A time of changes

Ok, ok, I haven't blogged for quite a while.  It has been full-on!  With work, and with transforming dynamic happening.   This spring is a time of big change.

Chaym and Petra have departed, after 4 years. We have a new couple, Ian and Aga, in charge of the vegetable garden - but with a contribution going well beyond that. And Ben, my wife Krissy's son, is occupying the house vacated by C and P,  and with a contibution going well beyond occupying the house, he is taking the innards apart and reconstructing it.

The new energy is, after some months of limbo, good for the spirit.

Here is the section of the garden which we have re-created, with all-new design, over the last 2 weeks..

... and the part next to it which is now undergoing the same kind of transformation....

The change has come about quite naturally,  Chaym and Petra made a great contribution here, and,  having come from Israel after many years there, staying at the Várzea allowed them to make connections, settle, and have a home for their growing family.


Here is a picture of our new co-gardener and overall inspiration helping to give whole new spring-clean to the energy here at the Várzea, Aga....




.... her partner Ian is presently in the UK and I don't have a photo to put up yet, but shortly....


The people dynamic of the Várzea isn't something that can be so easily managed.  Humans are full of  complexity, and you never know what you're going to get next.  So I always feel privileged when I get to live and work with people who are happy, creative and with enthusism for action.

Meanwhile, we are in the thick of making a complete re-construction of another of the main houses here - the second guest house, which, due to strange internal geography, could never be a great space for living in.  This year, finally, we are making the big changes. contemplated for a decade.


Ben, with my labouring help, removed all the internal wall render and re-did it with lime instead of cement - the lime breathes and with our traditional rammed-earth walls, this is the traditional, and best, way.  A ton of lime and over 4 cubic metres of sand wheel-barrowed up to the work site  Now, re-tiling the whole floor area of the house, and the kitchen and bathroom walls, and plumbing, electrics - for sure I'll be happy when 'tis all done, and we have a re-modelled house, with living room leading to the outside terrace instead of 2 bedrooms at the front.

And meanwhile, the month of May has flown in, with the first heat of the year - temps in the 30's for t he 3rd day today. Not welcome, with the river very low already after a dry winter and spring.

My brother John was here again recently, always great to see, also for Megan, for whom he's a big favourite.  Here's a super local beach, Carriagem,  where we spent an afternoon    Beautiful, what?.

In between-times I shall be cutting again the 2 hectares or so of nascent food-forest - for fire-protection, land-health, and aethetics.  Despite dryish conditions, spring brought monster growth - reflecting the general improvement of soil health.  

Satisfying work, bring my developing food-forest out of the chaos of spring growth madness, prior to getting the irrigation systems running again.

I anticipate this being the last year when I need to cut so much.  Next year I intend having half a dozen more geese, as well as at least one donkey to help with the job. In fact more use of animals generally, as part of the continuing development of the project.

I also anticipate it being a year of opening, pickup up the energy of evolution of Várzea in several directions. Mostly things that have been here for a while,  not yet fully materialised, and things that have been in the pipeline, which may now come into the daylight.

More of that anon..

Here now I'm getting this blog up onto the World Wide Web, with intentions to pump them out more snappily hithertofore....

Até já!