November '13
Working Ways
This month we have mainly been tidying up the finca in preparation for next year's spring pruning. We have pruned another dozen previously unworked trees which are on a accessible terrace just above the barranc. This gives us around 850 trees under cultivation now, and it's given me very bad tennis elbow.
The rest of the work has been clearing out thickets of brambles and other nasty weeds and bushes that take root in the drystone walls separating the terraces. We can't risk burning them in situ due to the amount of other groundcover we have, so it has been hack and slash with mattocks, saws and a brush-cutter. Then a lot of burning.
All the cutting and pruning has meant my log piles are getting a bit out of hand
A House in the Finca.
House likes to check out what we are doing in the finca. He is very helpful and picks up all the sticks that are lying around while looking extremely photogenic. The last shot is him above one of the village ponds on a windy day.
Sunny Rainbow
Well, they like to have different weather here. Today's surprise was a really good rainbow over the village while the nearest rainclouds were miles away.
It's a foal. Horse veal.
Our local Carrefour is promoting a range of milk fed foal meat. There are various cuts available as well as burgers and sausages. These handy leaflets promote it benefits.
All the locals seem to think it's good stuff, nice and tender because it is killed while it's young. I'll have to give it a go at our next barbeque.
Unusual Sunset
We don't usually get good sunsets as the mountains block out the light before the sun gets low enough to get under the clouds. This evening was an exception. The last two are other days, and other sunrises.
Breadmaking & Squash
Well trying to at least. This is an early effort and judging by it, I need to practise my technique a bit more. The squash was given to us by Victor, our friend Sari's father. It weighed in at 11.5 KG, was about a metre long and was very tasty. We gave half to our friends David & Carol.
