Despite a boiling hot summer, and some terrible fires not too far away, the Kingdom of Rain has lived up to its name. The resident meteorologist tells me we had twice the normal amount of rain for November than usual. It’s pouring down now and I’m wondering whether the pots I took out from under the verandah to get a bit of weekend sun, should have been put back. They contain a variety of bulbs and I have to admit that these have not been labelled and so I have only a vague idea what is in each one. I’m not entirely sure that they should have sprouted so much already.

Anyway, it seems appropriate to keep to the aquatic theme for this post and focus on the pond. This project has come on really well and a far cry from the beginning of the year:

We slowly collected rocks and plants and come June it was already looking quite attractive.

The frogs arrived along with dragonflies, as well as mating red damselflies which only just flew away in the nick of time, a split second from becoming a tasty amphibian snack. Some wasps and bees were not so lucky, I have no idea how the frogs don’t get stung while swallowing.

Richard has built a bench from pallets and it’s from here I can spend some mindfulness moments. Slightly concerned about how green the water was looking we bought a number of waterlilies (which should come up next spring) and a solar powered heat pump.

Today it is in desperate need of a good weed. There are still a few frogs lurking around, the mild weather has kept them from hibernating. There are also quite a number of flowering plants.

And now, because it has taken so long to write this post, the solstice has passed bringing with it the first day of winter. We have snow! Okay, not near us but the hills opposite us, which rise to 650m, are distinctly white on top and the Peneda-Gerês National Park, which we can see on the dog walk, is completely blanketed. Most of the beautiful chestnut and oak trees have lost their bronze foliage and there is a much colder feeling to the air, mittens are very much needed.

Fauna highlights include the family of green woodpeckers who we see daily below one of our largest olive trees, and an otter catching fish in the Lima. We’ve also seen a fox a few times in the garden which drives Betty (now 100 years old!) mad, and ‘the bat behind the plaque’ has returned a couple of times but is no longer a resident.

Plans for the New Year include many gardening tasks so we’re hoping some drier spells will enable us to get the trowel and spade out. Meanwhile, the season of mince pies and cherry vodka has arrived. Most of these pies are for the neighbours as a thank you for their generosity throughout the year but Richard has reminded me that last December we then got back a bottle of port, a bottle of wine, a bowl of rice pudding and huge slices of rabanadas, the Portuguese version of French toast. All absolutely delicious.

Wishing you and yours a fun festive holiday and see you in 2026.