Living A simple green Life: Living the simple life,frogs ,bees , filmmaker and willow trees

Welcome

Welcome to my wee blog.My name is Andy ( The Dafthermit ) . For the last 20 odd years i have ben trying to get back to a simpler way of life and finally in my old bus up here in the Scottish mountains i am finally getting there. My time now is spent taking pictures of the highlands ,making films to show the world the beauty all around and writing something that has surprised me having had a few of my stories published , Having picked up a camera and laptop in 2008 i have really enjoyeed the journey the camera has taken me on again having had a couple of pictures in national magazines, last year three of ,my films where shown at the Loch Ness film festival. anyway i hope you enjoy your visit to my wee blog

love and light

Andy

Tuesday, 24 August 2010

Living the simple life,frogs ,bees , filmmaker and willow trees

The ever changing view from the bedroom window,The simple life is getting easier but as always the simple life needs so much work and planning to get any results.

A new order has been placed at Maplins for exterior solar lights and so with them fixed the lighting around the wee bus will be finished and as always lighting without bills magic .

The summer has been so busy and there never seems to be enough hours in the day but as we head towards my favourite time of the year the Winter the pace quickens .

I have placed an order for 100 6ft willow trees which should be delivered sometime in November

I have always loved the willow plant so versatile

at a growing rate of up to 6 ft per year the create a quick screen for privacy

also they allow cover for birds insect etc

and after 2 to 3 years you can start to collect fire wood so eventually we will be totally self sufficient with regards wood another bill gone

not forgetting the fact that they produce oxygen .

Found this wee chap inside the horsebox he looked like he was on his last legs but i slowly picked him up and carried him to some flowers and watched as over an hour he regained his strength and was soon flying and buzzing between plants doing all humans the favour of pollination so we can all eat

With the rapid decline across the planet of this wee insect it feels good to help as much as possible this wee one.

While stacking all the wood after another delivery we came across this wee chap and after a couple of snaps i moved him to the new log pile and watched as he nudged his way deeper into the log pile .

Life in the mountains has so many rewards but to me the animals insects and birds are simply wonderful to watch and be around.

The Blackbus has now got its own postcode so i have made a sign and a large letterbox to placed near the road so the postie can quickly pop in the mail

Got an email today to say we have someone coming in a couple of weeks to do half a days filming about us for a film he is doing about life in the Scottish highlands

Also it is a little over a month till my films will be shown at the Loch Ness Film Festival so all in all the simple life is getting more and more busier

peace and light from us all here

Live your dreams

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A wee film about us on STVs the HOUR SHOW click on STV logo to see the film

Andy the Daft Hermit lives 45 minutes outside Inverness with his wife Mel in an old bus parked in a layby. This current home of theirs is the longest they have ever stayed in one spot. “I’ve been travelling now 25 years,” said Andy Lowe. “Mel’s been travelling 15. One of the reasons we’ve come and stayed up here is because of Mel’s health. I wanted to bring her to the mountains for fresh air and clean water and just a slower pace of life.” Mel has had breast cancer twice, skin cancer once, and for three years believed she had bone cancer after being wrongly diagnosed. Andy’s belief in the restorative powers of the north made them pack up ‘The Black Bus’ that they live in and cross the border into Scotland. New Highland home for hermit couple Andy and Mel “I think we both believe in trying to get to a more simple way of life,” said Andy, “but it’s strange for us because we are sort of hermits, or we like to live separate, but it’s not being anti-social… it’s just the way we are that allows us to be creative.” Andy first began travelling when he left the army. Fed up with bureaucracy he packed a rucksack and left for France and has been travelling ever since. By investing any money the couple have earned into solar panels and wind generators they now live a self-sustaining existence, without electric bills, and collect rain water “straight from Heaven”. “It’s not easy,” said Mel. “There might be time when there might not be enough facilities around, but you always find a way, you know?” Rather than rejecting technology, Andy blogs about his travels online and collaborates with artists from around the world via his ‘Scratchy Heid Film Studio’, which he runs from a static trailer next to the couple’s bus. He explained his philosophy: “My belief is that if you can go through life and you drop dead and you’ve got a balance there that slightly outweighs the good than the bad, you’ve done alright. “Yesterday, with what Mel’s been through with the cancer and all that, I had a woman on one of my sites there that thanked me for the writing, for the positive things, and to me that’s worth everything. You can keep your millions, we’re not interested. That is what we do.” To check out Andy’s artwork and video projects check out his website. MORE FROM THE NORTH