Dear word explorer,
As I was driving home this mellow evening I noticed that the local farmers have completed their first cutting of grass for hay, and many fields are shorn to a yellow stubble. As I crested a hill I spotted an regiment of crows, all evenly spaced out like archaeology surveyors, pecking through the stalks for hidden treasures, their black heads bobbing with greedy interest.
It was a strangely reassuring sight. For a few minutes I thought about how that image of birds sifting through newly-mown fields might look the same throughout the centuries. Technology blinks quickly and revolutionises our lives, but some elements wheel around in ancient, steadfast cycles.
Farming is also a high-tech business these days, so the aim to to have the moisture down to 70% in the grass before it is cut, and once on the ground, it is ‘tedded’ or lifted and separated a couple of times in order to get the moisture down to 20% for baling. Three to four sunny, breezy days in a row are a farmer’s blessing in June. Thankfully, modern weather forecasts can aid them in predicting these windows of opportunity, and it is why bad weather in June is so detrimental. Hay is used as feed for cattle, sheep and horses during the winter, and it must be bought if it is not made. All going well, they will harvest another field within six-eight weeks. In a good summer they could reach the fabled three hay cuttings.
Even with modern farming equipment this is hard work, but it’s also satisfying. You sow and you reap. Anyone who has sprouted seedlings on a balcony and watched them develop into sturdy plants drooping with fruit knows how magical this process can be. You observe your green companions fulfil their purpose and aid them in achieving their best outcomes. We should apply such simple lessons to ourselves. Sun, air, food, and care results in amazing outcomes most of the time.1
Last week I walked into our kitchen and heard the fridge making an angry vibrating drone followed by a sharp click. It wasn’t a complete surprise. The appliance first began ailing back in 2020, at a time when buying a replacement was difficult, but in those circumstances we managed to coddle it back into health. This, however, was its death rattle. Martin diagnosed a banjaxed compressor and it was unplugged. There was a brief five minutes of silence to thank it for its service, before the online research began.
Cue, poring over fridge/freezer specifications, measurements, energy ratings, reviews and prices. We narrowed it down to a couple of options and went in to examine the contenders in person at an electronics shop. After the line-up and interrogation (they were open about their abilities and best qualities) we opted for the model with the best energy rating from a reputable company, which meant we had to sacrifice some freezer space. Then the sad news: delivery in five days.
Thank goodness it was June in Ireland, so it was reliably chilly outside. Our dead fridge functioned as a large insulated wardrobe, and we worked our way through the defrosted foods, and disposed of what could not be saved. We’re vegetarians and don’t drink cow’s milk, so that made this problem somewhat easier. Plus, there are many foods that doesn’t require refrigeration, and some vegetables are perfectly fine at room temperature.
There’s often debate about what does best in or outside the fridge, but Martha Stewart has a useful list: 61 Fruits and Vegetables You Should Always Refrigerate—and 31 You Shouldn't. Do you keep your eggs in the fridge? I don’t, but I also don’t live in a country with extreme temperature fluctuations. I don’t keep my coffee beans in the fridge or the freezer, two common suggestions I’ve seen: they’re in a cupboard in airtight containers. In Ireland, I’ve known some people who keep their butter in containers outside the fridge … yes, rather risky, except maybe in the winter.
Lucky for us, the new model — taller and slimmer — arrived a day early, and after some wrangling (Martin took the kitchen door off its hinges to accommodate our purchase in its packaging) it was put into place, and levelled. Then we had to Google things like ‘How much space should be behind a fridge?’ (approximately 50 cm) and ‘Do I need to leave my fridge to settle before turning it on?’ This depends on if it is shipped standing or on its side, but a safe bet is to leave it for at least an hour (longer if it was on its side). Our fridge manual made no reference to this, but Martin remembered it was a consideration.
Then we set the temperature, and began adjusting to the difference in noise of the appliance. Our new fridge/freezer has neither bells nor whistles. It is not ‘smart’, it doesn’t require an app to use, it isn’t plumbed to make ice or offer chilled water. Fridge/freezers are notoriously energy hungry, and are probably the biggest drain on your monthly electricity usage. Most of the ones we looked at were in the bottom ‘F’ category. Were were hoping for a ‘D’, but managed a ‘C’, but that’s because we picked one that focuses on its important task: being a fridge freezer!
While in the showroom we examined (very expensive) shiny fridges that had screens set into the door that can do a plethora of things: such as show you what’s inside your fridge without opening the door! Huzzah! End that lousy door pulling nonsense! It can offer meal suggestions, play videos on it while you’re cooking so you don’t get bored… all of this sounds kinda cool and amazing, until you realise that this functionality exists within other devices, which specialise in doing that one thing rather better. More electronics in a fridge equals more points of failure. It’s probably reducing the life of the appliance, but hey, if you’re in the business of making new business, this is good news.
As I stood in my kitchen looking at my rather intimidating silver monolith, which relentlessly focuses on doing its only job to maximum efficiency I realised that this craze for multi-disciplinary appliances reflects a world which expects people to be doing multiple things at the same time. We’re in the two-screen generation. It’s expected that we’ll watch TV while also using our phone. How can we look at a boring fridge that’s not also trying to entertain us? How basic!
If I feel the need to listen to music or a podcast while I’m cooking (and I know plenty of people who want to focus on meal preparation and don’t like distractions) then I can do so on any of the several devices in my house, without extra cost.
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Last week, I deleted the Instagram app off my phone. I felt both elated and queasy, and I knew the latter reaction was a sign I had to be rid of the dratted app. Years previously I had taken the same step with Facebook/Messenger and Twitter. I remember the exact same reaction on evicting the Twitter app; now I only remember to check Twitter (X, as it is now) a few times a month.
I can access all of these platforms via a web browser on my laptop or even via my phone, so I’m just making the experience more difficult. As I mentioned recently I stopped posting on Instagram about a month ago but I continued scrolling through it daily far more than I would like.
What a surprise, since I got rid of the app I’m not scrolling Instagram. It’s a simple formula. It’s not ground-breaking, and I’m not asking anyone to join me. But this is what it takes to clamp a drain on my focus.
Do you know what’s useful to a writer? Feeling restless and going into the kitchen to stare out the window and watch the clouds scud by and see the birds hop in and out of the undergrowth. Or perhaps you stare at a picture and notice the shadow of a passing bus. Your mind wanders. Ideas you’ve been working on bob up and down and you push them about on the stream of your imagination, rearranging them and sometimes exploding them. Boredom is the best cultivator for creativity, and it is in very short supply.
Now, easy distractions are commonplace. In the past we’d be forced to rearrange the furniture or defrost the fridge2, but you run out of jobs like that after a while, and eventually you’d flop down before your laptop with some more tea/coffee before knuckling down to the task.3
These days, your fingers twitch when the first flicker of boredom registers. Before you know it the devilish device is in your hands and ‘that one thing you planned on checking’ turns into watching a reaction video to a Pink Floyd song.4
For those of you who have persisted to this part of the newsletter I’m revealing a new feature: I’ll be writing an original fiction series via this newsletter, starting this Thursday. The plan is for it to be weekly. I’m ruthlessly curtailing my need to add in modifiers like, ‘probably’, ‘this might change’, or even ‘just kidding!’
I have many of the elements in my mind but I do not have it all plotted out, so you will be coming on a voyage of discovery with me, and I’ll only be a few days ahead of you.
It should be no surprise to those who follow my newsletter that the date is significant: June 20th, the solstice, almost tied with a full Moon. I use the solstices as checkpoints to review my progress and consider any adjustments to my goals or destination.
And for this solstice I decided I needed another challenge.
The series will be free to all subscribers for an initial period, after which it will reside behind a paywall. If you are enjoying the work you can upgrade to paid and read everything.
To all my paid subscribers: thank you! I’ve been touched by your support for my work. I hope you will enjoy the series.
These weekly newsletters will continue and be free, but they will rarely hit this length too often. After all, we’re busy people with many devices pleading for our attention!
Okay, not everyone has a green thumb or even a sage little finger, and sometimes we go through cycles where our plants take a turn for the worst and must be binned. What is useful is to realise that some plants suit certain personality types better than others. Start with a reliable grower. In the potted plant department, the Snake Plant (also known rather meanly as Mother-in-Law’s tongue) is a safe bet for most people. I’ve got three!
No need for that, all freezers or ‘frost free’ or ‘low frost’ now!
You got me, there are disciplinarians out there who write on a strict schedule, organise the PTA, complete regular marathons, and raise well behaved children. I salute you, gods among humans!
True story. It was ‘Wish You were Here’ and the reaction video was touching, and I shed a few tears. It was not what I was supposed to be doing, however!
Yours is the only Substack that I both regularly read and enjoy. Looking forward to the fiction series very much! 💓
I got a new fridge back in January! I do know exactly what you mean with all the bells and whistles... I just wanted one with an ice maker as I had a line put in from the water to make that. I'm still wondering if my water is purified, lol... I keep meaning to check the manual of the fridge to see if that's a feature... a creature feature! Ha. But aren't all these big clunky oh mi gosh the next word is eluding me now... so I'll say, electronic machines... aren't they all creatures? Creatures that take up space in our homes. (Appliances was the word I brain farted on-- I'm getting old... or just tired! I drove 2 hours to the shores of NJ this morning)...
I do love your writing very much. Grateful for the series you're doing-- my memoir is going to be released that way I decided. Substack is great... we should use it in all it's glorious methods of publishing our work. ♥️😊😁 have a great rest of your week! Xoxo. ♥️ and I'm proud of you for deleting the gram. I use Twitter (x) mostly myself but the gram is so toxic in so many ways and I see it even when I myself am posting. I've become a little bit misogynistically toxic. I don't like being that, so I don't check the gram as frequently. Toodaloo! 😊🐠🐠🐠