Now that the days are a bit cooler I feel more hopeful and optimistic about this life on the hill. Yes, it can be a bit lonely but actually, I do like to spend my time doing stuff on my own.
I have been going down to the garden and reviving it. Digging out barrow-loads of couch grass and carrying it up to the cob house roof. Perfect place for it. There has been no real rain since April and even that wasn't very real. The soil is like dust and the couch grass slips out easily in most places. Now that it is not so hot it is very pleasant to be in the garden surrounded by the things that I have planted, the bushes, trees and herbs.
The compost heaps from two years ago and last year are ready to use and it is amazing stuff. Black and crumbly. I have sown cabbage, carrot, onion and they have all emerged. My middle grand daughter, Olivia, came and helped me prepare a bed and we planted four bits of potato and I told her that was her patch. She can come and watch the progress.
At the top of the hill, just below the windmill, my neighbours wanted a little house to make wine and they asked me to build it so I contacted a great cobber who has wwoofed for me in the past and we have been building with the red earth. Our feet and hands are stained red, The house, the floor, the bed sheets, everything is going earthy red. The new clay house is rising rapidly. Janosch has really got the cobbing bug and is doing a beautiful job. Next, I want to build one for me!
My neighbour Eusebio came with a bag of fava beans. I will need to dig more ground!
A few weeks ago I was showing how to plaster the inside of an old taipa (rammed earth) house using clay plaster. That was fun. It feels right to be working with the earth in such a basic positive way, not trying to extract too much, just enough to help us live in comfort and with the beauty of the earthen colours.
