Good Bye Cocky

An accident occurred this afternoon... We were sitting outside eating some food when Cocky came up to R and pecked him... so R kicked him... a bit too hard... off he went squawking in the long grass, his girls following. I got up after a while to go and see... There he lay, dead as a door knob, surrounded by his ladies, clucking quietly. I think it was shock. We are all a bit shocked. He was so splendid. I had a cry, then we quickly plucked him before he got cold. R is very sorry. He thought Cocky would move away, but he didn't.....RIP

Creativity Between Showers

A rainbow landing on the dome! It must be a good sign.

  During a couple of dry days we managed to make a hessian-cement roof for the dome. Very interesting medium to work with. It appeals to the dressmaker in me.

First we painted both sides of the hessian with a cement mix and then we draped it over the dome. Rob had made a wooden frame to hold it out at the sides to try and stop the water from running down the sides of the dome.

 When it was all covered we painted on another coat of the mix, then the next day we painted on a mixture of cement, PVA glue and pigment, to make it waterproof and more the colour of the earth. Anyway, it works and the dome is now dry inside. Hooray!

 The chickens like to roost in the olive tree near the house for their after lunch nap. They are now being rather difficult about going to bed at night, and I have to tempt them into their pen then sling them into their house. It's not an easy job. You put one in, then when you open the door to put in another, the first one sneaks out. Grrr. Hopefully they will get used to it again, and feel safe. The cockeral now crows, usually just outside the front door in the morning. Time to get up!!!

And I suddenly got the urge to get on with my mud bender. I have been using bottles to make the mud go further. It builds up quickly, but mixing it with my hands was really sore, so I found a pair of huge, thick rubber gloves, which made it much kinder, but not as easy to make. 

Sorry, sorry sorry

I left the hen house door open last night....
Now there is one gone, the big fat mama hen, and the others are traumatised
and I feel so bad. and sad. and sorry

.

Stormy Days and Nights

Sun and rain.

Dawn's rosy glow on our wee house. Note the solar hot water collector on the roof.

We took Isabella for a stroll on the beach for her birthday.

Here's a picture of how I make bread without an oven. On the (horrible, Chinese) woodburner . Worked a treat!

The chickens are behaving differently... they're growing up! The cockeral is making some very strange noises - his voice is breaking, and the hens are begining to cluck. Exciting. Rob said he saw a saco rabo (mongoose) crossing the land the other day, so I am a bit concerned, especially since two of the chickens decided to sleep out for a couple of nights. This morning when the cockeral caught the two naughty birds he really gave them a concerned poke and peck. The other day we saw them all perching in the olive tree in front of the house!

It's been a bit of a miserable week for chickens and humans. Wet and windy, with the odd day of balmy spring stuff.  But it is a lot warmer. Soon the garden will go balistic (she hopes).

Today, we took off to the Algarve, just because we felt a bit of cabin fever creeping in. We went to look at an electric bike and have a go. Quite an amazing sensation to be powered up-hill on a push bike! If I get one it will save a lot on petrol consumption, but I'm a bit scared of the speed they can go at!

The dome has been leaking so we have covered it in a tarp and Rob is designing a roof for it made from hessian and cement. I'm very excited about that. I've read about such roofs and seen a photo and it looked very pretty, draped concrete :).

All the cabbage seedlings have germinated quickly and soon I will have an abundance of young plants , brussel sprouts, red cabbage, green cabbage, brocolli, etc.

I also put some seeds of madder in pots and they too have come up. I am hoping to have a dyer's garden down near the hammock.

It has been a good week for spinning and dyeing. I spun a load of brown Alentejo sheep wool, and have dyed some shetland using lichen off the olive prunings. Made a nice yellow colour.

So, all in all a good if somewhat stormy week.

A mixed bag

Another wonderful sunrise, over the mist.

It has been a week of fearful weather... rain and strong winds, but also lovely days when the temperature feels just right for planting good things to eat. All the seeds I put in the ground germinated straight away!
                                                                           And here, clouds being born...

Busy bee. It's all beginning to happen.

Some pigs I met on a lovely walk I took near our monte

Here is what our bit of land looks like from another high hill...

I love these deserted houses, dotted about the place. This one is in a small valley, with a few other houses nearby, also deserted, but the orange trees are still bearing fruit. Great for a refreshing snack on a walk.

I made two loaves of bread, from spelt I ground in the hand mill, and cooked on top of the wood burner. Very tasty.

I always forget that January and February are very hard months. I manage, but usually with a grim determination. The real winter with storms, rain, cold. Last year it was draught conditions; cold, dry, sunny, dusty! This year it's been wet, which is a blessing as the wells and aquifers get refilled, and windy, which I must admit drives me mad! I can handle ordinary wind, but those gale force blasts really got me this year. I think it was the fear if the tin roof flying away leaving us without our shell! The great thing (one of the many great things) about this part of the world is that the winters are short.  Anyway, we got through it. Now the weather is much more Spring-like and things are coming up in the garden and around.

We have put up a line of electric fencing round the vegetable garden in the hope that that will deter the b****** goats. I think having my garden marauded so many times really did me in. I've been down with a bad cold . I blame the goats!

I have stuck in cuttings of rosemary along the sides of beds which will grow up to be windbreaks, and also have some box plants for the same reason.

A L Solar have installed a solar hot water system and yesterday there was enough sun to heat the water. Steaming! I had my first hot shower here. We still have to sort out the grey water outlet. Make it further away from the house. The chickens love it. They look for food scraps from the washing up.

R has planted two almond trees on the same level as the two macadamia trees which I grew from seed, but which look rather weedy. I hope they pick up as the weather warms up. I have planted an apple and a diospero (persimmon) in the garden, and some kiwi vines and some wild grape, along with some avocados grown from seed. They grow well in this part of the world, as long as they don't get too cold.

R has been digging deep into the side of the hill for the next rainwater tank. The rain has stopped that activity for a bit as it is dangerous taking filled wheelbarrows of gravel and sand down the steep, slippery path. He has been barrowing large quantities and it is an amazing feat of strength and endurance... Now he's dragging up chestnut tree trunks whcih he sawed down. There are some dead ones standing. They have wood bug on the surface, but look to be good wood inside. They are heavy pieces and they have to come UP which is hard work!

So things are looking brighter and there has been no sign of any goats since we put up the electric fence... I wonder if they know...

spring is Round the Corner

What a site this was! The sun rose over the mist and through the tree tops, causing long misty rays. Ah, it's almost not peaceful, it's so exciting, sometimes..

The chickens are really becoming relaxed and free. At first they stayed near their penned-in area and ate mostly from their feeder, but now, they go all over the place, mostly up to the area around the house, which is more level.  If we are not careful, they will undermine the land and the house will slip down the hill... They seem to find it difficult to do their dust baths on the slope, nearly falling over when they try.

Oh, look at us go! After hearing my friends say how much they longed to dance, Gail organised a venue where anyone can come to dance for an hour. For two euros.  We bring our music and just get on down and boogy.  The venue is Friexial and it's lovely. The wooden floor is perfect, the sound system is excellent, and the view... well, you have to come and dance and enjoy. Thursdays from 4 to 5.
We, R and me, have been going to yoga with Charlie in Vale Bejinha. It is sooo good. Charlie is a great teacher and we both feel completely brilliant and knackered after an hour or so of his class.

The anti chicken/goat/sheep/dog fence is now in place and I am very conscientious about closing the gate, these days. I have been digging in muck and rotted straw into the beds and generally getting very hot and tired, making it all look really good. Next, I will start planting beans, peas, etc. This is a really windy site and I hope to grow some wind break, as the plants (and buildings) really take a beating. Well, we are right next to a wind mill!