Letter from Espargal:: 20 April 2018

Last Saturday was sunny, the first in several weeks, and we exploited the good weather to put in a decent day's work.  Slavic and I were both grateful. He's missed several visits and the income that he earns from them. We got a great deal of clearing done, plus a lot of minor jobs.



Sunday dawned dull and damp. We decided that we might as well do Monday's shopping.  The picture shows a group of people heading resolutely towards the church on the hill just beyond the town, in preparation for the ceremony of parading the statue of the Virgin. It's done with much pomp and circumstance and usually draws huge crowds.



However there were no early takers for the seats that had been erected in anticipation, presumably for the VIP contingent.



Monday's mail included a demand for a toll road payment of €2.56, much to my surprise, with accompanying warnings of the dire consequences for non-payment. The surprise arose because I have a contract (and transponder in the car) that permits me to use all toll roads, with the charges debited monthly to my account. A visit to the relevant office in Faro followed. There the mystery was solved.



The payment was apparently for a single journey that we made months ago on a day between the failure of my previous transponder and the issue of the new one. That it cost rather more than€2.56 to process the infraction clearly didn't deter the authorities. I should add that, as austerity gripped Portugal, a number of freeways were turned into toll roads. Gantries with cameras were erected overhead to monitor traffic. With no payment booths available at entry and exit points, the system requires road users to pay at various centres (or online) either before or after using the network.



On Tuesday we discovered that some unknown party had proceeded along one of "our" paths down the hillside and erected an impressive if somewhat precarious cairn. As a work of art it would have won prizes. A tractor ride into Benafim later in the day served to deliver our strimmer to Helio's workshop for an overdue service. The strimming season has arrived.


STRIMMED SECTION OF GARDEN
As it happened, I had been keeping an eye out for a second bigger model (we have a considerable acreage to strim) and came across one on promotion at the hardware store, which the staff kindly assembled for me. Slavic (who put in a couple of hours' work that evening) tried it out. It worked impressively for an hour before playing up.



Late afternoon two GNR officers - from the force that polices rural areas and smaller centres - arrived to take a look at our property with a view to our fire precautions (See last week's blog.) I had feared for the future of numerous trees surrounding the house (like those in the background) but the pair couldn't have been more impressed with the scene.



In fact, they declared that they might send other people to come and see how things should be done. The bottom line is that their visit saved us a great deal of work that I had been anticipating - and all the trees can stay. Big sigh of relief!


HARD DAY'S NIGHT
I also found time during the day to help a neighbour cut up and transport a load of firewood from a property that he was clearing (with fire precautions in mind).  So I might have drifted off for a few minutes that evening while watching Simon Schama's documentary on the history of the Jews.



Before supper Jones called me on to the upper patio to witness the crescent moon close to Venus (the dot just visible upper-right of the orb).  It was a lovely evening, a prelude to several sunny days before rain returns at the weekend.



It required several minutes of pillar support to hold the camera still enough for a clear shot of the moon. This one we quite liked. Jones is into the sky, stars and planets, as I might have remarked before. She follows an astronomy blog. Early each morning, while the rest of house sleeps, she gazes through the window to see what the night skies have to offer.



On Tuesday it became apparent that Monday's cairn had not survived the night. Whether its downfall was due to some agent or merely the forces of nature we will never know.



Wednesday afternoon I fetched my old (newly-serviced) strimmer from Helio (once I'd managed to distract him from the boxes of spares that he was rummaging through). With the agreement of the hardware shop, I left the new strimmer with him to investigate. Helio knows more about machines than the manufacturers themselves. Barbara prepared for guests arriving this evening while Natasha cleaned.



For the first time we left Ono behind when we went walking. In the nascent heat of summer the hike through the hills is proving just too much for him, even with my supporting hand behind him on the steeper rises. That's a "chewy" that he's keeping for later consumption.



Wednesday evening we went to the airport to meet Nancy and Brian, both newly-retired former NBC colleagues of Barbara. (Several photos of whom follow!)



They had a rousing introduction to the dogs and a comprehensive tour of the garden. The wild tulips are a delight.



Thursday our guests joined us on the morning circuit.



And we took a few pictures.



Brian is an ace photographer. I warned him that we are just snappers!



We've a lot of catching up to do these next few days!



And a few moments to record.



Thursday evening: The strimmer is back. It had a washer missing, Helio informed me. No charge. I left him a fiver anyhow to say thank you. Slavic is hard at work in the park this evening in lieu of Saturday, which looks very wet again.



Time to sign off on another week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Letter from Espargal: 13 April 2018

Last Friday we drove an hour east to the coastal village of Cabanas where our friends, Mike and Liz, are settling into a mobile home. Their new residence is situated at the top of an extensive and sophisticated campsite alongside a number of other homes.  The layout of the site is impressive - colourful borders, spacious avenues and ample facilities. These include a shop and restaurant on site, generous washrooms, a cooking area and a large pool.



The site caters for campers of every description - ranging from permanent mobile homes through coaches, vans and caravans to tents. There are also wooden cabins to let. About half the bays were full - with vehicles from across much of Europe. Their occupants either relaxed under their awnings or worked on their tans in the sun, unconcerned about passers-by.



Saturday morning brought intermittent sun and showers and a trip to town. I'd already called Slavic off. We found parking right outside the coffee shop around the corner from Loule Hospital.  The duty nurse said he'd remove only half the stitches from my back as bending over might otherwise cause the wound to reopen. On the way home we stopped at an animal food wholesaler to top up our dog biscuit supplies. With 8 dogs to feed, 18kg sacks don't last very long.


TREE ON THE HAMBURGO PATIO
Sunday, as we were sitting down to brunch at the Hamburgo, the GNR Environment Police arrived on the scene. They were clearly intent on noting overgrown plots along the main road that required clearing under the new fire regulations.



Desirous of of learning exactly what was required, I joined locals who were chatting to them and popped a couple of questions. No problem, said the police, we'll visit your house to see what's necessary. It wasn't what I'd anticipated (don't Say it!). Jones was not pleased.


YELLOW BEE ORCHIDS BY BJ
Monday I had the last of my stitches removed and my English class discussed the new fire regulations. Ignacio said the town council had issued him with a notice to clear a bushy plot of his by the mid-May deadline but that he was struggling to find workers. The fines for failure to comply are stiff. From the university secretary I was saddened to learn of the death from cancer of one of my longstanding pupils, Canadas, a really nice guy.



Ono and Prickles came with us to town. Ono, burdened by advancing dementia and extreme old age, is gradually receding into his own private world (although he still staggers around the walks each day). His travelling companion, Prickles, has somehow hurt a leg. Although we can find no evidence of an injury, the dog has adopted a severe limp and whimpers at the bottom of the stairs. (We carry him up.) Puzzling!



Tuesday dawned wet and windy and stayed that way for most of the day. The beasts settled down around the fire. Although the rain was gentle, the wind was anything but. Powerful gusts thrashed the branches of the trees and battered the glass doors. We took the opportunity to pack up movie DVDs and books gathering dust for delivery to folks at a retirement complex.



Towards the end of the afternoon as the dogs grew restless, we decided to brave the elements. I donned an additional jacket. Jones took an old golf umbrella to keep the showers at bay. In the circumstances, it wasn't the wisest choice. She got blown around like a yacht in a gale. Note the wind catching Bobby's ear in the picture below. And that's Jones trying to keep her balance.



Wednesday the sun returned. I took my first shower in a fortnight. Then we set out to deliver the DVDs and books to the retirement complex at Monte Palhagueira. The nursing home there has a DVD player in the lounge where the "seriously" old folk spend much of their time; the cottage residents run a weekly book-exchange. I hope the items will prove of some use. We hated the idea of merely dumping books in the recycling bin, even though many of them are just paperback pass-ons.



Thursday dawned dull and wet. The dogs hardly stirred. It was a change to enjoy a sleep-in for once instead of being dragged out around the hills. The morning news was even more depressing than usual. Missiles to be delivered by tweet. What a mess the world is in!


BENAFIM FUNERAL CORTEGE STRAGGLE
Mid-morning the drizzle gave way to torrential rain, delivered in squalls. Even so, we had a couple of overdue letters to post in Benafim. There, in monsoon conditions, we came across the dregs of a funeral cortege. The poor bedraggled mourners staggered back to their cars, clutching brollies seemingly infested by demons.



I reckon the only dry body in the place was the one in the coffin. Streams of muddy water poured down the road. We made damp dashes into the parish office and the supermarket before deciding that it wasn't worth stopping for coffee.



In the valley the vineyards were collecting water in neat parallel rows. At home the rain gauge declared that we'd had all of an inch in a couple of hours. The media report that the country's dams, which were severely depleted at the end of February, are now filling nicely. That's reason for a little cheer! Time to get on with sorting the books!



 

 

 

 

 

 

Letter from Espargal: 6 April 2018

BOBBY KEEPING AN EYE ON US
On Saturday Slavic and I did a lot of clearing and burning in the upper reaches of the park. If the advisories on the new wildfire legislation are to be believed, we'll have to do a great deal more. Jones has been pointing out to me how ridiculous the instructions are. I agree completely. But it is I, not she, who will have to explain that to the GNR if and when they come to inspect us.



For example, this photo showing Not Robbie sunning himself on the Casa Nada/woodshed roof also shows the tall almond tree that's grown alongside it for decades. I've already pruned it back to remove branches that dangled over the roof, largely because they clattered on the corrugations when the wind blew. The new legislation forbids trees within 5m of buildings as well as branches that overhang roofs. There's a similar tree on the other side of the building. We'd hate to lose either of them. So it's with some apprehension that we await developments.



There's been a lot of wind of late and we were lucky to have the perfect morning for burning. Down in the fields below the village, other people were doing the same thing. The smoke hangs around for ages. I'm not a fan of burning but there's really no option - and it's far better done in a controlled fashion out of season.



Sunday, after brunch, we went walking with Russ and Pricks in the plain between Espargal and Benafim. There wasn't  a soul about, which is how we like it. The shotgun cartridges littering the road bore witness to the hunters who swarm around the area in season.


BENAFIM - FROM THE VALLEY
Most farmers have already pruned their vines back hard in preparation for the new season's growth. The grapes are intended more for pressing than eating. It's usual for locals to produce at least a few barrels for domestic consumption.



The drainage ditches were still half full of water from the recent rains. I take that to be both a good sign and a bad one. With luck the ground-water reserves have been completely renewed; it's from boreholes in the valley that the parish gets its water. On the other hand the conditions are ideal for the coming mosquito season. It won't be long before the little blighters are back.


TREATS AFTER A WALK
The first ticks are already in evidence, especially on the cats. We have acquired muti to apply to the cats' necks and attached new Serestro collars to the dogs. Their collars are renewed twice a year, in spring and autumn. The manufacturers claim that the collars are effective against most threats - especially fleas, ticks & mosquitoes - for 7-8 months. At around €30 a time, they should be.


WILD TULIPS
I spent a couple of hours on the tractor turning over the soil on our field ahead of forecast rain. March was wonderfully wet and the area was already knee-high under a thick green carpet, having said which we're still technically suffering drought conditions. The bottom section of the field is relatively level and the only real danger is decapitation from one of the many low branches. The upper part is both steep and rocky and can be quite challenging.


CHURCH SQUARE IN SALIR WITH FRIENDS
Monday brought my second post-op hospital visit, really just to put on a fresh dressing. The system requires patients to take a ticket from a machine in the lobby and then to wait for the number to be called in order to be registered in the system. After treatment, one waits again to pay. The hospital computers are slow and there are sometimes only two receptionists operating them.


LIGHT AND SHADOWS
On a good day - Sundays and public holidays are the best - one can be in and out of the nurses' treatment room in 15 minutes. On a bad day - Monday was a bad day - it can take an hour. Jonesy feeds the meter accordingly. I always take my iPad along for diversion.


POPPY WITH BEE
Tuesday we both made use of Jodi's services. She has podiatric as well as physio-therapeutic skills for which my toes, which I can't easily reach are grateful. She's also been most helpful to Barbara who has suffered discomfort since breaking a toe some years ago.



Clusters of naked-man orchids in their prime are seen here admiring themselves and displaying their assets unashamedly. These glorious flowers are everywhere to be seen although most of those sprouting from the soil of the hills behind us are stunted, uninspiring specimens. I thought it was because of poor, shallow soil but Jones says they like poor soil. I dunno!


WITH FRESH HAIRCUT
Wednesday we left the house to Natasha and headed for Fatima's salon in Loule. We both needed haircuts. Fatima's been doing the job ever since we bought the Quinta, some 30 years ago. I left Jones in the chair while I visited the hospital. Afterwards we lunched at Cafe Q, a small boutique restaurant near the castle that we reserve for days when time is not an issue.



While out walking one day we came across a couple of dung-beetles on the path close to our top gate. They were tackling a fresh supply, courtesy of one of our dogs. Thirty minutes later, on our return to the gate, both they and the dung were gone. That's impressive. We could use their services on the cobbles around the house which Jones patrols, pan & scoop in hand, each morning.


BLACKBIRD SONGSTER ATOP A PHONE POLE
Thursday brought a day made in heaven of zephyrs, gentle sunshine and birdsong. After the usual morning routine (dog walks and breakfasts), we fetched the chainsaw - serviced and sharpened - from Helio's workshop in Benafim and followed up with coffees and cheesecake at the Hamburgo. On the way back, we stopped in the valley for a stroll.



We've established a 20 - 30 minute circuit, the duration depending on encounters, pauses, photographs and Prickle's mood. The route starts on the gravel road, winds through the fields, passes along the tarred road that splits the valley and returns through the fields again. Most of the time we have this small world to ourselves.



Russ runs free. He's a good-natured fellow who avoids trouble and will come back the moment he's called. This is more than we can say for Prickles, who remains on the lead throughout.



We bumped into Ignacio who explained that he'd sown potatoes for his own consumption. He wasn't bothering to pick the citrus fruit (seen left of the field) because prices were so low. As I've remarked to Jones before, agriculture is mainly about what you can sell, not what you can grow. She said I looked a sight in my joggers. But they keep ticks out and nobody seemed to be bothered, certainly not Ignacio. Joggers are a frequent sight in these parts.



With rain forecast for much of the weekend, Slavic joined me for a couple of hours on Thursday evening to start cutting back our trees, especially those with branches overhanging roofs. The monthly Benafim street market, which was wiped out by wet weather in March, looks set to suffer the same fate again on Saturday.

Friday we're planning to visit friends who've recently moved to the holiday village of Cabanas on the coast.


SUFFICIENT UNTO THE DAY