Relaxing morning

Yesterday , it was between 27 and 29º . I was out in the garden early.   With the extreme changes in the weather here.  My garden and flowers are growing like wildfire.   

                                                      The sky is a little unsettled this morning.. a slight breeze that is very welcome, as July and August are our hottest months.

                                        yesterday's clipping and cutting ready to be taken to the compost heap.

                                                      very overgrown .  I couldn't really see my little boy statue, that my mother bought me years ago.   Before and after.

                                                     some empty spaces now.  I thinned out the border daisies. Possibly will fill in with more roses.

                                                Before

                                                         After.. don't like the open spaces. It was really necessary to clear and clean.  Especially after the snake episode of last week.

                                                     Surprise and mummy Pascoa.  They are over near the fence of my neighbor.  He has 3 stallions.!!!! not so good for me.  I have to keep records of when they come into season.  Then its moving for them , far over to the other pasture.

                       I am rather intrigued with my German rose.   It's always been this beautiful yellow. When i took this photo earlier..I noticed that some of the blooms are turning into spotted pink.. not sure if this is due to change in the soil, after the rain. Or that they need different feed.

                       Those of you who follow me, will know that I have fallen in love with Fuschias .. My very large one that flowered all through winter is now ready for pruning.  I am learning, that they are a hardy bush.  They like to be in the shade with just a little sunlight .  This purple and white bush is growing so well.  I now know , that it likes this place at the side of the pergola near the pool.

                                                      Isn't it just too beautiful.!

                                    Was my birthday on Wednesday the 25th.  No fuss.  Just took myself out to lunch in the village.  Then came home to relax and enjoy the lovely summer day.  
Saturday last.   My grandaughter D and grandniece G..spent the weekend with me.  They brought me this present from my son M.   M , gave strict instructions that it was only to be opened on wed.
You can imagine the girls.. "open it grandma" open in Aunty val"-  no- of course was the reply.

                                              Many of you have one.   Indeed an ipad.   I do have a very good tablet (android)and i use it a lot..  Now I have my iphone (all photos today took on my iphone) and my ipad.
We are all apple fans in the family.  I have the mini i mac desktop.    I am so excited to start blogging and downloading books to read.
My first book will be "The book thief"-  I was going to buy the book, but now i will download it.

                                                          White white as snow.. standing alone now that its all clear of leaves and dead heads..

   Back inside.  Watching the news.  Breakfast-  fresh strawberries, fresh country bread from our bakery..(only one in the village).. home made apricot jam from my D.I.L's mum .. and creamed coffee..
indulging a little on this lovely last saturday of June.

What is your favorite book at the moment. !

Happy weekend ..

                                                                              VAL

Rain and animals.

This is what the sky has been like ,the last couple of days.  The first summer rain has arrived.  It rains , then the sun comes out. I am not complaining - We need some rain at the moment.  Its been very hot and became very dry, so the rain is most welcome.

                                      I was watching the early morning news , when I heard a bang bang outside.. I know the sound well.   It was the horses, kicking the water trough .. I hadn't filled the trough with water,  as I thought the rain would have done that for me.  
I soon found out, that that was not the case.  There was only a little water left in the trough after two days of rain.   Not enough had fallen to keep them happy.
I felt really bad.  As I am always out early to fill the trough.  So I donned my wellies , turned off the electric to the fence, then walked around to  sort out the hosepipe.
 The yellow hospipe had come out of the bigger black hose that is secured to the steel strips that run across the trough.

Pascoa and Surprise, had moved the hosepipe with their noses.
 After sorting out the problem .. i then returned,  to turn the tap  on and started filling the trough-   To my amazement, as i was watching them both ready to drink some clean fresh water... there right in front of me.. they moved the hosepipe again.
They knew I was there, they were telling me .  That they didn't like the hosepipe in the place that i put it.
I do believe, that animals are far cleverer than we sometimes give them credit for.
They did not like the hose on the right side of the trough..so they moved it to where you see it now in my photo, on the left.

 After a long drink.  Mother and daughter went down to the bottom field.
 My pastures are so full and very high in places. They are both in their element.

Before going back inside.. i took a photo of my first gladioli of this year.. its a lovely yellow and the stem is full ... I was so pleased to see it. As this part of the garden , is becoming rather overgrown.  

The thunder is clapping in the distance and the skies are grey again.  Our nights are still light. Its a little chilly now, so I am closing up for the evening. 

Thank you to all my dear blogging friends for your comments on my last post.. My storeroom is coming along.   I have started to buy the big plastic containers to put things in.  I have also bought some shelves.. I have tiles for the floor that I bought a few years ago.  

More progress as the time goes by. 

  

Wishing you all a happy week.

Val

progress on storeroom .

The flowers next to Olive cottage are blooming and giving a nice show. 

This morning, I missed two great shots. Sitting on the patio having my coffee.     When the noise of a fighter jet flew overhead.  Flying next to it was a military cargo plane.  looked like they were on an excercise. The noise was deafening. I wasn't quick enough..my camera was in the house. Then flew over a kite or small hunting bird . Flying at the back of it, came a big stork.  Gracefully flying through the sky.  

  Pedro arrived at 9am , this morning and started knocking down the wall from the old storeroom through to the new.
It's really coming along .  The broken bricks, he smashed and then put them on the drive.. covered them with soil.. Tomorrow more gravel will be arriving, which he will then spread over the rubble. My driveway is subsiding and leaving a hump in the middle as one drives up to the cottages. Its been gradually getting worse.

                    I decided to use an old sleeper, that I had around for many years instead of concrete as a beam support.   the ceiling looks , will get touched up once its finished..but i must say, i do like the pink. The roof tiles are on, but difficult to take a shot.

                                       Pedro, knocking through the wall.

                                                Now open. You can see where my old little store room was.. the new one built together now.. gives a new perspective to the storeroom.

                                            All clean and tidy.. just some ods and ends to take out.. next step plastering and putting the door and window in.

                                                     view of my fields looking out from the storeroom .. The grass is slowly going brown.

                                   some of my oleander trees, ready to be trimmed..  drooping with so many blooms. Oleanders, don't need much water.  They are a very sturdy tree and can survive a few days without water. They give out a sweet scent.

                        My   geraniums..  get water every other day.  This plant gives such big red blooms.   I watered really well today.
As summer approaches, we have to be careful with the water.  Even though we had heavy rain and downpours.  It still wasn't enough.    If I had my choice, I would have the water sprinklers going twice a day.   I think the garden is not doing too bad.   I am happy with it.
Always work in progress.

                                                  .................................................

 "And thank God for home-sweet things, a green and friendly hill,
   And red geraniums upon my window sill." ( snippet - from a poem "Red Geranium" by Martha Haskell Clark).

 Geraniums give such a colorful vibe to a garden.

Wishing you all a happy weekend- Gardening, walking, theatre or whatever you are doing. Enjoy the sunshine.

                                                                        Val        

hot days & flowers.

The Alentejo heat, when it arrives , is one of the hottest places in Europe.  The heat just came within  a few days. Oh boy, is it hot. The first few days of last week, were too hot to even swim. 

Air-con on and fans.  I have been staying in during the hot hours of the day.   The best times of the day, are early morning and from five to around 9pm. 

 On Friday last.  My Dutch friend , who lives on the other side of the village invited me for tea.  We meet up about every two weeks.   She is coping well after the death of her husband.  They were married over 60 years.  Her husband died in February.

Along the way. I took photos of some of the wild  poppies growing on the hedgerows.  Where these poppies above are.  Once there was a whole hedgerow of them.   But the municipality having to keep the hedgerows low and due to constant clearing.  There are only a few popping up around our village.
Over tilling of the land has caused less and less of the wild poppy to appear.   It's such a shame.

Some years ago, i took seeds from a few and tried to get them to grow in my fields, but my efforts were not rewarded.  I think they grow when the seeds are blown here and there.


                                                                  This cactus plant, is growing outside my friends front gate.  The flowers are such a bright orange and are so pretty.   Mr. M, used to love their fruit.  Soon these will be bearing fruit.

 I am not sure about this flower.!  It is growing all over the hedgerows on the side roads. It looks like a cornflower to me..or a thistle.. !!

 These two cactus are different from the one above.  These are in my friends garden.   You can notice the difference in the shape of them.. this one is totally round.

  Lots of beautiful pink roses in my garden.   They really got hit with the intense heat that we have been having. The secret , i am sure many of you know.  Is to water early in the morning or late at night.  They simply love being fed.

 These yellow roses. I had sent from Germany.  A friend ordered them for me,  they never fail to give the most beautiful scented, strong  blooms.    Roses, are the one flower that withstand the hot heat of the Alentejo.     I do loose some blooms, but more buds come and at the moment roses are blooming all over.  Its the one plant, that I have been able to learn more about , as the years go by.   I just love to see them.  I am loath to cut them for my vases.

On saturday past,  Jeffrey my little brown terrier,  went into a barking fit.  
 Near the oleander hedge outside  of olive cottage.  He just wouldn't stop.  I knew there was something in the oleander trees. Thinking it was a lizard and to make him happy, as he really wanted me to see what it was.    I went over to where he was barking.  I couldn't see anything.   I bent down trying to see what was there amongst the fallen leaves.. and as I did so, a snake's head popped up .  His eyes were staring right into mine.  I think the whole village must have heard my scream.  It crawled out and slithered into another area, jeffrey hot on its trail.  It was at least 1 half foot long,  It looked really mean.  What a fright.   My oleanders are drooping , they have so many flowers on them.
I think that many of you will agree, there is always something to do around the garden.!

 Filipe , Maria and Diana , spent some hours with me saturday and sunday.  We all had a pleasant weekend, here at "Quintinha das Rosas.."



I would like to thank all my dear blogging friends who left comments on my last post.  Please forgive me for not commenting back, somehow I get lost in time and space, always so much to do these warm days.    I do appreciate you popping over so very much.

val

 

west coast, sea ,village life

It seems like a while since i last posted.  Somehow,life and all the things I have to do around the quinta has taken first priority.  

I apologize for not replying to some of your kind comments left on my last post.  Thank you so much.

PORTO COVO

 At the beginning of last week, my friend M and myself, decided to take a drive to the Alentejo west coast.  Porto Covo, was our destination.  Just under a two hour drive.
We passed through forests, and some "serra" -high hills, with winding roads.
Arriving at around 11.30 am.
Its over 25 years or so, that i last visited Porto Covo.   It has changed so much.
Now, there are little pockets of houses dotted around, that have built up over the last 30 years.  
The main reason for our visit was to see how the house situation is there.  As my friend is thinking of buying.   So we decided to combine the two together.  Visits to a few houses and see the little village .

 Porto Covo.    When I first visited Porto Covo, it was over 35 years ago.    Very well known amongst the surfing community.  Its a true surfers paradise.  Surfers were already out on their boards enjoying the weather and the waves.

 To get to the beach, one has to go down steps or rocks.  There are some areas where its open, and the sand goes down to the sea.  Its such a lovely spot.

                                The village is on the west coast of Alentejo.. Its  called Costa Vincentina.  Well known to sailors and a point of reference for the tankers.     Many tankers enter the port of Sines, which is a few kilometeres away.

    Both our sprits were uplifted just watching the waves rolling onto the rocks.  One of those magical moments.   I do so love the sea.  

       In the village square-  lovely restaurants. Mostly serving fresh fish from the early morning catch.

                                                     one main street-  no cars- very tranquil

                                                  Tables set for lunch.

                                        The cutest little corner in the only cafe in the village.  It is decorated in true Alentejo style .. lovely hand painted tiles.  Fresh cakes and savories.   We sat and had coffee outside , and watched the world go by.

                                            Hand painted tiles with sea scenes and birds

                                               To much light exposure here.. but the tiles in the niche were so lovely.

                           I ate prawns for starters. Then we both had fresh hake, accompanied with countro-corriander rice and salad.   Such a difference tasting the fresh fish once again.. nothing to beat it.

                                                micro lites.. flying in the sky

 Our weather here, is lovely.   June is busting out all over.
I have so much to do in the garden. Plants and shrubs are growing with this weather so fast. and I must dead head my roses.

Today is a holiday here in Portugal.      I am off out for lunch.

Wishing you all a wonderful week.

val