Velagota

2012

2012-01-23T04:27:00.000-08:00

All our visitors have gone for the time being and we are trying to get back into a 'normal' regime again!
The weather is beautiful here currently, and it really does inspire you to get out on on the land. We've been making the most of our precious days off, back in the woods, doing some clearing. It really is so rewarding when you face the day with an overgrown mess and end up with a lovely clear piece of ground.

It really feels like Spring is here, Glorias goats are in kid again and there is a hive of activity around the valley with everyone tying in their vines and getting prepared for the growing season.The first crocusses are popping up now aswell.

The two remaining pigs are very happy- it's given the smaller one of the original three a chance to catch up a bit growth-wise now the big fat greedy male has gone in the freezer!

The Geese are starting to get frisky and are acting very strangely!

Christmas '11

2011-12-29T03:40:00.000-08:00

Just can't believe how quickly Christmas has come round this year! Very lucky to have the family out with us this year- so preparations started early -making the Christmas Cake and mincemeat, and preparing for a pig to be dispatched and birds to be plucked! The boys were in charge of all the meat- they boned and prepared 7 birds - a pair of quails, inside a bantam cockerel, inside a duck, inside a guinea fowl, inside a goose, inside a turkey!

The wild boar/ Iberian black pig has been a great success and made the best sausages and bacon ever!

We've also had the underfloor heating installed and next layer of concrete poured so it has made for the warmest and most comfortable Christmas here yet- every year we progress a little bit more!

olives, dogs and the odd pig...

2011-11-14T03:44:00.000-08:00

Olives '11

2011-11-07T01:55:00.000-08:00

My blogs posts are like buses- you wait ages for one, and then three come along at once!!
I've been (quite rightly!) nagged by a few people to keep up with the blogging- so I promise to make more of an effort and post less erratically!!

Sooooooooo here we are again- with the olive harvest- its' just come around oh so quickly!!! The weather has been terrible recently- very stormy so we have lost a few on the floor but otherwise the harvest is looking fairly good!

A break in the weather meant we could have a fantastic day picking in the autumn sunshine. These are the days we treasure- and what being here on this old quinta is all about.

We've had some help from Ish- as she is here at the moment- tempted her with a roast duck dinner and a couple of tankards full of black velvet- how could she refuse!!

PURO launch

2011-11-07T01:31:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who came along to our exhibition. It was a lovely opportunity to show our friends what all the soap fuss has been about!

We received lots of wonderful feedback and Ishbel and I were even asked for our autographs!!

We're all still buzzing from our fantastic evening!!

No rest for the wicked tho'- up the next morning wrapping soaps for a local shop and then straight into the olive harvest!

November 1st

2011-11-07T01:12:00.000-08:00

We just had to go and have a look at the cemetary on November 1st- All Saints Day. all the locals put flowers and light candles on the gravestones of their lost love ones.

I thought it perhaps sounded a bit depressing but the sight of the beautiful cemetary all lit up was totally amazing.

sky, parties and lazy dogs

2011-11-02T16:32:00.000-07:00

A couple of photos of the amazing sunsets we've had recently.

We've been partying as usual- this is a birthday cake we made for Cris who Paul builds swimming pools with- it's supposed to be a pool construction site!

Tose also had a birthday and i'm still trying to learn to dance but Gloria does have to watch her feet!

All too much for lazy dogs..

PURO SOAPS

2011-09-20T01:26:00.000-07:00

Alot of you will now know what I've been busy on with Ishbel- a new Portuguese soap range- which will be officially launched in November. Check out Ishbel's blog to follow the progress:
http://naturallymadesoaps.blogspot.com/2011/09/portugal-soap-and-lots-more.html

SOAP STUFF!!

2011-09-05T02:00:00.000-07:00

Loads of soap action going on currently! I'm afraid it's that time to start thinking about ranges for Christmas!

Those of you who have stayed with us will have sampled our lovely neighbours 'Vitamina' (our nickname for their home made wine as any hesitation to drink it and you are told it's good for you- vitamins!!). Well although it's pretty palatable- we are given quite alot of it and it's not always our first choice when reaching for an evening glass! AND! if you remember from last years blog- it's had my very own feet squishing the grapes!

Anyway- a couple of people have been saying to me- what about a mulled wine soap for Christmas? and what a fantastic use of spare local red wine.
So I've been experimenting and researching (as adding lye to wine can cause it to explode apparently!) and I've come up with a superb Mulled Wine Soap! It smells of all those lovely Christmassy spices and is totally gorgeous on the skin- believe it or not! (lots of shea butter etc).

Ishbel of 'Naturally Made Soaps' and I have got some really exciting projects happening here- including the launch of a new Portuguese range. We've been playing with some fun stuff aswell,

- see our Fig and Brown Sugar bar here- its apsolutely fab!!

We have both been working really hard with the new project - coming up with our ultimate recipe, brand and logos, and sourcing ingredients as close to home as possible (which isn't as easy as it sounds as the locals have a use for apsolutely everything!)

This week I have been filtering beeswax taken from the hives on our land boundary- which has been a really interesting little project- you really do learn something new every day!

So, watch this space- there will be loads of stuff happening in the soap department of Velagota in the next few weeks!

House

2011-08-27T01:44:00.000-07:00

Some of you might remember the plea for an old toilet cistern? Our friends kindly dug an old one out from their old Victorian Farmhouse (thanks Jack!), and its been sandblasted and re-painted. The toilet and sink came from an old Portuguese barn (thanks Chris!)- and we have created quite a quirky room!

Summer!

2011-08-25T09:48:00.001-07:00

Firstly apologies for being so slack on the blogging front! We have been busy doing all the usual stuff- gardening, watering, weeding, taking care (and taking out some) of the livestock, and soapmaking, cooking and working of course!

I have been away to Norway for a few days which was a refreshing break while Paul took some days out to do some jobs in the house. The vegetable garden has been a bit of a disaster this year due to the poultry (especially the geese) finding their way in again and destroying alot of the salads (eating even the chillis!). 9 geese are now in the freezer along with 3 white ducks and bags and bags of tomato ragout!
Pigs are happy- and very vocal! and doing a great job of clearing the paddock- now they have cleared all the scrub they are heading 'down' to dig over the soil.
The gardens around the house are settling in- although it's a bit of a struggle to keep everything watered, so we've started installing some irrigation.

Lots of exciting projects for the autumn- including a new Portuguese soap range! More to follow :-)

Pigwigs part 2!

2011-05-23T07:24:00.000-07:00

Twiggy on the wrong side of the pigpen!

As you can see I've finally (with some help from Mark) worked out how to post videos- just need to improve my camera skills and we'll have cracked it!!
No alcohol was involved during the making of this film (well not much anyway!)

PIGGGGGSSSS!

2011-05-16T02:11:00.000-07:00

The new piggly wigglies have arrived- they are half wild boar (father) and half iberian black pig (mother). They are apsolutely fantastic- quite small but already very feisty! They're in the small pen for a week or two to get used to their new home and grow a little bit more- then they'll be let out into the newly fenced field!

CRIKEY!

2011-04-24T13:14:00.000-07:00

I hadn't realised that I haven't posted seen the geese started hatching- well it turns out there are 12 goslings- and they are growing fast! We need to move at least the new ones as 17 geese (and their mess!) is just too many to have around the house. We're currently eyeing up another nice grassy terrace for them but it will mean another house and more fencing need to be installed.

We've had a great time with family and friends here. We all went off to Redinha near to Pombal for some climbing- really interesting area. Obviously lots of eating- barby's, roasts, pizzas and fried eels (yes fried eels and they were delicious!!)

Lots of other things have been going on- we have four baby bunnies, and are preparing for three new piggies (wild boar mix!)

The neighbours have been helping us clear out and enlarge the old pig pen (full of rocks that the last pigs uprooted- in fact enough to build another wall!).

We've just about got all the vegies out now- and we've had plenty of rain over the last week to give them (and the weeds!) a good start.

Latest arrivals!

2011-04-03T04:01:00.000-07:00

Love the weekends here- lots going on as usual!

The goslings have been hatching over the weekend- at the last count we had 9- so assuming they all survive we'll need a bit of a plan for them as the house definately isn't big enough!

We've also been to the market this morning and bought a new cockerel- very handsome speckly fella, two new black hens, 5 ducklings and 5 guinea fowl! It's all just a bit exciting!

Planning on having the afternoon getting the vegie beds started and spuds in.

A bit of planting!

2011-03-27T12:07:00.000-07:00

So, in a mad moment this afternoon we decided to plant up the bed by the entrance. At the top is a photo before Paul built the retaining walls to give you a 'before and after'. Since then we've planted three ornamental cherries and today I finally got some other plants in! We've had to put up a goose barrier until the lavender hedge gets established! Some stock I've grown from seed (Euphorbia, Salvia and Achillea) and some were brought from our garden in Pirbright (Festuca and Paeony). Mike bought us some lovely white agapanthus and I've transplanted some blue Iris- so not a bad result really!! Just in time for wine o'clock!

Ice Flower Bowl

2011-03-20T03:03:00.000-07:00

I fancied having ago at an ice flower bowl. We have lots of gorgeous wild flowers popping up- tiny wild pansies and chamomile, damson blossom and lavender.
It's very easy- fill a bowl 2/3rds full with water and 2/3rds of your flowers and place in the freezer.
After a couple of hours when it's beginning to freeze, float another bowl in the top- weighing it down so its an inch or so from the bottom. Put the remaining flowers in the top and freeze until solid.

Pour a little hot water over the bowls to release it and that's it! Lovely to serve fresh fruit in or icecream truffles!

Gate number one!

2011-02-28T01:50:00.000-08:00

We've decided to fence a few areas off from the animals (geese mainly!) so we can concentrate on some garden areas. The first fence and gate was made this weekend- at the entrance to the vegetable garden. It's all recycled- old timbers from the original house ruin forming the gate posts, and steel reo-rod offcuts forming the web- apart from time and 'genius' input it didn't cost a bean!

We've planted a cherry tree just behind the fence, and tidied up the vegie garden- weeding the soft fruit and asparagus beds. Roll on next weekend!

Spring '11

2011-02-26T10:15:00.001-08:00

Lovely day today- the new almonds we planted are in blossom, and the daffs and wild bulbs are all out. The scent of mimosa is in the air.

I've been sowing vegie seeds in the polytunnel and Paul has started on a fence and gate to keep the geese out of the vegie garden (rugby stops play for today!).

Soapmaking Workshop

2011-02-15T05:43:00.000-08:00

Ish from Naturally Made Soaps and I ran a small workshop for some friends here recently.

We experimented with different cold process soaps- one scented with green dill and black pepper using natural charcoal to create a dark grey colour, a gorgeous rose one with colourful layers and soap swirls, balls and tiny flowers, and two natural types- a citrus 'cake' and a gentle chamomile bar.

I think everyone enjoyed the day and I was thrilled to learn some new techniques. Hopefully it's the first of many more workshops here... shame the dogs weren't quite so inspired!

Happy Birthday Dad

2011-02-12T02:12:00.000-08:00

My Dad turned 80 at the end of January so we've been partying hard.

After a great party back in the UK, catching up with old friends and family, Dad, my brothers and I jetted off to Hannover to see Andre Rieu in concert.

We then travelled onto Portugal and continued the celebrations here in the sunshine.

Shout out from Mike!

2011-02-12T02:09:00.000-08:00

first things first- my wonderful brother Mike is over with Dad and he has promised a big wave to his friends back home in Oz- this is us waving (well some of us!)

2011

2011-01-19T02:43:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Mr Barnes!

we had a nice birthday day chilling out at home - i cooked him Thai style fishcakes follwed by Beef Wellington, washed down with a couple of bottles of posh vinho.

back on the quinta we've been out tidying up- weeding round the fruit bushes and digging even more manure into the vegie garden. we sowed some broad beans and started some seeds off in the tunnel. want to get a good early start on the vegies this year!

Happy Christmas!

2010-12-27T12:29:00.000-08:00

The boys did a grand job on the Christmas dinner- doing a five bird roast- boning out two quails, a chicken, a duck and a turkey, all filled in with home-made stuffing and roasted for about 3 1/2 hrs. in the Esse. It was a roaring success and the meat was tender and moist -we'll definately do this one again- maybe next year we'll try it with even more birds.

We've eaten well and shared some nice bottles of wine- chilled out, and been for some good long walks.

Wishing everyone a happy holiday and Great New Year- thanks to everyone who sent cards and pressies xxxx

Olive Harvest 2010

2010-11-23T09:24:00.000-08:00

Almost exactly a year to the day we again find ourselves picking the olives here at Velagota. Only difference from last year was the weather- we had to keep dodging the showers! (good excuse for a wine break!).

Only slightly more than last year- the weight came in at 160kilos. The nice thing about this quinta is the harvest seems to be fairly early which means we are some of the first into the press and avoid the huge queues which will occur over the next week or two.

Shame it's all over for another year!

2010-10-08T01:45:00.000-07:00

Some friends of ours are offering a great olive picking experience this autumn!

http://www.quintadopinheiromanso.com/olive/

Autumn

2010-10-04T08:15:00.001-07:00

Can't believe it's autumn again already. The area's terrible bushfires and drought seem like a distant memory all of a sudden.Lots going on on the quinta as usual. The house continues to progress slowly- the outside is pretty much all painted now and inside improvements include handrails on the main stairs and (more importantly!) a large wine-rack!

We had a great time with Pauls mum- visiting the beach one day and introducing Twiggy to the sea!

I helped the neighbours with their grapepicking last weekend- a brilliant day and the experience gets better and better every year with more understanding of the language and banter!

I've also been busy making Fig jam and am currently making lots and lots of Soap!

summer stuff!

2010-09-03T05:29:00.000-07:00

We've been busy cracking on with the house- painting outside and some inside aswell!

really nice to get a bit of colour and put some of our bits on the wall!

2010-08-03T06:26:00.001-07:00

It's turned very hot here over the last couple of weeks- up to 40degrees quite often and the fireplanes are busy.

I've been planting up a couple of ponds for some people here- nice place to be when it's hot!

Bats in the Belfry!

2010-07-25T02:21:00.000-07:00

We had a couple of visitors yesterday- two long-eared bats had roosted in our stairwell for the day. Don't think they liked our music as they didn't come back this morning!

Can you see our troll in these rocks?!!

soaps are taking over!

2010-07-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

having fun making loads of soap!

2010-07-16T02:15:00.000-07:00

side of the house now painted!

and now for the good news

2010-07-14T08:10:00.000-07:00

We have a new cockerel called Roger (Daltrey) and five new chikkabiddies to keep him company

Also I have an outlet in the UK selling my soaps- check out the new site going global at any moment!!

http://www.simplyportugalsoaps.wordpress.com/

sad post

2010-07-08T01:15:00.001-07:00

Well it can't always be good news on here. We had a bit of a disaster- a fox got into our chicken corral and took all the chickens- it chewed through the electric wire in FOUR places then dug under the fence- I was away, Paul was at work, so the dogs were shut in the house and we can only assume the fox kept coming back throughout the day and helping itself to another meal. Luckily it didn't get the ducklings, rabbits or geese/goslings- but a real shame nevertheless.
The price you have to pay sometimes having free-range animals.
So the next project at the weekend is to super fox-proof the corral again, and start stocking up the hens and a new wife for mr duck who managed to survive.

Soap

2010-06-22T04:39:00.000-07:00

I'm continuing to make new soaps- really enjoying it and selling a few now to friends- these are my current orders.

and back to 'normal'

2010-06-17T06:26:00.000-07:00

Everything is growing like mad- the vegies, the weeds, the wildflowers and the livestock!
We are picking fresh salads, baby carrots, courgettes, cucumbers, spring onions, beans and plenty of raspberries every day, and we will soon have peas, tomatoes and peppers.

We have 11 new ducklings (a muscovy/mallard mixture so will be interesting to see how they turn out) and we bought two new hens from the market who have settled in brilliantly and are already scratching about with the others and laying eggs.

The goslings are growing by the day and we are planning Christmas dinner by thinking about taking out two of last years goslings- the group is getting big now with 9 altogether- so it's either that or their house will need another extension (and we will need an industrial poopickerupper as they are making a right mess!)

We had a small problem when a few of the rabbits mysteriously died after we brought in a new male (who died aswell), but the remaining ones (7or 8) seem to be fine and are enjoying the vegie garden 'thinnings' of carrots and lettuce!

We've been busy cutting and raking up the hay for the animal bedding and you can't help but stop and admire all the wonderful, natural plant combinations- like Allium sphaerocephalon and Sedums growing out of the terrace walls

So that's the quinta update- we continue to work on the house- trying to get the outside painted and get inside walls plastered, doors made etc etc! (thank-goodness for 'wine-o'clock' when we can relax!)

Shell's 21st (oh bum- i mean 40th)

2010-06-04T01:02:00.000-07:00

We have just had the most fantastic weekend- we've partied hard, danced our socks off and enjoyed good company with plenty of food and wine!

We've chilled out in the tub, pic-nicked by the river and strummed on the guitars.

Thanks to everyone who sent cards, messages, pressies and money, and my lovely bar stools- I have just been totally spoilt!

Thank-you to all the guys that shared the weekend with us- we really appreciate the effort- and I had to keep pinching myself just to check you were all actually here and i wasn't dreaming!!

goslings

2010-05-15T06:38:00.001-07:00

latest update 3 more have hatched so we have 4 now! all out and about, grazing on the grass- sooo sweet!!

gosling!

2010-05-09T07:34:00.000-07:00

new arrival today- unfortunately only one, due to certain dogs stealing the eggs early on, and sadly one dead one- but there is still another goose sitting in a nestbox so with any luck we may get some more- its just the cutest, and the whole family is watching over it!

you lookin' at me?!

2010-05-03T09:19:00.000-07:00

2010-05-03T01:07:00.000-07:00

We've been working hard on the entrance garden this weekend. Actually it has been alot of work, digging out the planting areas, building the retaining wall and bringing in new stones and compost.
We have brought in my beautiful two tree ferns which gave the room immediate impact!!

I am also running a little experiment, never been seen before- an inside bog garden!! We've lined and gravelled the bottom area, added new compost, and planted a gunnera (giant rhubarb) and some zantedeschia (arum lily). So watch this space- might be the 'must have' for 2010 in your home!

Lots of other things going on aswell- still trying to get the house painted, get the hot-tub into place, and keep on top of the weeding and strimming as everything is growing like mad!! We also bought some chicks from the market on Sunday- hopefully they will be barbeque size by my birthday weekend! Plus mrs rabbit has had 4 baby bunnies!

walling

2010-04-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

Some work going on in the entrance- railings and banister on the stairs, and a small retaining wall to start planting in here (YIPPEE!!).

lots of other stuff going on- walls by the entrance outside- just need to find some soil from somewhere and I can get my lucky spade out and get some plants in!

Busy busy!

2010-04-12T11:42:00.001-07:00

Finally some dry weather means we can crack on with some outside jobs! We've planted up the vegie garden- squash, beetroot, carrots, spring onions, cabbage, lettuce, radish, tomatoes, courgette, potatoes, cucumbers, spinach, rocket, peas, red onions, and more in the tunnel!!

We've also started painting the house- a big job but its looking fantastic so far!!

Spring-continued!

2010-03-24T11:43:00.001-07:00

Twiggs continues to grow- she's overtaken the Weasel and catching up with Pip fast!! Lot's of exciting stuff going on in the tunnel and a few other jobs getting done, now the evenings are longer!
(with any luck i might have some planting space near the front door/entrance soon- woohoo!!)

Plus the soapmaking project has been a great success!

Spring!

2010-03-07T03:32:00.000-08:00

Still raining but the mimosa in in full flower and when we do get the occasional sunny day the scent in the valley is lovely.
The carnival was a couple of weeks ago (can't believe it's come around again so soon!), a fun day (despite the rain) and a good porkfest the following weekend.

Twiggs continues to grow and is settling in well!!

Ishbel and I http://naturallymadesoaps.blogspot.com/ have been making 300 rose soaps for a ladies dinner here- nice to be doing something a bit different!

railings (and other stuff!)

2010-02-13T10:49:00.001-08:00

We've finished the railings on the veranda- still have to finish the top level and the stairs (the posts need a few alterations).

So in the meantime we've done some bits in the kitchen- putting up some gorgeous new blue tiles.

The quinta is springing into life again- thank goodness for the environmentally friendly lawnmowers (the geese!) who are doing a great job!
We said goodbye to the 4 young male rabbits- one went into a delicious rabbit and venison pie, and the others into the freezer for future velagota meals- what a great and easy (and tasty) animal for the smallholder.

2010-02-01T06:24:00.001-08:00

before

and during
(after to follow!)

We took off the old scaffolding from the verandas yesterday and put up new posts. Just waiting for the steel cable now so we can finish the job. Quite a hairy procedure especially after we'd had lunch with Tose+Gloria!

it's all going on!

2010-01-31T02:03:00.000-08:00

Lot's to report, Tose+Gloria have given us a lovely pair of bantams- they really are a funny looking couple- him resembling what can only be described as a bogbrush!

Paul had a great birthday- we had 12 for lunch- roast pork and plenty of 'vitamina' of course! (and a cake with chocolate piggies on it!)

The rain has finally eased off and we can get on with some jobs again!

We made use of the last couple of days having a digger here, so we have moved the hot-tub down to the house, and dug some planting channels near the entrance by the stone wall.

Yesterday we started on clearing the piece of land at the far end of the house- very interesting and rewarding work as it looks like there is an old track here.

Today we are starting on the railings so we can finally get that horrible scaffolding off around the house!!

squeamish (and vegetarians!) look away now!!

2010-01-12T07:54:00.001-08:00

Sunday was butchery day! We decided to attempt this job on our own (just helped by Tose with the gutting and cleaning on Saturday as this really needs an expert hand). Last year the process was so hectic with neighbours and butchers and their families, we thought we'd try and keep it simple and calm this time! So assisted with our 'Hugh and Ray pig in a day' DVD, a butchers cuts chart, and the knowledge we gained from last year we sharpened our knives, scrubbed down the butchers block and set to work!

Working methodically, (with the odd glass of port to warm us!) we worked our way through- chopping chops, rolling loin joints, and trimming ribs etc etc!

All the offcuts have gone into the mincer and today we're making sausages. It's just been an amazing and rewarding process- knowing that we have happy, out-door reared pork and we managed all the processing ourselves- can't get better than that!!!

Porcos

2010-01-10T08:19:00.000-08:00

Just a quick entry. Our two piggies were dispatched this morning. Like last year they went totally calmly and munching on some pears. I had a surreal moment standing in the falling snow this morning, cleaning the carcasses, looking out over the valley- all of us (Paul, myself and Tose, Gloria and Miguel) with frozen fingers scrubbing the skin with stones. Needless to say it was a 'moment'- can't describe it really but it's a memory that will stay.
Well, we have cleaned and gutted them and had a good lunch of Torresmos (pork, garlic and wine stew!) roast potatoes, and plenty of red wine- with Fado (Portuguese folk music) playing in the background. Off outside in the freezing cold now to bury the unmentionables and have another glass of wine to toast our lovely piggies who had a good outdoor life and a quick and stress-free end.

Bom ano novo!

2010-01-05T08:02:00.000-08:00

Apologies for the lack of posts recently. We have both had a nice quiet Christmas at home and are raring to go for 2010! The weather has been WET WET WET and our well is 'well' and truly overflowing. Our olives harvested just 16litres- next year should be alot more productive (and alot more work, so any volunteers will be gratefully received!!). Twiggy is growing fast and we have a few new chicks on the block- including a lovely pair of bantams!

We've started the new year with some levelling- a nice sized parking area at the entrance to the house, with some planting beds to follow, and we've also have begun to dig out a large water tank- next to the well, ready for the summer.

Our First Olive Harvest -Part1

2009-11-23T04:58:00.000-08:00

Well we didn't think we'd have lot of olives, as it's the first productive olive season we've had
since their heavy pruning last year, but we spent all day Sunday picking (just the two of us as we didn't think we needed the help!) until we ran out of daylight.

First you knock out the olives with a long stick (sort of beat/slide the stick along the stems so it knocks the olives off onto the sheets below). Then you pick out and discard all the stems (a few leaves don't matter as they are taken out at the press)

We took 114 kilos to the press this morning (which should give us about a litre of extra virgin olive oil per 10kilos of olives- so around 11litres hopefully). We have approximately another 40kilos to pick. Next year should be alot more productive (so we'll definately accept the help next time!)

The nice lady at the press was kind enough to give us a tour of the place and show us how they make the oil- the extraction machine, various filters and tanks.

We go back in two days to see what percentage oil was in our olives and how much oil we can get back.

There is an option to pay the press a percentage of your olives in exchange for the cost of the pressing, but as our harvest is so small this year we have chosen to pay the press costs and keep all our oil.

It's all very exciting!!

2009-11-17T03:14:00.000-08:00

Autumn is such a beautiful time here. We have had alot of rain which has greened everything up again and filled our well. The oaks are all taking on a golden hue, the 'azeitonas' are plump with fat olives, and the low sun reflects off the rocks.

We have been busy doing some clearing and tidying up the vegie patch for next year (and putting in loads of horse manure- he's hoping next year will be even more productive!)

I just wanted to share a few images of what it's like here at the moment, as my lovely brother Mike would say- 'Stunning'!! xx

Twigs and Mushrooms!

2009-11-13T04:34:00.000-08:00

The new pup has settled in nicely- her name is Twiggy!

Thea and her mum Anne Dorthe have been staying with us this past week. Dorthe is a wild mushroom expert and has been helping us identify the local mushroom life- really interesting- our hoard has included Parasol mushrooms, Boletes (including a magnificent Cep!), Field mushrooms and Black Chanterelle.

(do not try this at home unless are lucky enough to have 'Madam Mushroom' to advise you!)

new addtition to the Velagota household!

2009-10-24T02:29:00.001-07:00

We've been keeping a lookout for another boxer since we lost Mags last year- the occasional one has come up at the rescue centres aroung the country- but they've either been too far away or not suitable for us. So when we saw this litter advertised in the next village we thought 'aw- lets just go and have a look' (yeh right!). It was a lovely family home with two boxers who were very much part of the family- baskets in the kitchen, children playing with the puppies- so how could we resist?!

Just need to come up with a name now!

New arrivals at Velagota-

2009-10-04T07:15:00.000-07:00

latest photos of new chicks and baby bunnykins- so cute and fluffy- don't mention rabbit pie anyone!

Festa for Tose'

2009-10-04T01:44:00.000-07:00

Tose turned 50 this week and we held the party in our house. Only slightly hectic as you can imagine- not helped by the fact Tose told us it was 25 people right up to the last moment when he announced it was actually 40!

A great party anyway- and no shortage of Leitao (suckling pig) and wine (naturally!), finished off with some fado singing from Gloria and her brother, and some Beatles from me on the guitar! (everybody can sing along to 'Hey Jude'!)

new chicks

2009-09-15T05:03:00.000-07:00

We have had a hen nesting free-range under some branches near the house. It's the second time she's chosen to nest outside the coop- the first time we moved her and her nest, inside the chicken ark, but she wouldn't continue sitting, so this time we've left her alone.
So far she's hatched three chicks- lets hope she hatches them all quickly and we can get them moved safely into the ark.

fun, festas and filth!

2009-09-13T02:18:00.000-07:00

Big job this weekend cleaning out the well. The neighbours and their family members helped us and we thought it would be a pretty straight forward job. Actually it was bloomin' hard work- all emptied out by hand and bucket- we estimated about 5cubic metres of rotten vegetation and soil was dug out.

Lunch was a huge pork and potato stew and lemon meringue pie.

A very good job done- now we have to be very frugal with our water until it fills up again. It's very dry here and we haven't had rain for a couple of months now- so here's hoping!

After a well (haha 'well'- geddit?!!) deserved glass of cold Pimms (courtesy of Rob!) we walked up to the square to watch the dancing.

(apologies for photo quality- due to poor light if you click on the photo you can see the image much more clearly!)

side terrace

2009-09-01T05:59:00.000-07:00

Paul's been working hard while I've been away and we have a lovely new side terrace- I just have one more thing to plant on the left hand side(a dwarf indian bean tree).

Messing about on the river!

2009-08-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

Geese

2009-07-30T02:27:00.000-07:00

The Family- right outside the back door- nice to see them out and about!!

Cheers PigsEars!

2009-07-20T06:50:00.000-07:00

Pigs happy in their new home!

making hay while the sun shines

2009-07-18T07:56:00.001-07:00

look away now Rob!!

2009-07-16T02:46:00.000-07:00

nice snake on the land here a few days ago

(anyone able to ident?!)

Piggly Wigglies!

2009-07-11T10:42:00.000-07:00

latest arrivals!!

typical saturday morning!

2009-07-11T03:01:00.000-07:00

at Velagota

this morning!

The Dunny!

2009-07-11T00:54:00.000-07:00

Just a thought- need your help!!

Dad has been looking for us for a Victorian-style toilet cistern (high-level, wall mounted sureflush?) for our downstairs dunny, but its proving difficult.

If there's any friends or family members in the UK that happen to see one somewhere (reclamation yard etc) on their travels can they let us know please (reasonably priced of course!).

Paul can collect it next time he's in the UK if anyone does find one

We are also after the brackets that would hold the old style sink too (the pedestal in photo is temporary!)- but that's not so urgent as we can probably get those made.

Thank-you :-) :-) :-)

EggyPeggies

2009-07-11T00:36:00.000-07:00

cracked open this egg in the week to find a triple yolker!!

and this was the selection presented with us this morning-(all chicken eggs) what a mixture!!

plenty to keep us busy!

2009-06-28T03:17:00.001-07:00

The vegie garden is doing well- I made a big batch of 'Glutney' yesterday (A Hugh Fearnley recipe- it's really superb).

Today Paul is making 'Half The Garden Soup' (also A HFW recipe)

Also thought you might like to see a photo of my first planting job in Portugal- hows about that for a view!!

Summer+Parties

2009-06-14T02:50:00.000-07:00

We've had a lovely few weeks with lots of friends and family here. Lovely to see Roy and Pauline (even tho' they brought the rain- much needed actually so thanks to them for that!) Had a wonderful catch up with Thea and Jo-Anne too, so we've had alot of nice company, food and wine.

Now things carry on as normal. The geese are growing- we will have to think about a bigger pond soon!
We are picking lots of fresh vegies from the garden and dug up the first root of potatoes yesterday. Lots of lovely salads, courgettes and raspberries too.

We lost one our best hens about a week ago. I thought I was seeing things a couple of days ago when I saw an extra brown hen back with the others- sure enough she is still about, but sitting on a nest of 15eggs, in the bushes, quite a long way from the chicken pen. We will move her and her nest into the chicken ark later today when she has calmed down again!

It's that time of year again when we have alot of marches and dances in the village, so will wander up today to watch the bombeiros fanfarre, with all the local fire station bands marching round the village.

Shells Birthday Supper!

2009-05-30T14:05:00.000-07:00

Shells Birthday Afternoon!

2009-05-30T14:02:00.000-07:00

Shells Birthday Breakfast!

2009-05-30T03:24:00.000-07:00

may 09

2009-05-15T05:02:00.000-07:00

A lovely time of year here at Velagota. Wild flowers everywhere, goslings enjoying the sunshine, and first early summer produce- cherries, spinach, salads, rhubarb etc.

I made two cherry pies last weekend to carry on the tradition of Nanna Win who always made us a cherry pie on a Sunday.

Terry and June- proud parents!

2009-05-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

Three gorgeous little goslings- the photos say all thats needs to be said really! (sooo cute!!)

Stop press-latest scoop!!!

2009-05-07T14:12:00.000-07:00

latest piccies of gosling!

Gosling

2009-05-07T10:19:00.000-07:00

wooohooooooo!!! so very exciting- just got glimpse of a baby goose!!!!
watch this space- will be back xxx

St George's day, first bath and Mum's birthday

2009-04-29T12:40:00.000-07:00

had alot to celebrate this week!

had a small barby on thursday in honour of St. George- and flew the flag!

today we toasted what would have been Mum's birthday with a bottle of Mumm champagne :-)

and Paul rigged up a temporary bath (pink!!!) so we can have a nice soak at the end of a day working hard on the land

house progress

2009-04-29T09:14:00.000-07:00

latest photos of the house

2009-04-15T10:18:00.000-07:00

Easter at Velagota

2009-04-15T03:28:00.000-07:00

We have had a wonderful Easter. The family have been here- and it's been so nice to all be in the house together (with plenty of food and wine of course!)
Paul made some (our own pork) sausages and I had a go at hot-cross buns.
Sunday morning we had an easter egg hunt on the land.

Our goose is sitting on a nest -5eggs we think but can't get near as mr goose is being VERY protective!
We have two nesting ducks- one due to hatch any day now. Gloria has a new kid (not on the block yet haha.... sorry), and she has assured us that our female bunny is preggers already (bunny in the oven?.... sorry must stop with the terrible jokes!), so Paul is frantically building new accomodation ready for all the new arrivals!

Dad has taken lots of piccies so I will put some more on in a few days.

Pie and Stew

2009-03-21T01:59:00.000-07:00

New additions to the farm courtesy of Gloria- A breeding pair of bunnies- aw cute!!!

Looks like rabbits on the menu soon at Velagota.

Fireplace, and a photo for Jo Anne ;-)

2009-03-12T02:44:00.000-07:00

WOWEEE!!!!!!

The architect finally produced the drawing for the fireplace- it's the final main work to be done by the builders, and makes an incredible feature to the living area.

Can't wait to be sitting in front of a roaring fire with a glass of red! (might have to wait til next winter now tho'- it's pretty warm here now!!)

Sunset from the kitchen

Spring 2009

2009-03-10T02:27:00.000-07:00

Really beautiful here this week- lovely warm sunshine and all the spring flowers and blossom- it's wonderful.

We have three varieties of wild narcissus growing on the land here- one apparently (Narcissus scaberulus) is very rare and only found in this area of Portugal- so exciting to find it here.

Lots going on in the garden- we have ten new chicks (bought from the market)- 6 for eating and 4 for laying (if we're lucky and they turn out to be female!). Mrs duck has made a nest and the geese are getting frisky!

(Mrs Duck's nest- she will probably lay ten or more eggs and then start to sit on the nest)

The tunnel has been extended so it's a new and improved version ready for lots of growing- so far we have salads, tomatoes, herbs, aubergines seeds in, strawberries and after today will have peppers, cucumbers and melons sown too- a very exciting time! And check out the new and improved potting bench build by my own fair hands- I am extremely proud!!!

Lots of stinky stuff has been rotivated into the vegie area to improve the soil, and Paul has started repairing the fallen down terrace walls around the house. We have also planted several more trees- pears, almonds and cherries.

back in the land of the living!

2009-03-03T01:57:00.000-08:00

We have finally got our phone line connected so have computer access again.

We are currently living in 'the flat'- the room will be the study eventually but it's the easiest room for us to be in at the moment.

We have had people staying in the cabin so it has given us the push to go into the house. Everything is dusty and we can't find anything but it's nice to be here!

Last tuesday was the carnival (gosh how time flies-the last one only seems like yesterday!) a really fantastic day.

Moving in!

2009-02-09T02:45:00.000-08:00

Apologies- haven't posted for a bit- we are busy trying to get into the house as we have friends staying in the cabin from wednesday.

I have been busy making marmalade and curd-from oranges nicked from brother's house (- they were dropping to the floor Chris-honest!).

The stove is fantastic- we cooked one of our pork joints in it yesterday- one of the best bits of pork we've ever tasted- totally brilliant!

Paul is busy plumbing it into the hot water system now- so we should have a working shower-room, and radiator, by wednesday (hope so!!).

The house is still a building site- we are still several windows and doors missing, and the rain is coming in, so it's not perfect, but we've roughed it before and it's certainly better than a tent!

Our next post won't be for a few days, as we move out (or in? which ever way you want to look at it!).

2009-01-23T10:01:00.000-08:00

Pauls gone up to the bar without me- I have another cold so thought it'd be better if I stay behind (with a small glass of red for medicinal purposes you understand!). Just put the chickens to bed and couldn't find Dave anywhere (if you don't know- Dave's our very handsome cockerel-named after Dave Matthews because he sings so beautifully!). Anyway- slightly panicking as Velagota without Dave is like Velagota without any wine (or beer or any alcohol come to that!)- finally found him in the goose shed- he'd shut the door behind him which was thoughful! Not sure what to do- think they get along ok so will leave them to it but not quite sure what we'll find in the morning!

winter wonderland

2009-01-20T06:59:00.000-08:00

its' snowing!!!

the view from the cabin at the moment!

Happy Birthday Paul!

2009-01-19T02:37:00.000-08:00

Paul hit the big 40 on Saturday! (he said he was definately feeling his age on Sunday but that might have had something to do with all the wine?!)

We had a wonderful day- thanks to everyone for their best wishes and gifts.

We had a very laid back barby on the roof of the house and then retired downstairs in the evening and huddled round the new range.

new range

2009-01-16T07:33:00.000-08:00

woohoo- the Esse arrived yesterday!

Paul and Les did a fantastic job of getting it down the stairs and in place (think it weighs something like 320kilos?!) and are both now enjoying a well deserved cerveja!

The stove is truly wonderful- thanks to our parents who have helped us get the dosh together for what we think will be a wonderful addition to Quinta Velagota.

Can't wait to get cooking!

2009

2009-01-03T05:17:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone!

We started 2009 with a nice walk by the river and came back for a barby (first one of the year!)

Yesterday we went to the beach and Paul went for a swim (mad fool!).

I tried to get the gruntyweasel in the sea but she wasn't having any of it- she did enjoy the giant sandpit tho!

Christmas at Velagota

2008-12-28T04:31:00.001-08:00

Well it's been a bit of a 'porkfest'!

Christmas morning started with a soak in the hot-tub. Followed by our home-grown breakfast of fresh eggs, home-made sausages and bacon (and a bottle of bubbly!).

(the bacon has turned out a little saltier than we would have liked but it's all a learning curve!)

Pre-dinner drinks on the roof-terrace with pork-liver pate.

Then roast leg of pork, with all the trimmings, cooked in the new house!

Last night we had chinese style-pork ribs, with singapore-style noodles (with pork!).

Today we are having a sort of indoor barby with.... wait for it - satay style pork fillet.

You might be thinking we are getting sick of pork- but really we're not- it's totally fantastic!

Hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas- anyone fancy a cold pork sandwich let us know and we'll post you one ;-) xxx

newbies to Velagota

2008-12-11T05:19:00.000-08:00

Terry and June

(P.s. our postbox has now been replaced- hope this one doesn't get pinched!)

kitchen

2008-12-05T06:04:00.000-08:00

Paul has started work on the kitchen- so hopefully we will be cooking Christmas Day

Dinner in the house- woohooo! (no water connected, or heating or doors and only half the windows so far- but hey ho- you gotta start somewhere!!)

let it snow

2008-12-02T06:56:00.000-08:00

just been for a 'marvellous' walk- the Serra is covered in snow- apsolutely breathtaking!

(again- look closely- you can see our house!)

frosted glass?

2008-12-02T02:15:00.000-08:00

hello from a frosty Portugal brrrrrrr!

but.........guess what.......

the windows have arrived! woohooooo!

(shut the door will you its freezing in here! oh sorry- no doors yet)

chickabiddies

2008-11-23T07:18:00.000-08:00

the
chickens

have just moved into their new 'pad'- Dave the cockerel was not happy when we caught him and stuck him in a box for moving house this morning- i think the whole valley heard him squarking! but he's happy now with his five girlies- scratching about in the soil for grubs (they are even getting on well with the young ducks!)

tomorrow the chickens should be ok to let out into the big area which Paul has been busy fencing this week- coo it's practically a poultry village!

azeitonas (olives!)

2008-11-23T06:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we helped our neighbours with the olive harvest (hopefully it will be our olives next year!)

The village is buzzing with the harvest. Tractors taking olives to the press, families beating the olives out of the trees and stopping for picnic lunches, or a glass of wine and a snack.

sausages (and other stuff)

2008-11-11T03:23:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we made the sausages from all the odd scrappy pork bits-

it was quite funny as the butcher assumed they would be for the dogs! Paul has just taken him up a couple of bags of fresh sausages to try (along with a jar of spiced pear chutney- don't know what he'll make of it all!)

We made two batches- one pork and apple (and thyme), and second a plain pork batch (with lots of black pepper, a little cumin and some sage and parsley). Supper last night was sausage baguettes with fried onions and home-made tomato ketchup, with a glass of home-brew bitter...what a life eh?!

The bacon is curing for four days (with salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, bay) then it will be hung up to air dry, and can be eaten after about ten days.

Can't wait for our first Velagota breakfast with our bacon, sausage and eggs!

Happy Days!