Tuesday, July 31, 2018
Day 288
Yesterday we also planted four new fruit trees. Four of the new orchard trees didn't take- and we had two Bramley and two Damson trees needing to go in the ground.
Day 287 Piggies out!
Sunday- the pig field is secure with the new fence and electric line.
The pigs are having a ball- chasing each other around the house and then snoozing in the sunshine.
Day 286
Saturday 28th July- irrigation in, and 8 new mulberry trees planted where the original orchard was.
A couple of the original trees are coming back up from the base- looks like it's the rootstock coming up- Quince- but we're happy with that- the pigs love them.
A couple of the original trees are coming back up from the base- looks like it's the rootstock coming up- Quince- but we're happy with that- the pigs love them.
Friday, July 27, 2018
Day 283
All through what were the pine woods are eucalyptus saplings- my mission this week is to weed them all out. I'm leaving a few on the boundary for timber in a few years time. The crazy thing is there were never many eucalyptus here at all- we had just four large trees on four hectares (marking our boundaries). The fire has germinated the seeds from those few trees and the land is now covered with them.
It's quite a worry that, on uncared for plots of land, there will be eucalyptus popping up all over- they are not good for the environment (not being native) or future fire risk.
It's quite a worry that, on uncared for plots of land, there will be eucalyptus popping up all over- they are not good for the environment (not being native) or future fire risk.
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Monday, July 23, 2018
Day 279
Felling more burnt trees on the far side of our land- with some help from our neighbours. 
A landrover full of mulch for the garden
Day 277- butterflies
The butterflies are just amazing this summer- it's like being in our very own butterfly garden
Fritillaries love the Zinnias, and the Nepeta is full of whites.
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| Painted Lady |
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| Fritillary |
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| Small white |
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Day 275
The piggies are here!
3 little girls- about 7 weeks old, and they have settled in brilliantly.
Breed is Duroc (about 80% Duroc, 20% Alentejo black pig)
Monday, July 16, 2018
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Monday, July 9, 2018
Day 265 Saturday 7th July
The tractor replacement arrived today- which means we can do some rotavating finally
Monday, July 2, 2018
Day 258 help from Down Under
Poor Phil and Peter were only here for a day and we got them working!
We now have the pig fence re-installed and the pig house is almost finished.
We now have the pig fence re-installed and the pig house is almost finished.
Day 257
When we first started cutting the burnt trees, we noticed one or two with a little green in them, so we stopped cutting immediately, and only brought down the very damaged ones.
Eight months on and more trees which looked completely dead are now putting out new green shoots. A few stone pines are showing life, as is the Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) and a Fig tree which our neighbour Tose gave us. The Catalpa bungee (dwarf bean tree) has grown back completely and others such as the Liriodendron (tulip tree) and Magnolias are shooting from the base. Most of the roses have also come back.
Eight months on and more trees which looked completely dead are now putting out new green shoots. A few stone pines are showing life, as is the Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) and a Fig tree which our neighbour Tose gave us. The Catalpa bungee (dwarf bean tree) has grown back completely and others such as the Liriodendron (tulip tree) and Magnolias are shooting from the base. Most of the roses have also come back.
