“Before and After”

This weekend, on a cloud free morning, I photographed the Peace Bus as it sat all pretty in the landscape surrounded by spring flowering beauty. The wattle tree with its masses of tiny yellows has certainly grown up since planted some ten years ago.

The “older” Peace Bus looks a bit haggard to the eye. The stove pipe sticking out the side of my home for eight years, at least promises some warmth within the narrow confines of the inner space.

And, on the inside….

The older bus… well, what can I say? It was basic and functional. For the first four years, before I installed a couple of solar panels, I had nine candles opposite me on the dining table for light (and company). No phone, no radio; certainly, no internet.

The silence of those evenings was a felt presence on my journey into a philosophical, deep ecological connection to the land called Windgrove. So very important to where I stand today.

I might add that during the first four years I also had no running water. Nor, even a proper “out house”; just a hole in the ground. Not many city visitors during this time.

But now….

All the lights work. Lace curtains. A gas heater for instant warmth (city people had trouble with the wood heater). Fully functioning stove and fridge. Top-of-the-line queen size mattress. Even the floor has been sanded and varnished.

Now, there are lots of city visitors clamouring to stay.

Goodnight Dan Bailey