Thursday, May 19, 2011

How to Wash that Fibre Bed

My fibre bed that I place under me for cold northern winters weigh about 20 pounds- when its dry .

This is how I wash mine.Once a year. If I must .

I start at sunrise on what I know will be a long , hot summer day. It takes a few hours to wash it and a few hours to dry.

The fibre bed is like a mini mattress . You cannot put it into the washer...not even my front loader that is supposed to wash 20 pairs of jeans at one go . Yeah, right ! Like I believe that . A wet fibre bed weighs about a hundred pounds. Somehow I have the feeling it would be a load to kill all home washing machines.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Changing the Bed

The geese are long returned and bedding into their nests further north of me by at least a thousand kilometres . Through the spring Arctic months , goose mommies and goose daddies will design appropriate lodgings to house their eggs and nestle down for the hatching process .

Part of that process of building is making a 'cushy' bed that will keep their hatchlings warm and cozy in the cold of northern spring days and cool summer nights . A safe and secure location to spend hours...lined with down feathers that let adults , then eggs and finally hatchlings sink into the warmth of home .

I have dismantled my winter bed now . But when the geese escape the harshness of the approaching winter up north in September and slowly pick the way south , they will pass over my roof in November . That will be my signal . It 's time to put the goose down feather bed back on the mattress and snuggle in for the long winter .

Until then , my time maybe spent with garden beds.