of heavy wood cutting equipment. Now silently waiting in an old army tent.
Barbara was nearly dancing around with the announcement the connection will be made active today. Washingmachine on her mind. I always say to our builders I am the cleaningwoman. Culturally totally unacceptable. 'Cistacica'. A lot of ch and ts sounds. I make fun of it while they see me washing dishes.
Barbara always has taken the load of washing clothes though I must admit. She will read this blog too and will detect and probably publish any unbalance I put in the representation of the working part of our relation.
Anyhow, we will need some kilowatts to make our 4 & 5 kw machines work and at the same time be able to have kitchen machines running and such. We can now look forward to easily listening to music and watching movies.

Cats bar

2010-10-11T05:04:00.000-07:00

Our cafe has two regulars hanging on the bar to have their fill. Martina, our neighbour from down the street, gave them to Barbara when she mentioned her love of cats. And mine also by the way. Together they race around the terrain and fly up trees regularly. Tail high, back raised they are a scream to have around. The moment we enter the caravan they are allways ready to sneak into the warm space and hide under the beds.
When we are working on the computer they curl up next to us for warmth. They are comfort seeking creatures. And very good friends for us. They emit relaxation. Whatever is not working, producing stress, they can take away. Also I hope they will be great mouse and rat hunters. We'll see. Next spring we will see what their results will be in the rodents hunt.

A peaceful place to be

2010-10-11T04:02:00.000-07:00

This is our little caravan and tent village on the terrain. In the silence of this area it is only the building during the day that disturbes the peace. The generator we need still hums because we are not yet connected us to the grid. But if the bigger building projects are finished there will be a peacefull place to be.
We have used the on caravan on the left for office. It is a sixties Dutch design. The right is a more recent german product. The tent is our lounge for bad weather days and kitchen. The experience of adding space with tables and cupboards is interesting. It is disovering the convenience by installing kitchen etc. We actually sit around there a lot. Especially during hot days also. Enjoying the evenings with wine and cheese before retiring to bed.

Salute to the fathers

2010-10-10T11:37:00.000-07:00

I wasn't aware her father would have been 64 the exact date I made this picture. Seeing her happy on her fathers shoulders. While on the table in the foreground her second year of wine is waiting in bottles.
Cor, her father enjoyed cooking and wine too. Barbara has same interests. She loves cooking. She also loves putting her hands in the ground and simply being in the garden. Most of the times alone. That is one of the limites on production. While at the same time she is the only one that can deliver mothers milk to Fleur.
We have to think about the fathers like: 'They would have been here too and would have enjoyed being here'. At the same time they would have enjoyed the cooking and sampling the wine too.
Well then: 'Here's to our fathers'.

Camper life

2010-09-26T06:39:00.001-07:00

Living in a caravan takes some adjustments. Small space, moisture management, cooking, showering, building all the while also taking care of a little baby. We were back at our house in Leiden Holland. Because we were also building there we lived only on the groundfloor. After a week of that I remarked that we never needed the floor above. In a caravan everything is under hand.
Living in small spaces can have it's quieting charms. Every day we read Dik Trom. A dutch story from 1907. Fleur tests paper. Every evening and every morning has it's aspects that have to be paid attention to. It is very intimate. If you walk around and have the eye for it. Outside of the caravan you will see one liter yoghurt buckets. What are they for? The tent of the caravan gathers water also. We use it for washing. And also showering in the evening. It is getting colder though. However, it is very comfortable going between the sheets with a clean body. And sleep till the sun comes up.

Autumn building

2010-09-26T05:29:00.000-07:00

The old house is being rebuilt. We start with a complete penthouse on top. A lot of glas and a view on Velika Kapela mountainrange 90 kilometers away.
We will cook on wood, cooking will also warm the penthouse. We are contemplating designing heating along the lines of rocket mass heaters. In alpine region of Europe the people use what they call: 'Speicher ofen'. In principle a stone mass is heated. Fire dies and stone mass slowly dissipates the heat.

We will use natural materials for insulation. For example straw on the roof. But also sheepswool for the front of the building. Strawbales would take too much space from te bacony. Sheep wool by the way is burned by the farmers. We were too late to ask them for the wool. Seasons rithm is unescapable.

Now the top of the building has been closed at last the house is starting to dry. Our boxes with books are on the bottom floor. Last week at last I dared look. Actually the books were in not too bad shape. And by the damp and cold experience we learn to value a closed house even more.

Rich harvest

2010-09-26T05:12:00.000-07:00

Seasons deliver different results. Like winter brings snow, autumn delivers fruits, nuts and also mushrooms. In this case it is what we call in dutch:'Squirrels bread'. Very very tasty. Also possible to dry above the oven. And then make winter food tasty.

Searching mushrooms is a real art. We have a Croatian book and two dutch to learn wich ones we can eat. Croats take only a limited collection. The danger of mixing kinds is very real. We don't take that risk. By the way we leave also those we can eat for next time. So next season we can harvest again.

Creativity, dedication and fun

2010-09-20T06:25:00.000-07:00

You see Anton Krivanec of Studio K spreading concrete on top of the roof. A major step in closing the top of the house has been made.
Anton is busy assembling a building team. Meanwhile also things like spreading concrete have to be done. Based on the experience of designing and building our resort a building company will be founded. The team is exercising by working together.
Every saturday is payday. Accompanied with a drink, a bite & an evaluation of the week. How was the cooperation. Were we succesful in reaching our goals this week? What is the plan for next week? Every period is analysed to learn for the next period. To reach optimum atmosphere and results.

Being is learning from nature

2010-02-01T06:06:00.000-08:00

To live in nature once was a dream. Now we are living it. Learning from nature wasn't in the first place what I expected. It does happen though. Thinking about what the effects are of the presence of man I have reached some preliminary conclusions.

Next tot the fact I spend a lot of time with Barbara, Fleur and Nol I am outside a lot. Nature delivers every season. Different quantities but in general one can live of the land. A tree delivers what she is made for. Does not think about Wallstreet crashing.
There is no urge to manipulate genetically to up production. GM sereals fed to swines led to lung, heart, liver and brain problems. A human result. Nature does not analyse. Does not research.
And if that what man produced leads to above mentioned problems, then the end product as integraded fenomenon was a failure too. Analysis and the integration after some technical proces is the basis of human thinking and actions. It leads to plastic oceans, poisoned rivers, hunting after the idea 'man can create paradise on mars' etc. Maybe first learning to live on earth in the beauty of nature would be a first step to make.

Coffee is ready!

2010-01-15T05:50:00.000-08:00

People asking me about our minus 20 centigrade winter adventure many times suggest that 'it must have been hard life'. Surely? Difficult no? Actually no.
To us it was a pleasant surprise we liked nature this much. We knew by our years of preparation. But that to us is nothing like the experience. Yes we were city dwellers dropped in the woods. We were lucky we liked it this much.

It meant shovelling snow from caravan to the house every day, in total some 80 meters daily. Also chopping wood and lighting fire every day. In the house we had a temporary kitchen we could heat. I would make the kitchen warm, make coffee and phone to the caravan to anounce: 'Coffee's ready, kitchen is warm'.
Then my wife would venture outside of the caravan along freshly dug paths. She was already pregnant of our present beautyful daughter Jelena. And Nol would be packed warmly and come for breakfast also.

As I am writing this we are preparing for the next winter. Wood we have plenty. House is being restored. At least it is dry now. That we could not say last period.

Moestenij

2009-07-08T01:53:00.000-07:00

De moestuin is een grote woestenij volgens Peter! Hij ziet allerlei soorten bonen en erwten, de mais doet het, de zonnebloemen doen het... en alles is overwoekerd met onkruid.
O ik ben zo benieuwd! Volgende week rij ik er zelf naartoe, met Nol in onze camper.

Filmpjes van Bogata Suma!

2009-05-14T01:40:00.001-07:00

Deze filmpjes zijn van april/mei 2009.

Het terrein

Uitzicht vanaf het huis

De moestuin

Grasveld en struikenterrein

Gras komt vol bloemen!

Bloementuin (nu: onkruidentuin)

En soms ziet het er zo uit!

Teeltwisseling

2009-05-05T13:35:00.000-07:00

Gisteren en vandaag hebben we gewerkt aan het middenstuk, dat we afgelopen winter alleen bedekt hadden met hooi en organisch afval. De bramen hebben we er nu uit gehaald, en we hebben mooie bedden gemaakt met paadjes ertussen. Het hoogste en grootste bed met courgettes, aubergines, calendula, afrikaantjes, mais en erwten. Twee bedden "eronder" met wortelen, bietjes en schorseneren (een met rijtjes en een random). Daaronder een bed met kool, prei, munt en radijs, en een bed met ui, knoflook en aardbei.
Allemaal plantcombinaies voor de teeltwisseling: ieder jaar iets anders op de grond in 5 jaar tijd.

Morgen heb ik nog twee bedden te vullen. Ik denk dat ik daar diverse groenten plaats die ik lekker vind en nog niet (genoeg) gezaaid heb.
En daarna maak ik seed balls met bloemen om her en der op het terrein te zaaien!

Groentenbedden aangelegd

2009-05-03T12:31:00.000-07:00

De "nieuw ontgonnen grond" is bedekt met een dikke laag Leidsch Dagblad, NRC en Het Parool, met vermolmd hout en varens, en dat alles bedekt met kluwen braamstruik. Zo kan de braam lekker uitdrogen in de zon, en verrotten het hout en krant eronder. En gaat al het organisch materiaal weer terug naar de natuur.
De buren vinden dat we alles moeten omzagen, de boel met een flinke tractor moeten omploegen, eggen en dan pas kunnen bewerken!

Ik heb de tomaten en aubergines in een van de hooi-bedden geplant en ik heb nog materiaal voor nog zo'n bed. Ik heb ook twee nieuwe bedden aangelegd (met een hoogteverschil met een gevlochten muurtje ertussen) voor de broccoli en die erin gezet. En bij de aardappelen (aangevuld met nieuw pootgoed) heb ik een nieuw bed gemaakt voor bonen. Bij iedere tak twee tuinbonen en ertussen erwten en sperziebonen. Onderaan de tuin heb ik een bed gemaakt voor pompoenen en courgettes.
Morgen plant ik de rest van m'n zaailingen. Ik heb nog een bed aubergines en tomaat, enorm veel prei, mais, artisjokken, rabarber... En dan nog m'n zaaigoed! Waar laat ik het allemaal...
Ik denk dat ik een meter brede banen maak in het "mislukte bed" in het midden, waar we wel hooi op gegooid hebben maar waarvan we de grond nooit schoongemaakt hebben. Dat kunnen we nu doen. We hebben nog 5 dagen!

Composthoop opgezet

2009-04-29T18:19:00.000-07:00

Ik heb 3 meter gaas gekocht voor een composthoop en vanmorgen al een flink gevecht geleverd met het stijve ijzer. Het gaas heeft gewonnen, geholpen door de regen.
Als het droog is ga ik verder, gewapend met tangen en een schep. Dan zal ik het gaas een lesje leren!

Na de koffie bij de buren regende het minder hard, en ben ik weer verder gegaan in de tuin. Het composthoop-gaas plat gelegd, gestrekt en toen netjes rond gemaakt voor de composthoop. Maar toen Nol er gevangenisje mee gespeeld had, was het opeens een vijfhoek!

Ik heb een schaduwrijke plek vrij gemaakt met de zeis, en daar de composthoop neergezet. Takken onderin, en toen wat bladeren erop. En een gevonden worm.
Ik heb nog een paar vierkante meter plat gezeist dus de moestuin is nu weer een stuk groter! Morgen maar eens kijken of ik er met kranten weer een bed kan maken. Of anders de grond kan gebruiken voor alle bonen!

Mulchen werkt!

2009-04-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

Het was een woestenij toen we na 2 maanden weer terugkwamen in de moestuin! Hoog gras, hoge zuring en reusachtige wilde rabarber struiken. Maar de in februari aangelegde bedden met een dik pak hooi lagen er nog netjes bij! Hier en daar kwam er wel een paardebloem of rabarberstruik door, en ik heb maar 1 braam door de mulchlaag door zien komen. De anti-bramen methode met kranten en mulch werkt dus!

Met de zeis heb ik een pad gemaakt en ben ik begonnen aan de bramenberg aan de zuid-west kant van de tuin. Het zou fijn zijn als we dat stuk er in deze vakantie bij konden betrekken! Voor de bonen bijvoorbeeld. Ik heb ontzettend veel tuinbonen, 3 soorten sperziebonen, peultjes en doperwten. Ik zal de mais ertussen planten, voor een extra klimrek voor de bonen.

Boja zegt dat zij wel weet waar ik welke zaailingen moet plaatsen; ze heeft immers bijna 80 jaar ervaring met dit land! Ik ga maar eens gewoon naar haar luisteren :-)
Mijn eigen tuinontwerp is niet goed bruikbaar voor het gekozen stuk (vruchtbare) grond omdat er te veel dingen zijn om rekening mee te houden. Grote bomen met dito wortelnet en schaduwpartij, hellingen en vlakke stukken, hazelaars en vlierstruiken her en der... er is nergens een paar vierkante meter die in een keer gebruikt kan worden.
Wie weet komt Boja nog met interessante inzichten.

Volgend jaar als we hier wonen, heb ik meer tijd om een nieuwe moestuin op te zetten. Misschien op het prachtige stuk land (voorheen boomgaard? Hoewel... ik zie geen oude bomen) ten zuid-oosten van het huis. Dan kan ik mijn circulaire permacultuur ontwerp helemaal uitwerken.

Aardappelen geplant op karton

2009-02-20T19:28:00.000-08:00

Vanmorgen heb ik de bedden gemarkeerd met grote stukken hout (plantbedden), takken (het bramen-stuk) en planken (het aardappelen-bed) en de mulch-laag van hooi wat dikker gemaakt in de bedjes. Daarna hebben we het bebraamde middenstuk zo goed mogelijk geprobeerd te bedekken met al het hooi en de mais-stengels die we nog hadden.
Ik denk dat die mulchlaag niet genoeg is, en de kupina er dit voorjaar gewoon doorheen groeit. We hadden gewoon nog meer karton moeten hebben...

Ik heb de aardappelen op het hardboard in het hoogste bed gelegd, en ertussen wat uitjes in een jasje van klei. Ik heb ook de aardperen geplant, op het zuidelijkste stukje bij de uien (en de vlier). Daar kunnen ze geen kwaad als ze gaan woekeren.
De frambraam van thuis heb ik in een hoekje van de twee middelste bedden geplant, en ik heb twee tamme kastanjes naast een jong boompje in de aarde gedrukt. Wie weet...

Morgen plant ik het hazelnotenboompje en wat druiven, en maak ik de laatste foto's.
Het ziet er al heel aardig uit! Mooie perkjes met boomstronken er omheen en een berg hooi erin.

Ik ben zooo benieuwd hoe het er over 2 maanden uitziet...

Raised beds met karton en hooi

2009-02-19T14:26:00.000-08:00

Gisteravond heb ik de "definitieve" tekening gemaakt voor de tuin, en op basis van die tekening hebben we vandaag het as uit de kachels uitgestrooid en de GFT-bak geleegd op de plek waar binnenkort de groenten gaan groeien.

Ik heb 6 redelijk horizontale plekken gemarkeerd, en daar moeten we het nu maar even mee doen.
Die plekken heb ik bedekt met kranten of karton, en daarop hebben we een dik pak hooi gelegd. Alleen op de plantuien (achter de vlier) ligt maar een dun laagje hooi, omdat de uien al uitlopen en de planten wel hun weg omhoog moeten vinden. Maar op die plek zaten toch al niet veel bramen.
En nu afwachten tot eind april...

Morgen wil ik nog meer hooi over de tuin verspreiden (we hebben genoeg!) en de bedden markeren met het hout dat de gemeente op ons terrein heeft geparkeerd (?). Dan leg ik ook de aardappelen op het karton (onder het hooi) en misschien plant ik de rest van de uien ook nog.

Tuin ingemeten en gemarkeerd

2009-02-18T16:14:00.000-08:00

We hebben eerst een paar keer door de tuin van Gerard en Anja gesleed (behoorlijk steile helling) en toen heb ik de tuin ingemeten. Ik heb ook alvast een paar plekken ingetekend waar bedden kunnen komen. Deze middag heb ik de bramenberg in het midden (die we laten zitten) gemarkeerd met boomstammen, en wat takken over de bramen heen gelegd. Daarna heb ik her & der in de tuin de bramen fijngeknipt. Dat wil zeggen: een tak iedere paar centimeter, precies door de knop heen, in stukken geknipt. Wie weet heb ik ze daarmee vermoord! :-)
Meer kon ik ook niet doen, vanwege de sneeuw.

Er lag vanmorgen zeker 15 centimeter sneeuw in de tuin, die in de loop van de dag wat smolt. Maar aan het eind van de middag ging het weer sneeuwen.We zijn toch wel een beetje bang dat we insneeuwen. Hoewel... "we"... Ik verheug me stiekem op de extra tijd die we dan hebben voor de tuin!Voor de zekerheid gaan we morgen karton en kranten leggen, en dan bedekken we dat met het hooi dat (al 15 jaar?) op de zolder van de stal ligt. Als we daar een flink dikke laag van maken, dan hebben we kans dat er in april (als we weer komen) geen bramen meer groeien.
Maar als ik zie hoe levenslustig die bramen hier zijn... I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Markt in Vojnic

2009-02-17T17:43:00.000-08:00

Vandaag was het koud, het begon te sneeuwen en er was markt in Vojnic. We hebben twee nieuwe zeisen gekocht en een kilo plant-uien, en we zijn onze vriend Rob gaan bezoeken. Hij had ook last van bramen (kupina) op zijn terrein, en die heeft hij enigszins bedwongen met een dikke laag karton, en daarop hooi.
Op de weg terug hebben we bij de oud-papierbak meteen wat karton verzameld.

Ik hoop dat we morgen in de tuin kunnen werken!

Kupina cutting club

2009-02-16T18:22:00.000-08:00

We hebben nu duidelijk een stuk grond afgebakend en verder gaan we niet. Wat we nu hebben "afgezet"* is nog best een flink terrein voor een moestuin; we zouden er zeker een jaar van kunnen leven.
* eigenlijk is het andersom: het hele terrein was bezet door bramen (kupina), en dat wat wij nu moestuin noemen, hebben we ontgonnen. De "afzetting" door de bramen gebruiken we nu tegen de zwijnen, de poezen, Janko's hond en andere wandelende dieren.

Peter heeft met de hak een enorme berg bramenwortels opgegraven en nu weten we niet goed wat we daarmee moeten. Bramen zijn zo sterk, dat als je de wortels ergens neerlegt, ze waarschijnlijk gewoon weer nieuwe planten maken. We hebben ze nu op een hoop gegooid; morgen verzinnen we wel iets om ze de nek om te draaien. Ophangen aan een boomtak? (Peter) Verdinken in water? (Nol) Opstoken in de kachel? (Barbara)

Door het opgraven van de wortels, is de grond rond de boom toch flink omgeploegd. En in het winterzonnetje zagen we hem ook snel uitdrogen! Toen we klaar waren met werken, heb ik de omgewoelde grond bedekt met een stro-achtige grassoort die tussen de schuren groeit. Bij de andere boom heb ik een soort dun riet gebruikt dat daar bij die boom groeit. Ook mooie mulch-lagen.

Wilde bospeen!?

2009-02-15T17:36:00.000-08:00

Vandaag met de zeis de bramen gekortwiekt, en de wortels met de hak uit de grond gehakt. Dat wil zeggen: een stukje, want het is erg veel werk.
Tussendoor hebben we ook beide appelbomen gesnoeid. De kleine boom aan de rand van het terrein heb ik flink gesnoeid omdat er veel jonge takken terug de boom in groeiden. De grote appelboom heeft veel dood hout. Dat zaagt Peter eruit, en de takken gaan we gebruiken om bijvoorbeeld paadjes te markeren, of de bedden te maken.

Ik heb een soort wilde bospeen gevonden (bestaat die?), een oude druivenstruik, een blauwe bessenstruikje, een paar opgekomen appelboompjes en drie wijngaardslakkenhuizen. Lekker! En oja: tegen de gevel van de stal staan een paar vijgenbomen, en er staan een paar vlierbessenstruiken op precies de plek waar ik als windkering struiken wilde planten!

Bergen wormen op zondag

2009-02-14T15:47:00.000-08:00

We hebben de buurvrouw Boja gevraagd of we hier op zondag kunnen werken. Ze vertelde dat de mensen hier wel religieus zijn, maar niet "katholiek" of "protestant" of "moslim" o.i.d. De mensen leven heel pragmatisch met een God en met de aarde. Nema problema dus, als wij een beetje werken aan onze povrtnjak.

Het blijkt nu dat de vorige bewoners (15 jaar geleden) op dezelfde plek een moestuin hadden! Van die 9 hectaren heb ik precies dat stukje uitgekozen! Je ziet het ook goed aan de aarde. Die is prachtig zwart en luchtig. Steek je schep in de grond, en je hebt drie wormen gehalveerd.
Dat scheppen, het verstoren van de bodem, doen we nu maar zo min mogelijk. We willen de bramen weghalen, en een paar jonge boompjes die te dicht bij de oude bomen staan, en daar laten we het bij. Als de bramenstruiken weg zijn, maken we een paar terrassen (bedden) om de zaaigrond horizontaal te krijgen. Die bedden bedekken we vervolgens met kranten en mulch. Daar gaan we ook een beetje mee experimenteren.

Misschien vinden we morgen karton in Vojnic; dan kunnen we een paar bedden met karton bedekken, en andere met het NRC. En dan kunnen we ook experimenteren met de bovenste laag. Een bed met bladeren, een bed met hooi, een bed met het gedroogde gras dat zich als stro gedraagt, en een bed met het houtmengsel uit het bos.

De plek voor de moestuin

2009-02-13T19:11:00.000-08:00

Anderhalf jaar geleden waren we hier voor het laatst. We kampeerden toen op het hoogste punt, en hebben ons toen vooral op het gras en het bos georienteerd. We hebben toen ook nauwelijks iets met het land gedaan. De helling ten zuiden van het huis was overwoekerd; daar zijn we niet geweest.
En nu heb ik op die plek, die ik niet ken, de tuin bedacht. Ik heb foto's en de plattegrond bekeken, en me een voorstelling gemaakt. Maar in werkelijkheid ziet het er natuurlijk heel anders uit...
Nu blijkt dat het later in de kaart getekende huis, een stuk zuid-westelijker staat en de vruchtbomen dus ook veel meer in de zuid-westelijke punt staan.

Ik wil de moestuin tussen die bomen en dat moet ook wel, want boeren uit de buurt hebben over ons terrein een "weg" aangelegd die dwars door de plek loopt die ik eerder bedacht had. Maar nema problema, want tussen de walnoot, de kersenboom en twee appelbomen is een prachtige plek! Daar groeit gras, en niet zo heel veel bramen; het is redelijk begaanbaar.

Bogata Suma. Going full speed into a green future

2007-10-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

The field of the logo is Ferrari-red and the tree Classical British Racing green.

The branches of the tree reach for the sky. With this project I reach for the sky. Not only me, but Barbara and Frank too. Frank is the first shareholder that supports Bogata Suma. In the project many people will join and as a team go for it too. The fun is in the reaching.

The trunk is about solid connecting between earth and sky. Meaning the there is a balanced connection between ideas and foundations. The roots harbour 4 elements of character or elements needed in a project to be balanced. Between the roots there are 3 spaces. They signify beginning, middle and end or pupil, masters pupil and master. The three midieval steps before being able to run ones own workshop in crafts businesses.