Fruits of the last month....

Lovely Lengthening Days and fruits of our labour.....

In the lead up to Midsummer’s Day, the Solstice and São Joao we again found ourselves happily busy. 

 

These last weeks found us celebrating the puppies 3 month birthday, the arrival of 2 female kittens from Simba

 

 

......the reunion of the Northern Irish crew in the form of Kevin and Naomi from Face to Face days, surprise visits from Germany (Arnt and Miriam) and Duruxa (Carly and James) and help from Gabrielle and Jordan (WWOOFers from USA) and more recently, Samuel from France and Sara from Holland.

Read on to see the pictures and some
-->anecdotes from life on the land at the Mount of Oaks. Most events are in a chronological order.

New Arrivals in April and May

April saw the arrival of helpers and returning friends. It has been a busy time on the land - weeding, planting, building, making another huglekultur bed, a raft for the lake and a shelter to sit beside the lake. We hosted a bunch of great people and most recently welcomed new animals to join us. 

Announcing the arrival of two new residents at the Mount of Oaks – two puppies, a girl, Tali and a boy, Goofy.....AND 3 chicks born to our chickens! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We will try and tell some of the story of the last 2 months (goodness has it been that long?!) in pictures with a little text…..ENJOY!

Carry on to read the full post.....

PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE IN JULY

Certified Permaculture Design Course

   

9 - 16th of July 2013

taught by João Jorge, architect, permaculturist, gardener and practicioner since 1995. Taught by Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton in Australia.

If you would like to read more about João Jorge, click here.  

The course will be taught in English.

(Click below on "read more" for the full post)

between the showers and light

seedling dome at sunrise

We have had a deluge of 'sky juice' - pure delicious rain throughout March. We welcomed the sun (when we saw it) and celebrated the longer days and milder temperatures....


...we have been able to do some bits and pieces of work between the showers..... the bathhouse roof is in progress of renovation, new trees planted and first volunteers arrived. 


read/view more by clicking below.

Log bed, chickens and more...

Since the last post we have had a few exciting developments here at the Mount of Oaks. This post will give news about the new log bed in the kitchen garden, the arrival of our new beloved chickens...



 

fooling around in fevereiro...

Some days it feels like spring is around the corner, sounds of bees in the Mimosa flowers and wearing t-shirts as we work...






.....but the chill in the air today reminds us we are living in the 'inbetween' days. The moon calendar which we refer to frequently refers to this time of year as Spring - but I am not quite sure.  A recent visit up the Serra de Estrela into the snow certainly was a reminder that we could easily be still in winter!

 This update will let you know a bit of what we have been up to these last weeks....
 

Enjoy reading!

January - practicing being hermits?

Since we last posted back at the start of January with "Looking back and looking forward", we have moved from winter to more spring like weather. Even now we are really noticing the lengthening of the days.

With the Celtic festivals of St. Bridget and Imbolic just over (1^st/2nd Feb), which mark the mid point between winter solstice and the equinox, it is time to reemerge from dormancy to action – a time for us to start to plant again.....

……but I am getting ahead of myself……let’s start at the beginning of the month……

Press "Read more" below to see the full post...

Looking back and looking forward...

6 years have already passed since I (Barbara) first came to this piece of land at the Mount of Oaks. 

We (Emma and Barbara) are now entering our Winter rest…it’s time to contemplate the year that has passed, it’s time to rest from receiving visitors/helpers and the responsibility that it entails….it’s time to dream and plan the next steps…it’s time to retreat into our own soul space…it´s time to reflect and give thanks for all those who have passed by, for all the work of our hands, for the way this land has been carrying us and caring for us.

Here are some flash-backs of the past year and what has already been accomplished.