Happy Haloween

I managed to give away all the enormous pumpkins we grew. I kept back the biggest for myself (naturally), and also gave one of our neighbours (Vasco) another. I don't think he'd ever carved a pumpkin before and was so excited. He's coveting mine now he's seen it and I've promised to give it to him tomorrow.

Tea time

A while ago I treated myself to a couple of rather pretty teacups and have waited to use them. I'm a coffee drinker, I only ever have tea to dunk biscuits into or if I'm ill, today I feel a bit poorly so decided to get the cups out. I felt obliged to make a cake to go with the tea, and as it's the season, a coffee and walnut cake got made. I don't feel any better but loved looking at it all and made me feel homesick......such an english thing to do.

Grapes of Ruff

Like Rick, Fred is a hunter gatherer. He has wide ranging tastes already. Following fox scents on his first day out, digging for what i can only guess at maybe being truffles the following day. He has an appetite for peaches he's found on the ground, along with figs, tomatoes, green manure, persimmons, walnuts, chestnuts, hazelnuts, acorns, apples, and now as this picture amply illustrates, grapes. What next? Today the chickens had a narrow escape, who knows what tomorrow will bring.

water, water everywhere and quite a lot to drink...

The borehole water on our land tastes good but the spring water is like nothing else. I don't know if I am just romanticising 'cos it's coming out of the ground and through a rather lovely looking hole in one of the terrace walls, or because it's icy cold...but I swear it's got something else in it, some life giving elements that really do make it taste better and make you feel better. Anyway it's back and we are all happy especially the dogs who can't get enough.

Caramulo bike museum

Caramullo car museum

There is no shortage of stuff to do here, just a shortage of time to do it. Thank god for visitors who make us take time off to see what else is out there.....

Puppy love

Oh yes, they do call it puppy love and we are.....
On Sunday we drove to Salamanca to pick up our puppy who had travelled by courier (not the bike kind!) all the way from Diss in Norfolk. He is adorable, just over 4 months old, beautiful markings and colour, very very biddable, already doing most things we have asked him and fitting in with the existing animals. Not sure what the chickens made of him pointing at them but at least that's what he's supposed to do, well not chickens but other birdy type things!
Anyway for those of you that don't know, his name is Fred and he's a German Shorthaired Pointer and we love him.

Rural rap

Can't get the hang of how to make movies, I don't quite know how I managed to make the go-kart movie. I can't remember what I did, must have been that knock on the head. Anyway, here's a full length bit of film footage, rather sweet in it's raw state. You'd think i'd have nothing better to do than fiddle around with films and photos and update the blog constantly, but despite the rain I seem to be rather busy. Must dash....

Luscious lasagne

Freshly picked aubergines, walnuts, peppers and courgettes (the last, thank god!), home-made tomato sauce all put together as a lasgne and cooked off in the bread oven. YUM YUM. Oh and freshly picked leaves and baby toms.

Streets paved with gold, well maize actually

Windfalls and wild gatherings

Autumn always reminds me of getting ready for something.....the days here are still warm and sunny (except for today which is rainy) and the light has changed, it's even bluer, except for today 'cos it's raining.
The nights are a bit chilly and fires have been lit.
Gathering stuff from the wilds is our favourite thing to do, storing or preserving and putting to bed. Lots of chestnuts being eaten by the fire, cooked up apples and quinces with custard! risottos of wild mushrooms...all sounds very English don't it?
There is still plenty of work to be done, the brassicas are in for the winter, green manures coming up, broad beans and onions and garlic planted. Huge bonfire has been made but not lit. Still waiting for the peppers, aubergines and tomatoes to finish so I can tidy them away......

and then there were three......

Unfortunately we had to cull one of the chickens, she had suddenly become very poorly and couldn't breathe, we tried lots of things to help her, including poking a feather covered in oil down her throat. I spent hours on-line trying to find out what could be wrong with her and lost sleep over the whole thing.
I now have a wealth of knowledge about preventative measures you can take to keep your chickens well, but when it comes to cures there are really only two options, well three actually, make them comfy and see if they get better on their own, take them to a vet and three put them out of their misery.
We tried the first option, the second option got taken out of the whole process as they only cost €8 each, and we couldn't justify spending more than that on them in their entire lives, esp. as I can't afford to go to a physio about my knee, so the third option it was.

Harvest festival

thanks to all who helped carry the pumpkins up to the truck and then helped eat huge pumpkin curry

It's raining it's pouring

Outside our house yesterday...........

Mega Arroz Doce

The last of our summer events took place here yesterday.
An enormous 3 meter wide pot was bought in from Lisboa and Intermarche supplied the ingredients, the local spoonmaker made the spoons and the cooks from the Centro cooked the pudding. A crazy idea but it worked. A fantastic day was had by all, the roads of Benfeita were closed off, people came from all over to watch and eat. Some of the local artisans had been asked to set up stalls, including Rick who much to the bemusement of the locals, stood and made a paddle using an axe! The event marked the end of the cafe and the end of the summer. Loud thunder threatened us all day, with a few spots of rain here and there and quite literally, as everything was winding down and the pudding had been eaten, an enormous gust of wind blew in, sending the sheet music for the band that were playing and giant Lime leaves, everywhere. The heavens properly opened for the first time in months and the village was reduced to a river of mud in a matter of minutes, lightning lit up the sky and thunder so loud you'd have thought the mountains were collapsing around us.
A very dramatic end to the whole day and the whole summer. There is a distinct chill in the air today, Autumn has arrived..........