A few pictures of yesterday's snow. Gone now and back in shirtsleeves today.
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
Sad news
Some of you may have read my recent post 'Wine, women and ... doughnuts' which referred to my elderly neighbour Antonio.
This evening, a conversation I was having with Jose was interrupted by a call on his mobile. The call was 'malas noticias' (bad news); apparently Antonio died yesterday in hospital from what I can gather was a brain haemorrhage.
José had known him for 50 years and was visibly shocked. Ascertaining that the funeral is tomorrow in El Ejido and wanting to pay my respects as a neighbour, I insisted that I take him to the funeral as, being car-less, he wouldn't be able to get there.
Apart from our recent wine-tasting, my abiding memory of Antonio is my driving up to the ruin one Sunday afternoon and finding him asleep in the verge while his sheep wandered around eating the grass in my almond orchard. We then proceeded to chat for about an hour with Antonio giving me lots of advice about what I should do with my land. Given that our very first conversation back in September had, for him, been a frustrating one as he couldn't understand me, I took the length of our chat to be some kind of signal that I am 'getting there' with my Spanish. He mentioned that he was going to sell the sheep in June as they were getting too much for him at 73. I'll miss his cheerful demeanour and sense of humour and wish I had known him longer.
This evening, a conversation I was having with Jose was interrupted by a call on his mobile. The call was 'malas noticias' (bad news); apparently Antonio died yesterday in hospital from what I can gather was a brain haemorrhage.
José had known him for 50 years and was visibly shocked. Ascertaining that the funeral is tomorrow in El Ejido and wanting to pay my respects as a neighbour, I insisted that I take him to the funeral as, being car-less, he wouldn't be able to get there.
Apart from our recent wine-tasting, my abiding memory of Antonio is my driving up to the ruin one Sunday afternoon and finding him asleep in the verge while his sheep wandered around eating the grass in my almond orchard. We then proceeded to chat for about an hour with Antonio giving me lots of advice about what I should do with my land. Given that our very first conversation back in September had, for him, been a frustrating one as he couldn't understand me, I took the length of our chat to be some kind of signal that I am 'getting there' with my Spanish. He mentioned that he was going to sell the sheep in June as they were getting too much for him at 73. I'll miss his cheerful demeanour and sense of humour and wish I had known him longer.
Monday, 29 April 2013
Spring visitors
I have had my first spring visitors and I'm NOT referring to the golden orioles or the cuckoos. My sister Karen, her partner Gary and my niece Hannah popped out for a few days hoping to catch some sun as they escaped the vagaries of the English weather. Unfortunately, the very same vagaries have extended to Spain this year (blame the jetstream) so, while the weather was a tad warmer than at 'home, they had a mixed time. One afternoon we had chosen for a picnic was glorious however (though somewhat windy) so some sunburn was achieved.
Below are a few snaps from their stay.
Saturday, 20 April 2013
Colostrum and cuckoos
Since the last update, the house/land juggle has continued.
While all the vines have been pruned, I do need to revisit each one and clear away the lush growth which has sprung up them. This involves strimming, often on very steep inclines, an area of about a square metre around each 'parra' without damaging any of the emerging leaves.
With temperatures this week reaching a ridiculous 27 degrees, the trick is to get out in the fields by 8am and then call it a day around midday. This then allows the afternoon to be dedicated to working on the house.
With the arrival of the first visitors of the year looming and the house resembling a building site, ground clearance then had to take a back seat as I embarked on a massive clean-up operation. The spring cleaning did result in my finding some rugs the previous owners had left behind in the workshop (the cleaning of which involved a bath, a wall, my motorised barrow and 3 days of sun) plus some pictures and ceramics which had been in store since August. I was pleasantly surprised at the huge difference that covering a few floors and walls made to the house.
I managed to escape the house occasionally and witness another transformation as Spring covered the hillsides in new growth and a myriad of flowers. With the calls of cuckoos and bee-eaters ringing round the hillsides, winter has certainly been banished.
There have been some adventures on the food front, notably the delivery of some colostrum pudding. I had had a previous conversation with my neighbour, Pura, as my friend Kylie in Cadiar had been given some colostrum (first milk) by a local shepherd and didn't know what to do with it. Pura had told me that a pudding is made from it. She'd obviously remembered the conversation and, as we had a new baby goat arrive this week, a bowl duly arrived one morning. Resembling a curd cheese, it tasted very nice although, as the way here, a lot of sugar had been added. I read up on colostrum and apparently it may become a super-food as we start to run out of antibiotics. I can't imagine what could top it in terms of food 'surprises' but I'm sure something will.
There have been some adventures on the food front, notably the delivery of some colostrum pudding. I had had a previous conversation with my neighbour, Pura, as my friend Kylie in Cadiar had been given some colostrum (first milk) by a local shepherd and didn't know what to do with it. Pura had told me that a pudding is made from it. She'd obviously remembered the conversation and, as we had a new baby goat arrive this week, a bowl duly arrived one morning. Resembling a curd cheese, it tasted very nice although, as the way here, a lot of sugar had been added. I read up on colostrum and apparently it may become a super-food as we start to run out of antibiotics. I can't imagine what could top it in terms of food 'surprises' but I'm sure something will.
Saturday, 6 April 2013
Wine, women and ... doughnuts
After a busy time over the last few weeks plastering and painting, I planned today to catch up on some domestic tasks. The olive wood delivered yesterday needed cutting up and the backlog of washing needed doing.
A knock on the door first thing dictated a change in plan as José had arranged a visit to our 'higher up' neighbour, Antonio, to check out this year's wine. As Antonio was the man who had sold me the grapes to make my red wine, I was interested to see how our wines would compare and took along a sample.
Arriving at the cortijo at the set time, Antonio was nowhere to be found. José eventually tracked him down pruning vines about half a mile away and we headed off to his bodega. Now the term 'bodega' can mean lots of different things from a full-blown winery to, as in this case, a shed containing a couple of tanks.
First up was his Tempranillo and, while a little stronger than mine, I was pleased to note that there wasn't a huge difference. Antonio then tasted mine and pronounced it very good, commenting especially on the clarity of the wine. At 73, Antonio has sampled quite a few of the local brews in the past so I was quite relieved that my wine had passed the test.
There was a very old looking ham hanging in the shed from which a number of dry chunks were cut to accompany the drink. Having tried the red, we went on to taste his 'Costa' wine which is made from a mixture of old local varieties. This kind of wine is to be found everywhere in the region and is typically very sherry-like so I was pleasantly surprised to find Antonio's to be more like a rustic rosado and very nice too.
We had brought some 5 litre plastic containers and these were duly filled with Tempranillo for José and Costa for me.
Heading home, the alcohol had put José in a very chatty frame of mind and he spent the whole trip back giving me a full run-down on Antonio's three daughters covering names (can't remember), ages (25, 28 and 35), eligibility (all single) and 'condition' (all very good-looking) culminating in him promising to introduce them to me at a fiesta to be held in the lay-by at the bottom of the track on the last Saturday in May. Having previously been told by Antonio that I 'need a woman in the house to do the washing and cooking' (!), I feel a plot is under way.
Arriving home, I was invited in for lunch (extremely late at 3.45 as it is normally always bang on 2). Pura had prepared a splendid dish consisting of rice & broad beans flavoured with fennel and accompanied with pieces of wild boar rib. We chatted afterwards for what seemed ages covering, it seemed, every topic under the sun. (One useful piece of information was that José confirmed that I have 5 olive trees hidden deep down in the barranco below the ruin and that I should be able to get 25 litres of oil from them each year.)
Returning to base (with half a goat's cheese) for a short spell of wall scraping, there was another knock with José asking if I had a lemon (which I had). Knock number 3 of the day a while later brought a plate of hot doughnuts.
While today has been one of relative inactivity (though some wood did get chopped), my needs in terms of food and drink have been more than adequately met through my very lovely neighbours and, as I often do, I thanked my lucky stars that I live where I live and not in complete isolation. They colour my time here in so many ways and overwhelm me with their generosity.
PS Forgot to mention the half dozen eggs they gave me this morning!
A knock on the door first thing dictated a change in plan as José had arranged a visit to our 'higher up' neighbour, Antonio, to check out this year's wine. As Antonio was the man who had sold me the grapes to make my red wine, I was interested to see how our wines would compare and took along a sample.
Arriving at the cortijo at the set time, Antonio was nowhere to be found. José eventually tracked him down pruning vines about half a mile away and we headed off to his bodega. Now the term 'bodega' can mean lots of different things from a full-blown winery to, as in this case, a shed containing a couple of tanks.
First up was his Tempranillo and, while a little stronger than mine, I was pleased to note that there wasn't a huge difference. Antonio then tasted mine and pronounced it very good, commenting especially on the clarity of the wine. At 73, Antonio has sampled quite a few of the local brews in the past so I was quite relieved that my wine had passed the test.
There was a very old looking ham hanging in the shed from which a number of dry chunks were cut to accompany the drink. Having tried the red, we went on to taste his 'Costa' wine which is made from a mixture of old local varieties. This kind of wine is to be found everywhere in the region and is typically very sherry-like so I was pleasantly surprised to find Antonio's to be more like a rustic rosado and very nice too.
We had brought some 5 litre plastic containers and these were duly filled with Tempranillo for José and Costa for me.
Heading home, the alcohol had put José in a very chatty frame of mind and he spent the whole trip back giving me a full run-down on Antonio's three daughters covering names (can't remember), ages (25, 28 and 35), eligibility (all single) and 'condition' (all very good-looking) culminating in him promising to introduce them to me at a fiesta to be held in the lay-by at the bottom of the track on the last Saturday in May. Having previously been told by Antonio that I 'need a woman in the house to do the washing and cooking' (!), I feel a plot is under way.
Arriving home, I was invited in for lunch (extremely late at 3.45 as it is normally always bang on 2). Pura had prepared a splendid dish consisting of rice & broad beans flavoured with fennel and accompanied with pieces of wild boar rib. We chatted afterwards for what seemed ages covering, it seemed, every topic under the sun. (One useful piece of information was that José confirmed that I have 5 olive trees hidden deep down in the barranco below the ruin and that I should be able to get 25 litres of oil from them each year.)
Returning to base (with half a goat's cheese) for a short spell of wall scraping, there was another knock with José asking if I had a lemon (which I had). Knock number 3 of the day a while later brought a plate of hot doughnuts.
While today has been one of relative inactivity (though some wood did get chopped), my needs in terms of food and drink have been more than adequately met through my very lovely neighbours and, as I often do, I thanked my lucky stars that I live where I live and not in complete isolation. They colour my time here in so many ways and overwhelm me with their generosity.
PS Forgot to mention the half dozen eggs they gave me this morning!
Friday, 22 March 2013
Haircuts
Having had a haircut myself yesterday (jury still out on the local hairdresser), today marked the end of the vine pruning.
With 23 acres covered, hundreds and hundreds of vines snipped, several miles walked and all types of weather encountered, it has been, in many ways, quite a therapeutic experience. Over the course of the last 7 weeks, most days have involved a trip up the hill to keep chipping away at what seemed to be an endless task. While very repetitive, each vine required concentration to ensure that it was pruned correctly. No pruning was done last year by the previous owner and some vines have been lost. Failure to complete the task this year would have severely weakened the remaining vines further and resulted in further losses. This has been quite a motivating factor! The work has taken me to bits of the estate that I hadn't previously explored and given me plenty of thinking time about how I take things forward (as well as plenty of exercise).
Pruning has been juggled with normal domestic tasks, decorating, organising builders (slight problem with a missing lintel above the front door...), wood collection, dental treatment (and the weather) hence why it has taken 7 weeks. I am assured that 10th April is the deadline for pruning so I'm well inside.
With visitors due in April plus my possibly taking some time off for some R&R, the focus now shifts to decorating. Once you get through stripping the dodgy external shell of paint applied just before I bought, things get interesting and dealing with what's revealed results in lots of debris and dust. However, all the wooden beams downstairs have now been stripped and, in the hallway, treated for woodworm and stained. My plastering skills are improving which is lucky as there is alot of it to be done over the next couple of weeks.
Meanwhile, we seem to be moving in to Spring. Hoopoes and lizards are about and the almond orchards (now in leaf) are alive with singing cirl and rock buntings. Still awaiting other summer visitors to put in more than a fleeting appearance, but the tend is to warmer weather although the usual sunshine has had the odd interruption for reason. Still, it seems more clement here than in England. Listening to the weather and the travel reports on the BBC doesn't make me yearn for going back.
With 23 acres covered, hundreds and hundreds of vines snipped, several miles walked and all types of weather encountered, it has been, in many ways, quite a therapeutic experience. Over the course of the last 7 weeks, most days have involved a trip up the hill to keep chipping away at what seemed to be an endless task. While very repetitive, each vine required concentration to ensure that it was pruned correctly. No pruning was done last year by the previous owner and some vines have been lost. Failure to complete the task this year would have severely weakened the remaining vines further and resulted in further losses. This has been quite a motivating factor! The work has taken me to bits of the estate that I hadn't previously explored and given me plenty of thinking time about how I take things forward (as well as plenty of exercise).
Pruning has been juggled with normal domestic tasks, decorating, organising builders (slight problem with a missing lintel above the front door...), wood collection, dental treatment (and the weather) hence why it has taken 7 weeks. I am assured that 10th April is the deadline for pruning so I'm well inside.
With visitors due in April plus my possibly taking some time off for some R&R, the focus now shifts to decorating. Once you get through stripping the dodgy external shell of paint applied just before I bought, things get interesting and dealing with what's revealed results in lots of debris and dust. However, all the wooden beams downstairs have now been stripped and, in the hallway, treated for woodworm and stained. My plastering skills are improving which is lucky as there is alot of it to be done over the next couple of weeks.
Meanwhile, we seem to be moving in to Spring. Hoopoes and lizards are about and the almond orchards (now in leaf) are alive with singing cirl and rock buntings. Still awaiting other summer visitors to put in more than a fleeting appearance, but the tend is to warmer weather although the usual sunshine has had the odd interruption for reason. Still, it seems more clement here than in England. Listening to the weather and the travel reports on the BBC doesn't make me yearn for going back.
Thursday, 7 March 2013
Not quite a washout
With the skies appearing to be determined to dump as much water as they can on this part of the world, the planned activities for the week have been curtailed. Having tried it, I speak with authority when I say that being stuck on a hill 3000' feet up in driving rain with a gale blowing trying to look through your to peer through misted glasses and make sure that you cut off all the dead vine twigs and only leave 2 buds on the live ones (and NOT lop off something you shouldn't) is not easy.
The weather has also hampered wood collection with the result that stocks of dry almond logs have run dangerously low. Following a conversation with my neighbour Jose yesterday, I ordered a trailer-load of olive wood (the best for fires) from his nephew Antonio for delivery today. Short of cash, I went to the bank in to Cadiar first thing giving Jose a lift. The original purpose of his trip was to get a photocopy made in the newsagents. Of course, we actually came back with a sack of oats, two of potatoes, some canary seed, a bag of sardinbes plus some anchovies! This is relatively normal though. Not having a car, my neighbours make the most of any opportunities for free carriage. Again, as is normal, we took a coffee before our return and I received an invite to lunch (always taken at 2).
Antonio arrived at 1 and a hurried unloading of the wood was made in to the stable. Arriving for lunch, I was greeted by Jose's sister (with whom Antonio lodges) so it was 6 of us that sat down to lunch. The said sardines and anchovies made a reappearance (cooked) along with wild boar chorizo, salad and migas (breadcrumbs cooked in a vegetable stock and then fried). Although very simple, it was a very delicious lunch. With freshly picked oranges for dessert, lunch extended out until 4 pm and turned what looked like being an entire washout into quite a pleasant day. I even managed to explain (and be understood) about my past life as a fishery officer and recount the tales of drinking whisky at 7am with the skippers of the boats in Aberdeen.
Here's hoping the weather improves soon as scraping the 7 layers of 'stuff' off the hallway walls isn't doing my sanity any good.
The weather has also hampered wood collection with the result that stocks of dry almond logs have run dangerously low. Following a conversation with my neighbour Jose yesterday, I ordered a trailer-load of olive wood (the best for fires) from his nephew Antonio for delivery today. Short of cash, I went to the bank in to Cadiar first thing giving Jose a lift. The original purpose of his trip was to get a photocopy made in the newsagents. Of course, we actually came back with a sack of oats, two of potatoes, some canary seed, a bag of sardinbes plus some anchovies! This is relatively normal though. Not having a car, my neighbours make the most of any opportunities for free carriage. Again, as is normal, we took a coffee before our return and I received an invite to lunch (always taken at 2).
Antonio arrived at 1 and a hurried unloading of the wood was made in to the stable. Arriving for lunch, I was greeted by Jose's sister (with whom Antonio lodges) so it was 6 of us that sat down to lunch. The said sardines and anchovies made a reappearance (cooked) along with wild boar chorizo, salad and migas (breadcrumbs cooked in a vegetable stock and then fried). Although very simple, it was a very delicious lunch. With freshly picked oranges for dessert, lunch extended out until 4 pm and turned what looked like being an entire washout into quite a pleasant day. I even managed to explain (and be understood) about my past life as a fishery officer and recount the tales of drinking whisky at 7am with the skippers of the boats in Aberdeen.
Here's hoping the weather improves soon as scraping the 7 layers of 'stuff' off the hallway walls isn't doing my sanity any good.
Thursday, 28 February 2013
Anniversary (well, half of one)
It's 6 months today since my arrival at Los Ruices. I have to day that the time has hope very quickly and so much has happened during that time. Some good, some bad, some funny, some sad.
Despite everything I can't imagine being anywhere. Being so close to nature in such a beautiful location brings me so much pleasure whether it's stumbling across orchids in my fields or watching a kestrel hovering in a stiff wind over the vineyard or, even, working through the rain with the neighbours to clear landslips on the track.
Every day throws up some new challenge but I'm still very positive about making the place 'work' in some form or other though what form that will take will isn't entirely clear. However it's still early days and I know that I need to see a year through before I can even start to understand what I've really got.
With snow on the ground, life looks very different from that hot and dusty day when I drove up the track in the van.
Despite everything I can't imagine being anywhere. Being so close to nature in such a beautiful location brings me so much pleasure whether it's stumbling across orchids in my fields or watching a kestrel hovering in a stiff wind over the vineyard or, even, working through the rain with the neighbours to clear landslips on the track.
Every day throws up some new challenge but I'm still very positive about making the place 'work' in some form or other though what form that will take will isn't entirely clear. However it's still early days and I know that I need to see a year through before I can even start to understand what I've really got.
With snow on the ground, life looks very different from that hot and dusty day when I drove up the track in the van.
Wednesday, 13 February 2013
Normal service will be resumed...I hope!
The weeks seem to be flying past this year (or is it something to do with age?!).
January, which always seemed to drag in Blighty, was gone before I knew it and then we hit February which I always knew was going to be busy.
'Tis the month for pruning and we are now on day 11 of doing the grape vines. I say "we" but, apart from some initial training and help from my guru Jose on the first day, it has been me working his way up the hill. The vines are getting a very hard prune which swill act as a 'kill or cure' treatment. There are some big patches of dead vines but all is not lost as the dead stumps make fantastic firewood. Come harvest time, I should get a good idea of what is productive vineyard and then I can weigh up whether to replant the bad areas next February.
10 acres done; only another 14 to go (and silk have to finish pruning the black figs).
However, the weather is fantastic at the moment and it is a joy to be working outside. The nights are cold but almost every day is warm with blue skies.
With the current workload plus day-to-day chores, it's difficult to keep the blog updated but
I'll do what I can. There's an entry in the pipeline for the wild boar 'matanza' which will come with a health warning for vegetarians!
January, which always seemed to drag in Blighty, was gone before I knew it and then we hit February which I always knew was going to be busy.
'Tis the month for pruning and we are now on day 11 of doing the grape vines. I say "we" but, apart from some initial training and help from my guru Jose on the first day, it has been me working his way up the hill. The vines are getting a very hard prune which swill act as a 'kill or cure' treatment. There are some big patches of dead vines but all is not lost as the dead stumps make fantastic firewood. Come harvest time, I should get a good idea of what is productive vineyard and then I can weigh up whether to replant the bad areas next February.
10 acres done; only another 14 to go (and silk have to finish pruning the black figs).
However, the weather is fantastic at the moment and it is a joy to be working outside. The nights are cold but almost every day is warm with blue skies.
With the current workload plus day-to-day chores, it's difficult to keep the blog updated but
I'll do what I can. There's an entry in the pipeline for the wild boar 'matanza' which will come with a health warning for vegetarians!
Tuesday, 5 February 2013
Belated updates
I've posted three new blog entries that cover events from January.
1. 'Bonfire night' in Torvizcon
http://gtandalus.blogspot.com.es/2013/01/fire.html
2. An 'interesting' drive
http://gtandalus.blogspot.com.es/2013/01/hairy-drive-with-lemons.html
3. More photographs of the snow at Los Ruices
http://gtandalus.blogspot.com.es/2013/01/la-nieve-more-photos
Enjoy. They should make a change from photos of almond blossom and blue skies....ok, perhaps one more!
1. 'Bonfire night' in Torvizcon
http://gtandalus.blogspot.com.es/2013/01/fire.html
2. An 'interesting' drive
http://gtandalus.blogspot.com.es/2013/01/hairy-drive-with-lemons.html
3. More photographs of the snow at Los Ruices
http://gtandalus.blogspot.com.es/2013/01/la-nieve-more-photos
Enjoy. They should make a change from photos of almond blossom and blue skies....ok, perhaps one more!
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