Summer!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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