Growling

Wind-guru predicted 0.2mm, then out of the unlikely sky it rained nearly 2" (5cm) in an hour, and the waterfalls of winter start tumbling down the channels of the hills.  A thing of great beauty to the senses! The valley is turning green again, the river is running, and the land is growling with the life that water brings.    It's the 8th of September.

Yes this blog is somewhat delayed. This is all due to change any day now as soon as my smart-phone arrives from ebay, and I can carry it in my pocket and take photos in all the places where I would say "iwishihadmycamera", and save ready to blogulate at the drop of a hat. Hey that's my excuse anyway....

The autumn started wet, then dry and very warm, and rain started again this week, very good indeed. Medronho berries are plentiful this year and we have been picking for a month and coming to the top of our 3rd 125 litre barrel...

The first acorns are starting to sprout from the plantings of the first week of October, and the second wave of planting starting this week - going for maybe 750 this autumn, and then chestnuts...

The geese are happy happy! After a summer subsisting on grains and a few cabbage and spinach leaves a day, they now again have GRASS! and plenty of it.  They also have occasional days out at the pond....

Here's a thing... the geese were moved their new grassy area on 15th October. Today is 2nd November, and the one female of the 3 is now sitting on 13 eggs!!l And these eggs are enormous. About 10cm long. One egg all spring and summer. And the normal production is one every 4 days. Well, I'm pretty amazed anyway...

The internship is on - here we are making one of the new-design garden beds, and planting out....


.... remember? 2 sunken channels filled with compost or manure, making 3 planting beds in each complete bed...

Left to right, left picture, Andre, Steve, Luic and myself,  right picture, Rubin on left (far too small to see properly, or that he is taking lettuce plants out of a seed-tray (or are they onions?))

I could go on and try to recapitulate the events and peoples of the last 2andahalf months, but I am instead going to write another in a couple of weeks.  The autumn is a beautiful time of water's return and beautiful greenness and growth, rotting, fungi and life everywhere.  Growling!

To finish, here's a funky picture of, left to right, David, Megan and Ella at their "shop"in front of the houses here...

Enjoy the Autumn!   Plant some acorns and do guerilla re-aforestation!!