Last week I lacked pictures to illustrate my thoughts. This week the pictures will do most of the talking. For the majority, the credit goes to Jones.
Nelson and I have spent hours gathering, sorting and cutting the jungle of prunings from our almond trees. This pile represents barely half of the stack that will dry out over summer for next winter's fires.
Here Nelson unloads yet another pile of trimmed branches from the tractor, due to be sawn into useful lengths. I find that my left arm simply numbs up after 30 minutes with the chain saw.
Left of the picture you can see the white surface of the new road that now runs across the top of the Inacio field. In the distance Eugenio's digger is at work.
The new road gives us access to our property from a parallel street. It forms the final leg of a loop back down to the tarred road. Sand, gravel, cement, firewood and the like can in future be delivered to the field rather than dumped at the bottom of our driveway. I am delighted with the road; Jones thinks the world has enough roads already - too many in fact.
The line of "x"s marks the approximate position of the new road at the top of our unfenced fields. The rectangles on the right mark Casa Nada (16485), the carport and the house.
The digger scatters the surfacing material - known as "tout venant"- widely used on country roads. It took four truckloads to provide sufficient material for a decent cover.
Jones - in London for a few days - has been making more lemon marmalade. She declared her first efforts a failure but adding a little this and that, plus some more boiling seemed to do the trick.
On arrival in the UK, Jones slipped down to Eastbourne to visit our old work mates, Malcolm (pictured) and Gary.
And here she is strolling along Picadilly with Lucia - courtesy of Llewellyn.
This blink-twice picture is another contribution from Llewellyn.
One afternoon we came across daddy dung-beetle and mommy dung-beetle rolling their dung-ball along the path while kiddy dung-beetle kept an anxious eye on their progress. The three of them froze as we passed before staggering on their way once more - like drunkards leaving a bar.
This "early purple" orchid is pictured in its glory at the bottom of the park.
This is Jones's indoor orchid, which has just come into flower. It stands on the low glass-topped table in the lounge. The hard bit is preventing the dogs from upsetting it as they pass by with wagging tails.
At night, there's a premium on places around the fire. Missing are Pally (who prefers to sleep on the enclosed patio) Bobby (who we are treating for a dose of exzema) and Ono, who has already retired to bed - ours!
When I complained to Jones that I lacked pictures, she took the camera out and snapped these beauts. The one above is a favourite.
After lunch Jones likes to settle down for a few minutes on the glass-fronted south patio. In winter, the patio is the cosiest suntrap. I snooze in my reclining chair (if it's free) or on my bed. An unconscious hour is no trouble at all.
Friday dawned windless - the first such day in weeks. Natasha - pictured in the distance - helped me to burn off numerous piles of almond cuttings.
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