Seasons change...All change!

Since the last post in JULY?! lots of change has made us grow, grieve, laugh, dance and be grateful....

 

 

Some changes we have been really excited about, others were difficult to handle. 

 

This is life, isn't it? Periods of highs, lows and something in between....our mission if you can call it is to remain faithful to the gentle steps of daily life - caring for ourselves, those around us, the animals, plants and trees.

 

We are looking at 2014 with optimism and open arms - especially as we have grown from 2 'two-leggeds' living at the Mount of Oaks to 4! WELCOME Marcia and Eric!

 

Read on for a brief summary of the news and see a few pictures.

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!