The Greening of Gavin

TGoG Podcast 095 – As It Was 2014

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Listen to the Episode Below (00:41:47)
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The Greening of Gavin PodcastA retrospective look at 2014 and all the things we achieved during the year.  Join Kim and I as we share the highs and lows of the last 12 months, and what our simple goals are for 2015.

There is laughter and tears as we step through each month’s events.  We held it all together and believe that we covered the most important things we achieved.

It was great to look back and talk about where we started in January and where we ended up in December.  It’s only after you think and talk about it that you actually realise how much we got done.

Oh, and some quick podcast stats for you all.  During the year I produced 46 episodes, with 48,494 downloads, and many wonderful guests including Tanya Ha, Greg Foyster, Mick O’Connell, Madeleine Booth-Smits (aka NZEcoChick), Amy Webber, Adam Webber, Stacey Warlich, Teena Webber, Kathy Finigan, Kate Nye-Butler, Pam Dawson, and of course my lovely wife Kim.  There were also interviews by Ted, Amy, and DR at the Massachusetts Climate Action Network and by Matt and Beau from Reaction Podcast.

Those stats really blow my mind, so I thank you one and all for listening to me talk about sustainable living in the suburbs week in and week out.  Don’t forget that if you like the show that you can rate and leave a comment via iTunes using the button under the player.

Thanks again for listening.

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TGoG Podcast 077-Staying Warm Without Heating (Brass Monkey Challenge)

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The Brass Monkey Challenge is something that Kim and I came up with this winter to see if we could avoid using the natural gas heating in our home for the entire winter.

Listen to the Episode Below (00:34:56)
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Join Kim and me as we talk extensively about what this challenge has thrown at us over the last three months.

So far we have achieved our goal, and have come up with inventive ways of staying warm without heating.

Staying Warm Without Heating

We also talk about the recent Thermal assessment we received from ecoMaster, and what additional work we are going to get done to our home to make it more comfortable in summer and winter.

If you enjoyed Kim and I on the podcast, please pop over to iTunes and rate it and leave a review. You can also do the same within Stitcher Radio if you use that service.  It would help us out so much, and elevate the ratings so that others can find the podcast and learn about sustainable living in the ‘burbs.

You can subscribe to the show via RSS or iTunes or Stitcher for your portable device.  Just use the subscription buttons below.

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 Until next time, stay warm and keep keen!

HOT HOT Bloody HOT!

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Day four of our heatwave, with four days over 40°C so far.

I had a pretty shitty day.  The temperature peaked at 43°C (109.4°F) here today.

This morning when I was feeding the chooks, I notice that one was missing.  It was Baldy chicken (she had no feathers on her neck), one of my favourites, which was strange because she was always the first out the door of the coop each morning.

I looked in their house, and found her dead.  She had died from heat exhaustion during the night.  I was sad.  I felt like I had let her down, but knew that I had done everything in my power to keep them alive other than installing an air conditioner in their run.

I felt even sadder after I put the event up on Facebook and a mate asked if I cooked it (as in did I eat her).  A bit heartless.  So my retaught was probably equally thoughtless. “If your dog died, would you cook it?  It was a pet”.  Lucky I don’t hold grudges, and that we are really long time friends.

But still, it upset me a lot.

Anyway, I kept the rest of the feathered girls cool during the day by refilling their water every two hours, and spraying a fine mist all around to cool things down.  Seemed to have worked as they are all okay.

Same goes for Kim.  I did the housework, hung out the clothes, cooked dinner, and kept her cool all day.  She is coping well, but we are not looking forward to tomorrow which is expected to be 44°C (111.2°F) with a hot, strong northerly wind.

I even got a little sunburnt at 8 am when watering the garden, but I don’t think it was too serious.  It feels better, and think it was pretty mild.  Amazing seeing that I was even wearing a hat!

The plants are coping well, and I haven’t lost anything else yet, which is very surprising as I surely thought that the veggie patch would be a barren wasteland by now.

The Met Bureau forecasts one more day of heat, then a cool weekend.  Thank the maker.

Who is looking forward to a reprieve soon?