Last of the banana vine
We lit our first fire on November 9th, two days later than last year. Sitting an hour later, sweating in my ex war (first wife) M and S dressing gown, life is good. Tough but good. Business is way down, the Algarve is no longer a playground littered by beaches but as the circle of life slowly ticks around, it is a backdrop of political graffitti, threats of strikes, increased taxes, more fines and higher bills.
High tech capillary bed, not just a bath tub..
So why is it so good I can hear you thinking? Olives, firewood, rabbits, water, herbs, weeds for the chickens............. Foraging has never been so good! We have picked so many abandoned Olive trees that the local lagar (Olive press) gave us nearly 50 litres of good quality Olive oil. We have installed second hand water tanks on every small roof and they are used to water the new green house - our courgettes are ready after only four weeks after planting as seedlings. Leaving onions and lettuce amongst other plants to go to seed (mocked by Antonio my lorry man!) means wild salad free of charge. Our local paths were so overgrown we have pruned them back and kept all the wood with a pat on the back from our local postman (I was going to say a pat from postman Pat but knew better..)
Unless you carefully push boundaries, pay bribes (our fresh eggs) and open your heart and patience and have more time (slow business) you never know.
Merelie The Landscapers Native Tree stall at The MGS Fair
All our trees are 1 euro each, we still have a few left!!
And I got to see my lovely Newcastle United play. A quick week end to England to wish my eldest brother his 60th birthday wishes. I think he got left in the bar outside
the ground. A strange coincidence was the ladies were wearing mini skirts and high heels - only minus 1 outside.
Happy 60th Angus!!
A little warmer this week end, I took Holly up to see Rebecca for her 17th birthday up Portalegre. Thanks to Sue who let me use her car, meaning we could actually go there and back in the same week end! Oddly it was as cold as Newcastle but elleven times cheaper, bonny lad.. Oh yes and I watched Stricknine come boring and yuck factor. I think I won, I turned the TV off.
Dodging wet weather we are still progressing slowly at Quinta Stuart, working on the bread oven, planting more trees (Pines in the hedgerow to get more noise absorbtion from the motorway), planting more bulbs, and sowing favas and peas.
I am determined to finish the bread oven project soon!! Yet another use for marble left at my local supermarket (local bins.)
A bale of rock wool and sixteen buckets of gravel are used to insulate the original top of the bread oven. adding insulation and thermal mass will keep the oven hotter for longer (and hide the cracks where Muggins dropped it off his excavator...)
No comments:
Post a Comment