(We got this email from a guest who has come to stay with us a few times. I thought I would share it)
My husband and I have stayed at the Painted Fish many times before, in all of the accommodation options: the Carriage, the Cottage and the Studio. I can’t decide which one I prefer. I like the Carriage for the “cute” factor and its outdoor shower; the Cottage for its unique blend of old world charm and modern eco-designs; and the Studio for its funky red couches and general air of style.
Wherever I do stay, there are a few things that always happen:
- I feel like I’ve reconnected with old friends;
- I come away feeling inspired to do more with my own garden, my own community;
- It never feels long enough;
- I feel like I’ve nourished my soul and all of my senses.
Upon our arrival at the Painted Fish, the first thing that usually strikes me is the earthy fragrances of wooden floorboards, fresh linen and herbs in the garden. It calms me instantly.
I never cease to be amazed at the craftsmanship in the buildings – Tim’s clever iron work can be seen all around the place – on the beds, shower heads, gates and stairwells – and his fantastic paintings decorate the walls, along with a variety of other artists’ works.
For me, staying at the Painted Fish is about staying put and allowing myself the time to sit in the sun with a newspaper and a cup of tea (Tim and Shani have a great collection of teapots and old-fashioned cups and saucers – tea always tastes better out of a proper cup!), or listening to some relaxing music while dozing on the couch.
The atmosphere is perfect for this. In the main courtyard, the large Japanese Pepper tree catches the breeze and the frog pond makes for a serene addition to the garden, which also provides fresh herbs and some veggies, should I have the inclination to cook (if not, there are many restaurants and cafes an easy stroll away).
If I’m feeling energetic I will walk down to South Beach (which is only five minutes away) or catch the free bus into Fremantle. Tim and Shani also have bikes that you can use to get around – if you’re really keen, which I rarely am!
I always get a great night’s sleep, helped along by the plush pillows and comfy beds, and when I wake up and see the sun twinkling through the leaves on the Japanese Pepper tree, I’m ready to do it all over again.
The second morning I commented it sounded like it was still learning how to crow. Tim suddenly said “what if it’s ours?”
Mum told us the first thing to do was relax the rooster by a process of hypnosis. Apparently chickens are not over endowed with intellect and so are excellent candidates for hypnosis. After about half an hour of my mum gently swinging a giant love heart bling in front of the chook, it was no more relaxed but Tim was starting to look decidedly glassy eyed.
She and Tim had a lovely time “quieting” the rooster, plucking, gutting etc and today we had the most amazing chicken soup for lunch – all with veges from our suburban garden – potatoes, broccoli, spinach, carrots, corn (dried from last summer). What a feast (and not a shop in sight!!)
But my favourite bit? – seeing my mum and partner sitting side by side while they plucked the rooster, talking about growing food in your own backyard.
So what could be a more appropriate for a busy bee activity than actually making a bee hive?
In our case the guy shaking his tail was Peter. Pete’s a lovely bloke who luckily for us has a passion for relocalised food production (he only sells his honey within 65 kms of its production) and helping people to reconnect to where their food actually comes from.
We have been eating his honey for a while and he had been coming along to our community events for a while, when one day over a cup of tea (sweetened with his honey of course!) he offered to help me make my own bee hive. I invited one of the neighbourhood kids (who loves all things that creep and crawl), he invited some of his mates, and before long Shani sent out a street note and we invited everyone.
Then Pete waggled his tail, and once again we flew into a frenzy of drilling screwing, hammering, threading stainless wire and working the wax into the frames. . . . .
Being a bit of a DIY guy, I also found it really exciting to see people of both genders and all ages getting hands on with the tools. Nobody lost any fingers and by the end of the day we were the proud producers of a solid and reasonably square bee hive.
When we visit the hive Pete always brings a full size bee suit for himself and a little one so one of the kids in the street can get right amongst the action. Each time we visit I find I am fascinated by some new bee fact. The last time we opened the hive Pete took out some propolis (a waxy pinkish bee building material) which has a natural antiseptic. It cured a mouth ulcer I had in a day.
Having access to a hive has made us much more aware of bees in our own gardens and what blossoms attract them. Last time we went to see the bees some of the kids took flowers they had picked from their own gardens so the bees wouldn’t have to fly so far!
Once upon a time I used to be a school principal. I first became a principal in an era of devolved responsibility to schools, and my favourite boss used to constantly say “You know what needs to be done – just do it. Beg me for forgiveness later, don’t waste your time with permission now”.
It only takes a movie like “The Power of Community” about the Cuban peoples’ response to their own oil crisis in the form of urban agriculture; soon you find yourself googling “guerrilla gardening” and . . . .
Our first attempt at guerrilla gardening found us using a space between our property and the walkway down to the beach. It was well screened with native scrub so we thought no one would notice. We used this area to plant fruit trees, a few vege beds and hide our five bay composting system.
Two years later she very generously is not saying “I told you so” as we replant the fruit trees onto a sunny verge and replace them with shade loving coastal indigenous plants for greater biodiversity and establish a street bee hive behind the coastal tea trees.
“You can’t plant there – people will steal the tank and take the veges” said Tim. Funnily enough nobody did, and in fact months later we discovered one lady stopped every day for a bit of weeding and to pick off the caterpillars! The highlight of our Street Fiesta in 2008 was harvesting that small garden and distributing the bounty.
So this year work on our Hulbert Street Living Smarties Garden began in earnest. In autumn people attending a Living Smarties course we were running provided the people power and motivation and we created four beds made from old tin - creating two as no dig beds and bought organic vege mix from the great Green Life Soil Company for the other two. Two round beds for potatoes were added a while later and each time we run a Living Smart course we expand the number of beds. Now we have a total of 10 garden beds or about 25 square metres of garden .
But what about water? – Anna’s place is the closest house to the garden. Anna is now 84 and while her husband was a keen gardener his death 16 years ago has meant there is not much action in her backyard recently. She has generously allowed us to hook up a watering system to her outside tap so that no more bucketing is needed, and we are looking forward to watering her husband’s grapevines this summer (yup they are still surviving after 16 years with no water!)
Six months on we have just harvested the potatoes, and eat daily from the garden – peas, carrots, beetroot, spinach, lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, spring onion, leeks . . . all the usual winter garden fare.
Last week a lady told me about the garden she had established at home inspired by our efforts – it made my day. In fact when I am feeling a bit down I often head up to the garden for a potter and chat with whoever is going past.
“Well it hasn’t happened yet” I reply, “unless you count Ellie and Zoe whose mum lets them have a snow pea or two every day in exchange for finding snails, or my mum Joy who gets all her greens from here in exchange for worm wee, or the horse who ate half a cabbage before its rider could stop it . . . .. But see those herb beds – there is marjoram, oregano, thyme, basil and coriander – help yourself! Rebecca comes up from Hickory Street every day but she tells me they need to be picked more often”
Hey Chidlers
10am – 12pm: Sustainable House Tour of The Painted Fish and Number 21 Hulbert Street Learn about passive solar design, water harvesting, and making your own power. Lots of ideas for your own place.
Everyone enjoyed the session and the excitement Steph and Maritza shared in what they were doing. Steph described it like cooking – she loved taking very simple ingredients and making something really nice from them. She shared the joy she derived from this process, and it was quite contagious!
September 19 and 20th 2009
The other night I had spring onion, the last potato from last year, cabbage, green peas, spinach, boy choy and a huge beetroot.
And shared lunch afterwards!
