Eating Angela's Edibles.

Our vegie garden is becoming increasingly  productive, but with sixteen cumquat trees planted as part of "the Villandry Potager look" we were facing either a huge glut or more cumquat marmalade than we could eat in this lifetime. Fortunately local Mudgee food producer Angela Leonard came to the rescue and now uses our cumquats in her fabulous range of products. In return for being the official supplier of Cumquats we get jars of Angela's Edibles. So far we have feasted on Spiced Pickled Figs, Rhubarb Jam, Beetroot Relish, Pickled Limes and Pickled Lemons. Oh yes and of course, Angela's Cumquat Marmalade, made with fruit from The Drip.

Check out "Angela's Edibles" on the link to the Mudgee Fine Foods site.  The food scene here is going from strength to strength with an ever-increasing range of  local products.  On Saturday I did all the shopping for the night's dinner at the Mudgee Farmers Market.  Very nice to be able to prepare an entire (and,  if I may so myself, excellent) meal from local produce accompanied by a good Mudgee wine. 

Monitoring Climate Change

Climate change is happening. We caused it. And we can stop it.

This week we installed a weather station to assist us in understanding what is going on here in our part of the world.  Detailed monitoring of trends in the future will help us ensure that we are taking appropropriate actions in the way we build and adapt to the new realities of a changing climate. 

From the outset our goal here at The Drip has been to get ahead of the game by designing the most energy efficient architecture and using only renewable energy sources whilst maintaining an exceptionlly high level of comfort and pursuing an advanced  state-of-the-art twenty first century lifestyle.  In the photo you can see not only the new weather station but also the solar panels in the background, plus the satellite gear that brings us over a hundred television channels, digital radio and high-speed internet, all powered by solar.  Regular postings will feature the latest news on our efforts in this regard. 

Looking at the Weather Station screen in the Library right now I can see that the outdoor temperature has just hit 31 degrees.  And  ... indoors is a very comfortable 22 degrees with no nasty, unheathy and expensive air conditioning needed.  That tells me the house is doing its job quite nicely.  By taking personal responsibility for our carbon footprint here we not only help fight climate change ... we also live more comfortably and more healthily. Its a win-win!