In spite of the doom and gloom of the last post, January actually went out with a bit of sun. Enough for us to enjoy our first barbie of the year – ah the pleasures of a glass of chilled white wine and the aromas of fresh fish on the barbie… We also had a day at the beach which of course the dogs absolutely loved.
Jackie was actually boiling in her heavy coat which was soon removed as we tucked into a delicious seafood lunch with the sun on our faces.
It is a bit strange that there are signs of deepest winter all about – the recent storms have made sure the deciduous trees are now ompletely bare (including our little plane tree in the courtyard) but there are already signs of spring. We have had daffodils for some weeks but now buds are appearing on the fruit trees. I think the almond (pictured below) will be the first, but this will soon be followed by the blackthorn and the plums are not far behind. In addition we have also found some wild lillies (also pictured below).
Continuing our flower theme I have added a load of photos taken on a recent walk. I had wanted to take a snap of every flower we came across but it proved too time-consuming a task so these are most but by no means all. Richard wanted me to label each one – ha to that! They can be found on this page wild flowers, but here’s a woodcock orchid to give you a taster…
Many of you will know that we have been suffering a terrible drought this winter. Here at Casa Azul we have averaged one measly shower of rain in each of the winter months. Matters were brought to a head recently with a huge forest fire which was rather too close to comfort. The tinder dry forests nearby erupted into flames. There seemed to be fires starting all over the place and a huge black cloud covered the sky from East to West. Although the fires did get quite close to us, I don’t think we were in too much danger as we are surrounded by agricultural land which doesn’t burn too well.
It seems that the undergrowth was so dry and the winds so fierce that the flames swept through areas so quickly that in the aftermath many of the trees seemed to have survived and only the forest floor affected and despite taking place over a wide area it was all over relatively quickly. However, the following morning we could still see pockets of smoke on the hillsides. It’s at moments like these that you are thankful for the bombeiroes (firemen). We saw firetrucks from all over northern Portugal and apparently there were 450 present at the biggest fire in Portugal this year. Unfortunately it will certainly not be the last.
Days rarely form any pattern here, there are some routines of course, but most days are different and, it seems, most months too. February this year is certainly a change from previous ones and so our time spent here is too. We wake as the sun is just nudging over the hills and usually it’s me who is up first to walk the dog and let the chickens out. The cloudless days we’ve had all this winter means that there’s a frost most mornings so hat, scarf and gloves are always donned before leaving the house. Invariably the chicken water needs to be unfrozen. Slowly but surely many of the plants in the veg patch are wilting under the regular frosts, we had very few last year.
Come elevenses the sun is in the courtyard and the first break of the day from whatever chores we are doing means a sit in the sun. The other day we decided to take the afternoon off and do some geocaching, something we haven’t done so much of recently but the weather was perfect for a walk. First was lunch, we found a great new restaurant in Santiago da Guarda and had the menu of the day: soup, lamb stew, pud, wine, water and coffees for 6.50 euros each. Stuffed we headed off for the walk – a 10km circular hike with 16 geocaches to be found. And what a lovely walk! I was so surprised that there was such wonderful, undiscovered countryside near us. There were meadows with the first of the orchids, glades, covered forests, amazing gorges with rock-climbers braving the heights, steep hills and even a pond or two for the dog to cool down.
In fact the air was so clear it was possible to see Figueira da Foz and the sea from one of the hilltops. You can see more pics and get more info (in Portuguese) from this site here. The pond in the first photo is the same one as above and yes, we did walk up the mountain in the background. Not surprisingly I was completely knackered by the end of the trip, it had taken hours, and as we headed home the sun was calling it a day too. This meant the temperature plummeting and soon, as all nights now, we were relaxing in front of a roaring fire. I’m not sure what tomorrow will bring but am certain that we’ll return to this beautiful spot in the near future.
We occasionally go for walks with a group of friends known appropriately as ‘Portugal friends’. Obviously the hairy one is a popular participant in these events, the most recent of which took place not that long ago. As we hadn’t been for a while there were lots of enthusiastic greetings for the hairy one, accompanied with cries of ‘oh gordo, gordo’. I think it was a compliment but it actually means ‘fat’. As Labradors (as well as some of us humans) are prone to fatness, I determined to increase our regime of local walks, and so me and Gordon (the hairy one’s new moniker) have been tramping the local countryside two or three times a week. We usually go the same route which takes about an hour and is truly beautiful. Anyway, on our latest meander, I took some snaps.
It’s a very varied track – plenty of olive groves and fields of grapevines (hardly vineyards – all the land around here is divided into small family run plots)
grape vines after the harvest
But there are tracts of woodland, mainly oak, as well.
Although it is still very hot and dry for October (it’s been in the high 20s, low 30s every day so far), the colours of Autumn are becoming apparent (or maybe everything is just dying in the heat!)
We very rarely see anyone – perhaps just an old woman with a herd of goats but this time there were two hunters with their dogs. They could have been out for wild boar, stags, mountain lions… or perhaps rabbits.
…and at last s is for the summer too. Hot, sunny days without a cloud in the sky so of course s is also for swimming. We have returned recently to one of our favourite spots and, because it’s September, we had the place mostly to ourselves. We took our friend Ana-Louisa with us plus a picnic. The water was bitterly cold at the start but this didn’t bother the dog who thought she had gone to heaven.
S is also for seedlings. There’s plenty to be done in the veg patch as the second round of crops are sown; so far cabbage, calabrese, cauliflower, chard, sweet peas and broad beans have all germinated. I need to get rid of the pesky mouse that’s making holes in the beds before I plant them though.
Meanwhile the courgettes are just about still going, the tomatoes too, and we have peppers and aubergines ready. Yesterday we had the last of our potatoes though (how I hate having to buy them now!) but the first of our leeks which made up for that, they’re great this year.
Finally, S is for Spain as we plan another camping trip this time a couple of days in Salamanca. Super!
So much for summer – this week has seen plenty of rain, which is fantastic for all the plants and the well is well on the way to filling up. We’ve also had more friends staying. This time a fully fledged family. My old school friend Simon, his wife Paula and two sons Lucas and Sam. It was great to see them and there was a break in the clouds long enough to go for a very pleasant walk.
Meanwhile, the barn has been finished. Or at least sports a new roof and plastered walls. Just needs a lick of paint now.
barn when we first saw the house
And despite the hectic lifestyle there’s still time to relax…
We’ve now had at least 2 weeks of blazing hot sun with temps in the mid to high twenties. Surely it can’t go on? One thing we are already worried about is our water bill. With no rain in (April!), July, August and September and with loads of thirsty veggies, it soon mounts ups.
We do have a well, but it only stores water and doesn’t access any groundwater. It’s over 5 metres deep but the pipe, which feeds it with rainwater from the roof, comes in quite low down and leaks water out, so my first job was to get down there and cement up the hole. This should mean we can get more water in. Fortunately the ever reliable Luis had a ladder long enough to go all the way down. I can tell you that water was cold!
So with that done, next up was getting the water to the veggies. For that I bought a pump to get water from the well and into a tank on top and then a system of pipes from the tank to the veggies. In addition, I needed small plugs which drip feed the water to the plants. I can tell you, that stretched my Portuguese to the limit (I now know these plugs are called gotejadores – I think. Difficult to spell but impossible to pronounce). Only time will tell whether it saves us any money and whether we get any more rain to replenish the well.
notice the ladder coming out of the well opening.pipes going to the veggies
Still, with all this gorgeous weather, the plants are loving it.
irisespoppy
Couldn’t resist another photo of that great, Naked man orchid!
Naked man orchid
…and other wildlife…
empty dragonfly casesfrog in small pond
We think this is a toad – and toads only go into the water to mate (which is why we kept finding a big toad in the courtyard last year)
toady
The butterflies are also here, this one is as pretty as a picture underneath too.
southern festoon
We also continue having guests over. Jackie knows Rosie and Debbie from her time volunteering with VSO in Malawi so it was great to have them visit for a few days especially as they hadn’t met up for years.
Jackie, Rosie, Debbie and the hairy one
We’ve also been down the beach, which was glorious and not a soul about.
The bees seem to go from strength to strength. I have a look in the hive every now and then and everything seems to be OK. I have even managed to spot the queen which was great. No more stings either which is a bonus.
This photo is quite interesting (for apiarists only maybe). In the top left there are cells filled with honey, in the bottom right, sealed brood (baby bees waiting to hatch out) and in the lower middle you can just about see small white grubs in the base of the cells. This shows that everything is operating as normal. Now the bottom box is pretty full – of brood, grubs, pollen and honey, they should now turn their attention to filling the top box just with honey!
There was a horrid blip towards the end of February when it rained everyday. The mornings were misty, and the spiders were busy. No more frosty mornings, just grey clouds.
Goodbye to the frost, and hello the wet
It meant doing lots of work inside the house (still more painting!), and plenty of baking to use up the eggs and oranges. And then, hey presto, out comes the sun and on come the wellies – back to the garden!
Plenty of seeds have been sown, and amazingly, I have already been transplanting the germinated seedlings into little plugs; the polytunnel definitely makes a huge difference. So there are sprouts and cauliflowers and broccoli and herbs and loads of different tomatoes all in little rows:
I’m particularly pleased as many of the seed packets were over a year old, and some a few years. I have only bought a few new packets this year so that’s been a great investment, especially as I hadn’t always been careful about keeping them in a suitable place. But perhaps most incredible is that already, in February, some of the asparagus has shot up! The sprouts were finished so I cut off their tops which meant their stems have come alive with new growth, enough for some sprout soup methinks…
March starts tomorrow, along with a few new interesting projects. It’s going to be a busy month!
Further to Jackie’s post (4 calling birds) a few weeks ago, we’ve spotted a few more feathered friends and so now have a dedicated bird page. Access it via the link on the right sidebar and here.
Meanwhile the hens have been popping out eggs at a rapid rate. They are already averaging three a day between the four of them and they only started laying last Friday.
And, we’ve been enjoying the winter sun down on the beach…
Jackie was actually boiling in her heavy coat which was soon removed as we tucked into a delicious seafood lunch with the sun on our faces.
It is a bit strange that there are signs of deepest winter all about – the recent storms have made sure the deciduous trees are now ompletely bare (including our little plane tree in the courtyard) but there are already signs of spring. We have had daffodils for some weeks but now buds are appearing on the fruit trees. I think the almond (pictured below) will be the first, but this will soon be followed by the blackthorn and the plums are not far behind. In addition we have also found some wild lillies (also pictured below).
