Author: Andrea
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Ronaldo, our Billy
We’ve had a new arrival this week, Ronaldo. He’s unbelievably stinky, and he’s our new Billy goat. When a friend mentioned that she knew of a male goat seeking a new home, having been abandoned once and now unwanted, I grabbed the opportunity. Until now we’ve been borrowing the services of a Billy from goat more »
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Calendula Hand Scrub
I liberated a couple of calendula plants from a pile of builder’s rubble in the springtime. I planted them in one of our soft fruit beds, intending to save some seed and plant amongst the veggies to confuse the pests with their bright flowers. They’ve done so well that I’ve got flowers aplenty. The petals make a more »
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Making Jeropiga
Phew! The last dorna full of fermented juice has now been transferred into the last barrel. So that’s the bulk of the wine making completed for the year. We can sit back now and dream of a merry new year. There’s nothing better than a glass of your own homemade wine infront of the woodburner more »
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Grape Harvest
It’s been a very busy, but enjoyable, few weeks as we’ve been doing our annual grape harvest. Coupled with Jeroen’s continued work on the straw bale project we’ve been stretched to get everything done, but it’s one of my favourite times of year, the weather has been lovely and it’s been good fun. more »
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It’s a strange world
It’s a balmy evening at Casalinho as I write. The animals are all shut up for the night and the bats, which I never tire of watching, are beginning to appear. Our dinner tonight will be based around tomatoes and red peppers which I harvested from the garden just an hour ago. It’s hard to more »
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Brambles
It’s been awhile since I’ve reported on activities, but we’ve got an enormous amount done over the past weeks. It’s been our busiest time of year in terms of number of volunteers, and we’ve been fortunate to have had an amazing group here, both in terms of their numbers and their energy. Although I’ve been more »
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Laundry Day
Without sufficient electricity to run a washing machine, laundry day involves scrubbing the old fashioned way. But allow Leticia and Christophe to demonstrate an alternative approach …. For those who don’t recognise the scene, this is the river at Unhais o Velho where there are more »
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What to write?
I’ve not updated the blog for a while. Firstly because Jeroen has been off on his Straw Bale Course (which by all accounts was superb, but more about that some other time) and I’ve been really busy in his absence, but secondly because I’ve not been able to think of the right things to say. more »
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Save me from the Tyranny of Goats!
In this part of the world every village, large and small, has it’s annual festa. It’s an excuse for some music, perhaps some dancing, certainly some drinking, and an opportunity for the community to celebrate together. The festa of Aradas, organised by the Comissão de Melhoramentos de Aradas, will be held this year on the 30th more »