I had just now finished my lunch, sitting under the sun, while a group of tiny birds hopped on a nearby apple tree. Simply steamed porridge with a fresh salad made up of local vegetables, tossed in oil and lemon juice. Salads are delicious. They are also comfort food. Good to look at, delicious, healthy, and easy to prepare.

So far, we have had a dry spell in the winter. Not at all good. The climate crisis is taking its toll everywhere and people are turning a blind eye to it. Reminds me of the proverbial frog in boiling water. The trees may be asleep but their roots need water. Even some amount of chilling hours is needed by some trees to produce a good amount of fruits. The groundwater also needs to be replenished. Rain and snow are essential. And, on the other hand, nowadays in the rainy season, when it usually rains, it pours down cats and dogs. That also is not good.

I have been trying to reduce our carbon footprint as much as possible. This year, I challenged myself to layering up with clothes and not using the heaters or fire for warmth as long into the winter as I could manage. I am proud to say that even in sub-zero temperature, I have had nice restful sleeps, with a double layer of quilts over me, and a rubber bottle filled with hot water near my feet. Sometimes, in the middle of night, I have had to remove one of the quilts.

I am also against plastic. Yesterday, I went to a local market. They were selling chikki (some roasted peanuts and sesame seeds in jaggery). There was one from my favorite sweets-seller but was packaged in a plastic container. Another fellow was packaging in a simple brown paper envelope. I opted for the one who was not using plastic even though I know that his chikki is not as delicious as the one packed in plastic.

Each and every bit counts. From packets of chips to plastic bags, from leading a minimalistic life to reducing overall consumption of goods. Even food for that matter. Simple things like the lunch that I had, have a much smaller carbon footprint than maybe something like a piece of cake (baked for hours). And no, I am not going into the vegetarian or meat debate.

(There are a lot more things to write on carbon-footprint. Maybe the same title will appear again in more of my journal entries in future.)