As I have mentioned in previous posts, de-growth and the subsequent
simpler lifestyles will most likely be forced upon us by harsh
realities. The following article titled "The real lesson of the
Energiewende is that the German Economy uses too much energy" drives
home the sobering reality that the much vaunted savior called renewable
energy is not going to even come close to accommodating our current
consumption trajectory (it's something policy makers need to pay
attention to):

https://tinyurl.com/yckzcp4s

What is considered energy sufficiency will be a matter of a raging
debate, but ultimately market forces are going to drive the process
of what we can afford to consume.  Again most people are not going
to dramatically alter their lifestyles for altruistic reasons.
Societies in the so called developed world will take the biggest hit
for obvious reasons.  I think we are already on the leading edge of
that storm.

I am making a conscious effort to cut our consumption.  We have a
long way to go, but important lessons are being learned and perhaps,
in our own small way, we are trying to live more harmoniously with
the universe.  Admittedly we have not reached the point where we are
hugging trees. :-P

Then in the water department...

https://tinyurl.com/y7bl7gpx

For those not getting enough doom porn...The sixth mass extinction:

https://tinyurl.com/y8nvvwl5

A lot of work is yet to be done in the garden.  The other day, I did
some mowing with the scythe in the garden.  It had just rained that
morning, and to my delight, the scythe sliced right through the wet
grass like a hot knife through butter and this was with a ditch
blade not a grass blade.  I had read that the best time to scythe
was early morning when the dew is still on the grass.  The grass was
obviously full of water and very tender.  There are several tight
places where I had to use the weed whip, but it was a pleasant
experience to get some exercise and fresh air after having been
confined to the house for several days because of the weather.
Unlike mowing with a motorized mower or string trimmer, scything is
a task I actually look forward to.  Heavy rains are forecast again
so garden work is going to have to wait, but once the weather breaks
it will be a good opportunity to get some more mowing done ideally
before the weeds go to seed.

The solar panel will soon be getting a new home.  The posts have
been set in the hill behind the house which seems to get
substantially more sun throughout the day.  The framework is designed
to accommodate 4 panels, so there is plenty of room for expansion.