work starts!

I have now spread compost, from my compost pile, on both my fincas. My neighbour has spread manure on hers, I'm glad I don't have much need to open windows! The weather is still very dry and very warm during the day, several times I have sat outside with my morning coffee, it is warm enough to sit out in a T-shirt.
This morning I have been climbing trees and clearing unnecessary branches, I can't quite get at all the branches I need to, I need a long handled gadget, I had hoped to borrow one but in the end I have done the best I can. Most of the branches I wanted to cut I have managed. I will go out on Saturday and tidy up the branches I have left around. I have dug up all my carrots, just 3 leeks left. Now I must start on my seeds, it needs to rain though the ground is quite dry, not what one expects in February.

February

The weather has continued to be cold at night and sunny during the day, there has been too little rain, if we don't have a very wet spring we are going to have a drought in summer. I even saw the helicopter going to put out a fire the other day!
Today is damp, which is useful, as I have been out and sown my garlic. I should have done it ages ago, normally I do, but as my garlic are usually a disaster I decided I must be doing it wrong. I checked with Ines my neighbour and she tells me they should be in, so now they are. Fortunately the ground is soft enough today to get them in, tomorrow another anti-cyclone arrives. I've sown them in my top plot so I will see if they are better, they are also a bigger variety.
My carrots are doing quite well, they are not enormous but I had a helping of fresh carrots for Sunday lunch, there are still a few left, my leeks are OK too. Hopefully this year they will germinate earlier. It will soon be time to start composting and sowing seeds.

New Year!

Thisyear has started with beautiful weather, lovely warm sunny days, which has meant very little need for heating during the day, though there have been heavy frosts at night and the frost in the shade does not always clear.
It has also meant a lot of pollution and smoke as people take advantage of the dry weather to burn. God knows what they have been burning on the mountains as there have been several days of smoke, from several different points. The fires must be very big as these mountains are many miles away. The photos are not very clear but there is quite a haze over the mountains.
I have started giving milk to one of the stray cats, with the result that I now have a companion whenever I leave the house, on this occasion she's leading me home, in the hope I will feed her again!

There is nothing to do on the land, it is too frozen any way. I just go out weekly to put rubbish on the compost pile. Today I checked my carrots and leeks, both are thriving.

veg!

Yesterday I had some carrots from my finca. They weren't very big but they were mine, considering how late I was in getting any to germinate they were prety good. I haven't tried the leeks yet, they are still small but growing so I am hopeful for next year, next year I will also keep my Spring Onions going into the winter, if I can, if not I will have them indoors as well.

All done!

Finally I am prepared for winter! I went to the Police and made sure that my address is correct on my Residencia, they said it didn't matter but something made a difference for, when I asked for permission to burn they accepted my NIE and new my address and Finca number. So now I have burned all the bracken roots. Hopefully this is the last time I will need to burn as most garden rubbish can go for compost. I have also dug over the fincas and moved the gooseberry bush and some raspberries up to the orchard. I have had a delivery of wood and stacked it carefully in the garage, which now has a new door and floor.

I have had another plumbing crisis, this time it was pipes not drains. The result is that I now have a new stopcock in the house, this is very reassuring as, before, I was completely unable to turn off the water at the mains. Every cloud has a silver lining! We have had a week of beautiful weather but today the clouds have come in again.

Autumn 2011

Finally it has rained, we have had a week of heavy rain and strong winds. Yesterday I phoned for permission to burn but I didn't get it, she refused because I don't have a DNI! I told her I had no problem last year but to no avail. I was told to go to O Barco, that's rubbish, anyway I phoned the Forestry people and they have to come and check, what a load of nonsense for a small quantitiy of garden rubbish.
I've virtually cleared my finca now, I just need to get rid of my rubbish so I can dig over the top huerto and transplant my gooseberry and some raspberries.

more fires!

I spoke too soon about there not being so many fires, there have been several recently. There seem to be lots today, though not sure if the lower ones aren't all part of the same fire, the upper part of the hill seems to be completely burnt away. The smoke coming from lots of places lower down is probably the same fire that has spread through the undergrowth.

The smoky look at the top is another fire in the distance.

This may be another fire or part of the same one on the lower hill but I walked through these woods yesterday. I'm glad it was yesterday not today.

The weather is still very warm during the day, my leeks are growing. If the weather stays warm for a few more weeks I may end up with some leeks that are usable.