The bliss of gentle heat and occasional clouds and morning mists. The
fig trees are full of ripening fruit as their leaves begin to dry and
fall. I love the rustling sound of them in a breeze.
I have pulled out most of the tomato plants, etc as it was too pathetic to bear looking at! I have made perhaps two litres of tomato pure from three months of irrigation. Shameful...
The cobbing I was doing has been stopped. In fact, now it must be said that I wasn't building anything. It took a couple of days and a few hardy females (and one good man) to demolish the building and make it disappear. We won't talk about that anymore, except to say that cob is tough. The children will have a lovely playground, that is enough.
Our area is changing, as I suppose many other parts of the world are. New people move here to have a better life, bringing with them their dreams and aspirations. I feel a bit of a reactionary, reluctant to embrace the changes that are bound to happen. I believe in permaculture and helping this beautiful part of the world to resist desertification, both in land and people. The original Alentejanos survived by hard work and a deep knowledge of their land. We can learn a lot from them, but the dependency on artificial fertilizers and weed killers as the modern way to farm must be stopped the world over. I hope that these young energetic people can show how it is possible.
The Shop Window Event, 'Montras', was a great success and today we will all go and picnic in the village square, bringing food from our homes, to celebrate and to finish the month long exhibition of local artists' work.
How dry the landscape is.
I have been working on my house, extending the roof overhang and making cob eaves under it. Very tricky up a ladder. I only do a bit at a time as it is very tiring. I have to remember that I can take my time. Patience.
