50 Weeks in

That's it. Two weeks to go for the cycle to complete. We moved in to our little caravan 50 weeks ago for the summer. A lifestyle change to compliment our obsession for camping. We never intended to stay the winter, but not long after moving in, our lives started to change, like the environment around us. We became part of nature's cycle and before too long we chose to extend our stay for at least 1 whole year.

I think when you live so close to nature, it's hard not to become part of it. All around you everything is changing in nature's cycle of death and rebirth. Last years leaves fell and are now part of the soil that new green shoots of life appear in. We as humans are part of that. We are nature too. Modern life pulls us away from our true source of life, and our role in the natural world is reduced. Here though as I type. I look out of my window to the reminders of the natural world. Squirrels are in the woods, foraging for fresh food after a long winter, a few snowdrops are scattered around the site, pushing out of the frozen ground, looking to the sun for light and life.

Today the sun shines, for the first time in a while. Its still cold, the sun reflects off the frozen puddles around our van, life is always better when the sun shines.

The last couple of weeks have been a bit of a struggle. We got through the coldest and snowiest winter in many years, coping with frozen water and gas. We still managed to cook in our awning despite figures well below zero. We stayed alive, and warm and positive. We are though, in reality, living in a metal box 15x8ft. There's not much room to swing a cat, never mind two of them!

As winter draws to a close we become desperate for spring. To get back in the awning and outdoors, to get active. All of nature around us is peeping its head over the precipice of winter, dying to come out. Waiting for the winter to end.

So our plan was to do the whole year. We're nearly there.

We have chosen to stay on, not sure for how long. We feel we couldn't move back into a house yet, unless it was very special and in a rural location, close to nature. Those places are rare though, and don't often come cheap.

So for now, we stay, and wait, for the shoots of spring, for the birds, ducks, frogs, and squirrels to all wake up, for the sun to shine, from grey to green. There's an air of anticipation in the natural world. A few more rainy days and snow showers to come, but we're nearly there. The cycle completes its revolution and we start again. Spring is coming!

In two weeks time I'll write again to summarise what I can only describe as a life changing experience.

Check the video below for a nice little song

Forgotten but not gone

Its been over four months since I updated the blog. It's a shame really that there have been no updates in that time as we've now jumped from the end of Summer to the depths of Winter, bypassing a beautiful Autumn.

We are still here. There is six inches of snow outside and the temperature has been in the minuses for a good few days now.

We are two full months away from being here a year now, the full cycle. We worried about the cold and winter earlier in the year and saw it as a real challenge. We weren't sure we would be able to cope with the cold, but we are doing. In fact, its not a challenge at all, just a fantastic experience I'm glad to be part of.

We wake to frozen water, we ran out of electric the other night, forcing us to wrap up, get under the duvet and huddle together to keep warm.

We are confined to our caravan, its a 15ft x 7ft metal box, that we live, eat, cook and sleep in. We also share the space with a cat and a kitten. The awning is off limits, its way to cold, and it sits dormant until spring arrives.

So.......

Quite a lot has happened in the four months since I last updated. At the time our cat Luke was being terrorised by the Top Cat of the site - Mutthead. Mutthead became ill, his ears were falling off, literally, He got taken to the vet, and was diagnosed with the big C. He was put down, and went to the great Cattery in the sky.

It seemed to move people on the site, although nobody wanted to take responsibility for him, he had become a fixture on the site, and now he was gone.

It was shortly after that one of the residents offered us a kitten, Princess Leia, who as we speak is hanging off a curtain.

She doesn't know yet, but she has 3 brothers and sisters who are also living with other people on site, they are all set to meet up in the spring, once they have had there jabs.

Autumn came and went, the new buds of spring that greeted our arrival last March, blossomed and grew, only to fall to the ground to complete the cycle. The temperatures dropped, and we retreated further inside. We still have no tv, microwave, electric kettle, running water and other mod cons. We try to keep our life as simple as possible, its liberating.

The main aim of starting this blog was so anybody else in the world who was thinking about living in a caravan, could use it and gain an insight into what life would be like.

As I write, snow falls around me, the bbc website claims it to the coldest and snowiest winter for decades, the roads in and out of the site are closed due to snow. The boiler has broke in the shower block and washing area, so no hot water for showers, washing up and laundry. Life is about as simple as it can be.

I can honestly say with my hand on heart that moving into a caravan for the last 10 months has been the best thing I have done with my life, and I expect will prove a huge inspiration for the rest of my life. I have no desire to move into a house or similar style of living, and if I don't live in a caravan, I know I will live somewhere as close to nature as possibly can be.

The snow on site is absolutely mesmerising. Living in snow covered woodland is an amazing experience. The trees are all snow lined and look stunning, as if painted by an angel. Natural perfection.

It's time to go now, I hope it won't be too long until the next update. Our full cycle comes round on March 6th, a whole year. It has flown by and has been one of the most enjoyable years of my life. Simple and natural.

To summarise. The whole experience for me is based around nature, we are one and one is all. The human race is being separated from its truest source, and is suffering the consequences.

I ask anyone who is reading this to close your computer, turn of your tv, get wrapped up and go and walk in the nearest bit of countryside to you. Look around, breathe it in, and reconnect to to the source of all things.