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.

Winter into Spring...

Well, we actually feel we haven´t got much of a Winter, except for the cold nights...we haven´t got "proper" rain since November...
It seems that Spring has arrived in early February... we started our seedlings, kept on working in few buildings, prepared the soil for the vegetable gardens, lots of planing, planted lots of trees, started an experimental food forest and few other small things...
To be honest, I haven´t got much time to write on the blog as you may noticed... My computer only gives me 2 and a half hour of battery (in its best), and at the end of the day even that seems too much... We also started a page on facebook, so, feel welcome to check our photo gallery here . It´s much easier for me to upload pictures there and add some comments. I don´t even know if people read much blogs anymore...

Autumn into Winter...

Yes, it's been again too long since the last time we wrote anything here... The main reason was that, since Emma and I came back in the end of October, there was lots of work we wanted done to prepare for the winter, and of course, the olive harvest, our main winter crop... The days were not so long, the sun rising between 7am and 7.40am at this moment, and setting between 5 and 5.30pm... You might wonder what we were up to? So our time has been spent between planning, studying, working, prayer and meditation, cooking and cleaning, resting and hanging out with the many visitors we had these last couple of months. As a result there has not been much energy left to be writing in front of the computer... adding on to the fact that we only have our laptop battery life to use in one go...
The picture on the right shows the first thing we did when we came back... fixing the kitchen roof that would always leak on rainy days...

OLIVE HARVEST COMING SOON...

If you´re willing to come and join us for one more olive harvest this year, come and visit in NOVEMBER ...
get in touch by e.mail or a simple comment here just to fill you up with more details.
It´s a time for community, share and fun ...
Bring instruments, songs, stories and joy
Thanks!!!

Cork...gardening...and irrigation

I was busy with my garden when I heard a truck coming... I was not expecting anyone... not that most of people who come by do get in touch before they arrive :-) ... I was just curious... First I thought someone got lost, but then I found out...
This guy you see up on our biggest cork tree came here 9 years ago, the last time the cork was taken... he asked me if I wanted to sell the cork... I was not so sure, because I could use some for insulation... At the same time, if I wanted to use it, I had to smash it, which is not easy by hand... so I asked if I could get a good deal getting the left overs on the factory he works for and he said yes... so, ok... he gave me 50€, which I'm not sure if it was a fair price, but hey, I had no money at all, so it actually came on the right time...
It was also nice to see how it's done... and it's amazing how fresh and wet the bark is inside after it's pealed... and the smell, wow, amazing !!!
But here are some more pictures with some comments about few things I've been up to this last month...