HOW'S THE SERENITY

Post 44 - Tuesday May 14th 2024

The great Aussie iconic movie The Castle made back in 1997 certainly delivered some memorable lines and every time the Kerrigan family went for a weekend trip to Bonnie Doon, Darryl would say, "How's the serenity" when describing the tranquility the place gave him. For the record, that was not the only famous line from the movie but for Ruth and I our off grid living then I reckon it fits perfect.

Here at Camp Recluse on the shores of Green Hill Lake in Ararat we certainly know what Darryl meant about serenity. Because here we have serenity in spades, just perfect, perfect in every way, it is exactly what we had looked for in a camp site that gave us privacy yet allows us to settle in amongst all that nature could give. Our site has so much to offer.

As my journey with Lewy Body Dementia rolls on, I have purposely looked for a spot in life where I can just be away from the rat race and take life at a very slow pace. My pace. That spot I searched for is not just about a location but a spot where my life gives me some feeling of calmness in what is a tough personal battle. I craved the solitude of being in a spot that let my troubled cognitively impaired mind have a place to just chill, to be in a safe and comfortable environment that really gave me all I need.

And that spot is here, Camp Recluse, Green Hill Lake, Ararat. This place has serenity, this place just oozes calm and for me, I am as relaxed as it is possible to be. The location is perfect and the serenity, wow. This is as good as it gets, I am in the best place. I can feel myself, at times, letting go of some mental issues that have bugged me for some time, issues that were making my depression acute and that messes with life. Physically I am battling, that is getting to be the norm these days but mentally I am getting better.

Ruth and I had planned this trip for some time, we both wanted to head off grid and just make life work on our terms. And we have achieved that. After leaving the Houghton housesit, we were off and travelling the highway with all roads leading here to our camp. The 'Adventure before Dementia' was in full swing.

We planned what to take, what we would need, we were rather meticulous in detail. Ruth of course had her many many lists at the ready and we went about ticking off from the lists what items we would need and what items we would take on the journey east.

We knew where to go; we knew where we wanted to go and our well-planned camp setup details have all taken shape. We did spend 31 days here in this same spot last July and August so we had a fair idea what to expect. That time would prove to be a great grounding and give us the smarts to cover all bases in our plans for this journey. We learned heaps last year, it was a great stay and without knowing it at the time, it would be the best prep camp we could have ever envisaged.

So, here we are. Camp Recluse is off grid, out of sight, right in amongst nature and we can be as private as we desire. We are near the lake, have all the water we need, have a great wood supply for the campfires thanks to local legend Hermit Bill, we have our solar panels to get some power for charging phones, computers, lights etc, and we have an inverter for the car as a back-up power supply. We have a gas burner and propane powered stoves, our living quarters are super comfortable, well protected and water bottles help keep the cold to a minimum at night. We did get a new large Igloo icebox for this journey, a bag of ice every couple of days keeps everything fresh and cold just like a fridge would.

Really, we want for nothing with our camp set up and equipment, being off grid is different and does come with some unique challenges but that is part of this different way of living. It is to be expected, just par for the course really. Wintertime gets rather chilly here, we are right on the edge of the Grampians so we expect plenty of minus degree mornings and nights, we expect plenty of rain and fog and mist and wind but again, we have really prepared well, and we are more than comfortable in facing what lies ahead. Bring it on Huey.

The actual Green Hill Lake campsite is just back along the track. It has toilets and even a shower block with hot water, yep, living off grid but have hot showers close at hand. That is so darn good. The park has a $5 a day fee but gee, it is well worth it for the extra facilities it offers. And the internet is ok so we are always able to go online. Being close to winter means the campsite itself is not overly used by visitors, maybe some grey nomads and overnight campers but it is not busy. We do have a couple of other campers down our end of the track, but we are far enough away from them to give us the privacy we were after.

And the Ararat township is just 5km away, it is a great little town, well, not so little, it has a population of around 10,000 and the district covers a fair area. The township has everything we need, good variety of supermarkets, plenty of quality specialty shops, all sorts of take-aways including KFC, yes it has a Pizza Shop (pineapple free), a number of restaurants and on a plus side for Ruth, it has a Macca's for English Breakfast tea, and a Pie Face, and we all know how Ruth loves her cups of tea and her pies. And as a bonus for Ruth, there are Op Shops aplenty.

Ararat does have a large district hospital, so it is handy to know we have medical help nearby given the assortment of personal medical issues that present at times. That is a great comfort especially for Ruth. The town is on the railway line from Adelaide to Melbourne so the Overland and many freight trains pass through here and a V-Line passenger service runs numerous times each day of the week to Ballarat and onto Melbourne. We intend to have a few train trips.

Seriously, we both know we are very blessed, yep plenty of challenges but the biggest plus about our chosen place of abode for the coming months is that this setting has serenity. And Darryl knew what he was on about when he spent time at Bonnie Doon on the film The Castle. Ah, the serenity.

From all of that I do feel my LBD battle to be a touch less confronting being out here. It is like I can totally mess up and not feel like I am a failure. I have nobody but myself to be accountable to. Look, Ruth is here, and obviously she has to live with me every day, that cannot be easy for her, she lives with my little faux pas and odd habits but she does handle it well. She is very much on my side and from my funny moments when I do mess up we both get plenty of fun and laughs. Ruth does not ask me to or expect me to be accountable.

It seems like, for now, we handle this all ok. Hey, we know this LBD journey does not end well but thankfully we have enough positives at the minute to make the best of a not so good situation.

My physical issues are very much on the ordinary side. Dealing with pain and this fluid buildup from a lymph node problem after my blader cancer surgery comes with lots of downsides, it can be tough to endure. And the pee bag, mmmmmmmmm, it is just the pits, not sure how anyone ever gets used to the discomfort. Having this thing hanging off my guts all day every day just doesn't seem right, well, it's definitely not normal. And continually changing the dressing is a challenge, then the heat from the warm fluid in the bag gets to me big time.

With the fallout from the cancer surgery, it looks as if things have settled, I have another scan in three weeks and from that we will have a better idea of how things sit. I do not have to go back to Flinders Medical Centre for the scan, it can be done from a radiology clinic in a remote spot, then the Flinders Urology Team check the results and we start with a phone consult before deciding what, if anything, needs to be done next.

But, looking for the positives, the days here at Camp recluse are my own. If I feel, well, like crap then I can just sit and take it easy, I have no timeframe in a day for things that need to be done. Yep, I have plenty of things to do each day, but I can and do just go about getting things done as I feel physically capable. 

Relaxing has never been one of my things in life, I am very much a hyper type bloke and sitting still for too long is really foreign for me. But with all the physical ailments I am dealing with, having some timeout is getting to be easier for me to handle. Somehow, I appear to be ok with just sitting and being absent from the chore roster. I am moving to the dark side it seems.

On my last JonnyG Remembers blog post I wrote about the falls I have, what I think they are about, the damage from falling and how that all affects me.

Being here in the bush is probably not the smartest move in regard to having falls, there are lots of obstacles around our camp that are potential tripping hazards.

And with my overall cognitive smarts not being at their best then yeah, I am prone to having the odd trip or six. It is part of the LBD issue.

The obstacles are not so much in the actual camp area, we have that fairly clear and clutter free. Sure, lots of tent ropes and tent pegs that are a real hazard but once getting out a touch from the camp site then the dangers become more prominent. But, on a plus side, I have taken stock of where things are and I am hopeful that I can manage to navigate my way around without too much trouble.

For as careful as I am trying to be I did have a real nasty crash, I tripped over a tent guide rope as I was doing some work on the annex cover. And golly, I hit the deck hard, landed on my knee (see pic) so really hurt that area and finished with some awkward dents and scratches. The knee did swell and bruised significantly. And I damaged my back in the fall so that is now a cause for some awkward pain.

So, on that unfortunate note I might leave things here for this post. My LBD journey has both physical and mental components that affect everyday living, the cognitive decline is awkward to live with and navigating the journey has many challenges. However, it is manageable, it is tough but it is also mixed with fun times and life does still have some great moments. My bladder cancer issues do make this all rather complex and that part of this health battle brings lots of uncertainty to the table. It is not easy.

Thanks for reading, thanks for being a part of my LBD journey. 

And as Ruth and I live here off grid, maybe this post has shown a glimpse of how we are actually living at Camp Recluse. This 'Adventure before Dementia' journey is not about exiting the rat race or being a prepper or a conspiracy theorist or a nutter with our off-grid style of existing. Far from it. Because seriously, this is as good as it gets, this is living the dream, this is just the best, or as Darryl would say, "How's the Serenity" ...

Now, being a recluse is no joke, but I will leave you something to make you think about ...

The person who invented camouflage clothing is definitely a recluse, he's nowhere to be found ...

_________________________________________

The Camp Recluse story as told through our pics  

The Adventure before Dementia journey for Ruth and I ... we just want to make the best of our time, we have no idea how long or short that may be, so we were off to make the best off it by doing what we wish to do ... and we start here at Camp Recluse on Green Hill Lake in Ararat ...

Before and after ... we arrived here at Green Hill Lake on Saturday May 4th and were happy to find a camping spot we had stayed at before ... lots of trees, some protection, close to the lake, far enough away from the regular camp grounds, open space, this spot has it all ... so, we started with the proverbial blank canvas (top pic) and we set up our off grid camp the way we wished to do it, we made this place to our personal liking (bottom pic) ...

So darn lucky with how we get to share this spot with a large variety of birds, possums and even have a heap of sheep and lambs in the paddock just across the back fence ... nature at it's very best in so many ways ... the possums are just the best, mother and youngun' come every night for a feed, love some fresh fruit and other snacks, the baby was born when we were here at this same site last year and still hangs with the mum ... we even have Ararat chooks, well apparently they are some sort of water fowl but chook is easier to say and the colorful rosellas have taken to our bird feeder we hung in a nearby tree, there looks to be a family of four, that are majestic, certainly God's creation at its best ...

What's this? A Man Cave tent at Camp Recluse! ... hey, we might be removed from mainstream society, but some things are a must, and a Man Cave fits that bill, I mean, I have a Man Cave because I can ... simples, like on The Castle, lawyer Dennis Denuto said, "It's Mabo, it's the vibe" ... and for the record, we have sectioned off Camp Recluse into easy to easy to understand and defined areas, because as Darryl Kerrigan would say, "It's not a house, it's a home" ... so, our home, we live at the homestead, we have an outhouse, a stand-alone walk-in robe, the fire area and cooking spot is the chuck wagon, we have a workshop and a separate nursery out the back, and we have a tech hub that includes an office ... naming each area is a plus for Ruth, if I get lost Ruth just calls out and I let her know what part of the camp I am in,  ...

Have the campfire all set, great place to just sit and chill, this is Chuck Wagon area and yeah, it is well used ... the fire pit drum was handed on from Hermit Bill our very good mate here in Ararat, it has been really handy and will get fired up right across the winter months ... Bill also dropped off a load of wood and stumps, he just keeps on giving, great bloke to have in your corner ... and once a green thumb, always a green thumb, I couldn't help but bring some of my pots and cuttings to propagate, most of them are originally from Mum's garden at 132 Nookamka Terrace in Barmera, the Green Family home, Mum loved her garden and I was blessed to be given lots of things from her collection, I have nurtured them over the years and now some find their way here to Camp Recluse, Mum would be pleased ... the trailer, Jeremy as it's called, it was a great buy and allowed Ruth and I to bring so many extra bits and pieces with us as we set off on the 'Adventure before Dementia' journey, the trailer was a blessing, and like Jeremy, it kicked goals for us when moving, Go Cats ...

Ok, I admit, living off grid comes with plenty of challenges, it can be a tough gig at times, you do go without some comforts ... but, mmmmmmm, here at Camp recluse we actually have some town living comforts, we have a wheelie bin, yeah I know, how odd, but it's true and each Tuesday the Ararat District Council have a bin collection, just amazing and a strange quirk of this whole idea to be private and out of site ... who would have thought? ...

Ah, food, glorious food ... we both enjoy cooking so here at Camp Recluse we share the duties, Ruth did get pancakes for breakfast on Mother's Day, she loves pancakes nearly as much as I do ... mainly one cooked meal each day, toast or crumpets or muffins even at breakfast and I am a cereal buff so love my Weet Bix or Corn Flakes with fruit in the morning, then some simple snacks throughout the day ... but we will get cracking on trying our hand cooking meals in our new camp oven and Ruth is keen to get some damper onto the menu ... and wait until I get amongst the fish, then we will be cooking up a feast ... and yeah, we both love food ... and as Ruth serves up each dish, I can borrow another line here from The Castle, as Darryl would say to his wife Sal as he ate his meal, "What do you call this?" ...

Darryl Kerrigan, if Bonnie Doon had serenity, then this place at Camp Recluse is equal to your spot on the river ... look at that setting, sitting out in the sun, enjoying camp cooked sausage and egg muffin, drinking coffee, taking in the great surrounds, ah, this will do me ... this is my breakfast view every day, I mean, How's the Serenity ...

'I'm a Lumberjack, and I'm ok, I work real hard, I work all day for not much pay' ... well, words similar to that effect in the Monty Python Lumberjack song ... so, here at Camp Recluse we have a decent wood supply thanks to Hermit Bill the local wood bloke, he has really helped us and does so because he is a genuinely decent person, thanks Bill ... but I still have to bring my axe into play, chopping wood to size, splitting logs, you know, all the lumberjack things ... but as the mornings start to get a touch cold, lots of wood is the key to having such a great bonfire, or as Ruth calls it, a camp fire ...

I cannot explain this pic, I have nothing ... seems like it is a fairy garden of some sort, it just appeared one day, maybe Ruth knows the origin? ... anyhow, it stays in place for now, apparently, because when I mentioned how it was not my thing, Ruth called on yet another quote from The Castle, she used one of Darryl's great lines and said, "Suffer in your jocks" ...

Mmmmmmmmm, in an attempt to become Ararat locals, Ruth and I both joined the Ararat Residents Page on Facebook, you know, it's one of those forum page things that different places have ... anyhow, I did make use of my involvement in the Ararat community and asked the question about the rats in Ararat ...