The Heat Is On ..............

After experiencing one of the worst winter's in over 100 years in Portugal (a quote I have heard before in other countries when on holiday either be it for the summer or the winter!) with the contintous downpours and cloudy days, we are now well and truly into the "hot, hot summer months", well into the mid 30's and rising !!

We decided to try out our first full winter here managing with just the open log fire to see how we coped and which way forward we should go with the heating aspect. Well, I can tell you it was absolutely bloody freezing at times in the house!!!!! Never lived anywhere where it can be warmer outside than inside during the winter months!!!! How I wished so many times for the "flick of a switch" to turn on the gas central heating. Anyway it is not an option to have gas central heating as mains gas in not available here in this part of Portugal. We have looked into the other various methods of central heating, mainly using log burners with boilers run either on oil or logs and the one we would have chosen for its potential and economy unfortunately is not achievable for us to fit, due to the location of our fire place as we have a staircase running behind the fire wall down to the cellar so a back boiler cannot be fitted. We have fitted 2 low cost electric panel heaters, one in the bedroom and kitchen and have a portable oil-filled radiator. We have had several double glazed windows and doors fitted to stop the draught and are, this week, having two more double glazed windows with mosquito blinds fitted in the lounge and the french door is to be fitted soon after.

After a lot of thought we have decided to go down the "air conditioning route". We were thinking of having a log burner fitted into the fire place but since the hot weather has kicked in we decided that air con would solve both our heating issues - the cold and the heat !!!! The hot continuous days during the summer means the house heats up unbearably and is so intense that even opening windows has very little effect on cooling down the rooms so this week we have had an inverted air conditioning unit fitted in the lounge and our initial opinion is that it "is bliss" to sit in cool comfort. As the air con provides instant heat we are definitely having a unit fitted in the bedroom which will also cure the damp issues which we have found occurs during the winter months with the extreme difference in daily/nightly temperatures. Our house is of the more modern build and is not built out of stone with 2 feet thick walls which work both as heat insulators during the winter and in the summer keeping the house cool. Also our roof needs insulating as in the summer the heat comes through and in the winter we lose the heat. That job is on our "to do list" but it will be later on as it will be a large project for us to renovate the loft into living accommodation.

Moving on to our current project - the fish pond and renovation of the "shed". The pond, however cannot be finished until we have brought over the pond filters and airiarators from the UK which will be later in the summer. However, we have almost finished cladding the shed in stone, the rendering and painting, and the stone cladding to the pond walls where possible before fixing the pond liner and it is beginning to look quite pretty.
The pictures show the original concrete shed and caging which we assume was used either as a chicken run or aviary and our new "mini casa" and pond to be which we have named "Anglers Inn". I have a sneaky feeling Rob is thinking of turning the garden shed into his adega (wine cellar) hence the name of the shed !!!!! Can't wait to start digging the pond out in this heat !!! Not!!!!

We have a family of black redstarts nesting in the shed wall so we have had to work round them and leave their "hole in the wall" nest as they have 3 hungry chicks and don't seem at all to mind us being there as they continue to fly in and out taking food for their little ones.

Veggies growing well !!! .........

Posting a few pictures taken this week of the veggie plots and are amazed just how quickly the veggies are growing - well chuffed also as we are more or less first timers at growing our own!!! We had very little experience growing veggies in the UK so we are now making a serious effort and really enjoying having the time to learn how to!!!!


We did bring a variety of seeds with us from the UK and I have had successes and failures. The difficult part is germinating as in the early spring months although the temperature can be high in the daytime it does plummet at night so germination can be tricky. We recently dismantled a bird aviary attached to the garden shed which we intend at a later date to renovate into a greenhouse which will help to germinate. Most seedling plants can be bought very cheaply at local garden stores so plants such as tomatoes are better bought already as seedlings.
I did plant some peas straight into the garden in April then replanted them into one of the new veggie beds and are now picking them and have to say they are delicious !!!!

Also planted are runner beans, beetroot, onions, strawberries, peppers, courgettes, parsnips, leeks, lettuce and cucumbers and, of course, tomatoes. The tomatoes are doing excellent and we have about 15 tomatoes already on the plants. We grew a batch of onions through the winter and are happily munching our way through those. We reaped about 4 kilos and delicious they are - so fresh - nothing like the ones from the supermarket!


Can't show you the strawberries as I have only had 6 as yet and have already eaten those !!!!

Cherry Season

Our village, Montes Da Senhora, is famous for being a cherry growing region and this year (with more time on my hands I promised my friends, Filomena and Jose, I would help them with their cherry picking which they sell on to traders. The village has a traditional week-end Festival in the middle of May every year to celebrate the beginning of the season with the usual festivities going off such as the local dancing groups and singers, with games, selling of cherries, arts and crafts, plenty of food and the drinks flowing and ending with an all night DJ dance party for the younger members. Sadly the weekend of the Festa the weather was appalling, cold, windy and during the afternoon of the main festa day we had a thunderstorm!!!! (Why I wonder did that remind me of similar happenings in the UK, particularly at Bank Holidays and Festivals!!!) Unfortunately this year, owing to the more than usual amount of rainfall and lack of sunshine the cherries were not really ready in their normal abundance for the time of year. However, this last week has seen lots of sunshine and therefore the ripening of the cherries is well underway.

This morning I went to the cherry orchard of my friends to help out and got stuck into picking.



Picking the cherries will be ongoing for weeks now until they have finished ripening so all that remains now is to make loads of cherry jam, pies, crumbles, vodka cherry, etc., and watch the waistline expand even further !!!!!!!

Magical May 16th.... The wait is finally over!!!!

As anyone who knows me will tell you fishing is my ultimate passion, and i have been going since being knee high to a grasshopper, coming up 40 years now, and have been eagerly awaiting the opening day of the fishing season here in Portugal.
For the fourteen months we have been here in Portugal i haven't had the opportunity or time to go fishing due to work issues and I also didn't get to bring my fishing tackle over until November of last year, and it has been the longest ever in my life that I haven't cast a line, so to speak.
Having spent hours searching and locating the ideal location I have at last found the perfect place, not too far away, and it is absolutely stuffed full of naturally bred wild carp and achega (river bass),the exact location of which I will only reveal to close friends and locals.
On our first visit (with brother and friends we blanked, only managing one bite and immediately got snapped off, 2nd visit we achieved 15 carp and on the 3rd visit managed 30 plus carp so we have finally cracked it and I am sure with further sessions we will catch more and more fish for sure, as it takes time to get to know a venue and the various depths, mood swings etc, etc of such.
Anyhow here are a few pics to show - I know not everyone is interested in fishing so I won't bore you all to death!!!!, so till next time tight lines.....

"Family Time" and digging out the new fish pond

No posts over the last 6 weeks as we have been busy having family staying over and, at last, have been taking time off (well at least I have achieved it) apart of course from cooking for my guests and being a great host!!!! Rob, however, couldn't resist the lure of a spade and a bag of cement and with the help of my brother Rob, they decided to get stuck in and start digging out for the new fish pond. After a few beers to discuss their planning strategy, they quickly dug out for the foundations and it soon began to take shape. The best place for the pond it was decided was to be in front of the shed which was used by the previous owners as either a chicken pen or an aviary so the metal caging was removed (which will later be used to create a "greenhouse" to germinate my seeds). The shed exterior will be clad partly in stone and painted to pretty it up and the shed itself will be used for gardening tools.





We intend bringing a filter box from our pond back home in the UK and the butyl lining can be purchased from here. The exterior walls of the pond are to be clad in stone with a marble pathway to the rear. The fish for the pond will be caught by Rob from our local rivers and the next blog will be about Rob's fishing adventures !!!!!!

The Dams Are Full ..............

In our last blog we told you about the colossal amount of rainfall Portugal has had this winter and to give you an idea of what a difference it has made to the rivers, I am posting a few pictures we took today down at Froia River Beach and a few from last summer! This River Beach is only 5 minutes away from us and is very popular in the summer with locals and tourists using the river beach for bathing and sunbathing, having BBQ's and picnics.

Last summer after the drought of the winter, Froia River Beach almost ran dry, which was such a shame as there is a lovely restaurant with outside terracing and we like to go there for a coffee in the afternoon and people watch. There are some lovely BBQ and picnic areas and beautiful walks. In the summer families, from babies to the grannies all go together to have a "family day outre ".

We read in the newspaper that almost all the Dams in Portugal (and there are many) are mostly 95% full whereas this time last year some were less than a quarter full!!!!!!!




These are a couple of pictures I took last summer when the river was empty:-

Rainy weather is stopping play!!!!

Another morning and yet again waking up to more rain - actually I should say this morning we have more of a heavy mist, although it looks like we have had a fair amount of rain during the night. Nothing unusual in that - I am beginning to wonder where on earth all this rain is coming from!!!! The difference in temperature and amount of sun from this time last year to this is amazing!!!! Last March you could barely dig the earth as it was so dry, the grass was like dried hay and everyone was screaming "we need rain". It is a year ago this week when we accidentally started a fire when a spark flew off as Rob was grinding off a concrete post and got carried away in the wind over to the plot opposite, giving me one of the biggest frights of my life!!!! Well this winter we have had rain, rain, and more rain, with an odd bright sunny warm day thrown in just to keep us sane. Having moaned about the rain here, and knowing what you have had in the UK, you have our sympathies with what you having to deal with!!!

After finishing off the kitchen we had promised ourselves a rest but as usual it a case of well we may as well get off outside to crack on with the garden "before the summer" when it will be too hot. We made a good start and cracked off a couple of veggie beds and gravelled some pathways. Rob is attempting to build his BBQ but this last week has been so hampered by the rain we have had to give in and spend time doing other stuff. The trouble is when its raining I don't feel inclined to go out sightseeing so Rob came up with the idea of building a workspace area (or store space which I am calling it) in the cellar so we decided to have a day at that. Lucky me - no day off lazing around!! We had some worktops left over from the kitchen so Rob built up some concrete walls for the worktops to sit on. That enticed us to tidy up the cellar as it was looking like a scrap yard with rubbish, tools lying around, clutter, etc., Guess what, before I could turn around, Rob had managed to store all his fishing gear nicely under the worktops, but he did kindly leave me a gap for some shopping storage. The worktop itself will be the home for liquid stock, etc., as we are trying to do a once/twice monthly shop.






On another rainy day we had drive out to view a Dam called the Barragem da Pracana) near Envendos, as Rob wanted to see if he could find a fishing spot. With all this rain its looking like all the Dams here are full so that means the rivers will be running well and it also means the River Beaches this summer will be good as our local one last year ran dry! There is a lovely waterfall near to the Dam but it was raining so hard we couldn't bring ourselves to walk down the muddy track to go find it!



Many of the designated fishing areas are sometimes too inaccessible for Rob as he needs to drive his van close to a fishing spot to unload all his fishing tackle. He did manage to find one at this Dam, (pictured above). The scenery looked lovely with all the wild-flowers at the roadside and in the mountains.





Yesterday the forecast was for rain first off then cloudy so we decided to nip off to Castelo Branco to do a big shop. For once, we were able to do a supermarket shop without the necessity of going to several DIY shops buying copious amounts of work materials!!! (which bores me to death!). For our journey to Castelo we take the B road which although it is a winding, up and down country road, there is always little traffic which makes it a pleasure. And I have to say although it was cloudy the scenery is stunningly beautiful. Even more so at this time of the year. We didn't get to see it like this last year as it was such a dry winter but an advantage of plenty of rain has encouraged the wild flowers to bloom. It is such a spectacular sight to see an abundance of purple and white heathers, yellow and white gorse, various blossoming trees in the hillsides and then in the fields and roadsides, wonderful displays of wild flowers, beautiful carpets of yellow, blue, purple and white flowers and red poppies. Unfortunately I didn't have the camera with us but I will try and capture some on our next trip out.

One of the reasons I love this country so much is that every time you leave your front door, the scenery is constantly changing and there is always something new to see. There are so many various trees, fruits and olives, flowers and shrubs that there is always a continuous display in their varying stages of bloom, from the blossoms to the fruits, there are always different fruits at different stages of the season. The rainy weather accentuates the varying shades of greens of the pine trees, eucalyptus and other trees and the colours of the stone on the mountains stand out even more which makes it so picturesque.