A Creative Spirit in Portugal
Hi fellow writers. I am going to give a shoutout for Flashes. Flashes is a literary website where we publish short stories, non-fiction, flash fiction, poetry and author interviews. Our goal is to give talented writers a platform to showcase their creativity, with an emphasis on original voice, innovative style and challenging plots. If you... Continue Reading →
Once my knee replacement operation was scheduled for the 13th August at Hospital Particular do Algarve, Alvor, I was advised to go into social isolation for 14 days prior to surgery - leaving home only for essential situations. I was also advised to wear a surgical mask in closed spaces and ensure social distance of... Continue Reading →
Over the last few months I have been meaning to undertake some general maintenance aka TLC to my expanding collection of succulents and cacti. Many have either outgrown their pots, are infested with woolly aphids and mealybugs, or have dead leaves and debris which is rotting between their fleshy leaves or at the base of... Continue Reading →
When the surgeon informed me I must lose weight before my replacement knee operation in order to aid a quicker recovery, I wondered where to start. AND, I got the usual COVID lecture re obesity which puts me at higher risk. Great! How can you lose weight when you can only move at the pace... Continue Reading →
The official opening of the border between Portugal and Spain on the 1st of July quickly brought an end to our brief period of freedom and the sanity we'd enjoyed after the State of Emergency was lifted from May 3rd. Eventually, we plucked up the confidence to eat at a couple of our favorite restaurants... Continue Reading →
Praia da Carriagem on the West Coast Vicentine Coast Natural Park is known for its outstanding rock formations. At low tide, the beach reveals a curious natural amphitheater carved into the schist It is popular with fishermen and those seeking a secluded beach in a magnificent unspoiled and natural setting. Great for walks, relaxing away... Continue Reading →
My six on Saturday this week focuses on some of my vegetable success stories which makes a change from my usual woes regarding blight, grey/white mold, and the rogue blackbird. While growing fruit and vegetables in containers are more challenging than growing in raised beds or directly in the ground it does have some advantages... Continue Reading →
I've not participated in Trent's Weekly Smile for some time but today when the notification popped up in my inbox, I thought why not? We are all living through so much doom and gloom thanks to not only COVID but political shenanigans and demonstrations etc, I think it's time to look outwards at the positives... Continue Reading →
For this week's Six on Saturday, I have focused on a selection of 'quirky' plants. Yes, I am running a little close to the wire timewise as I decided to wait to include pictures of the glorious Epiphyllum Oxypetalum (Queen Of The Night) which only flowers in the dark. Each sweet-scented bloom only lasting one... Continue Reading →
My Six on Saturday this week is a roundup of garden challenges. I am now officially at war with the blackbird who thinks he reigns supreme over my vegetable garden. After several attempts to grow lettuce from seed, I finally managed to persuade some to germinate and the seedlings moved to my large lettuce pot.... Continue Reading →
I am curious. While removing and disposing of some tomato plants that had contracted the dreaded blight I wondered if I should dispose of the remaining soil in the pots or would the UV rays from the sun kill any blight bacteria? Apparently, high UV kills COVID-19 virus on surfaces so why not blight, especially... Continue Reading →
Somehow we managed to survive the State of Emergency (SoE) and lockdown with our sanity and sense of humour still intact. The eerie silence in our local area was unnerving so when we heard voices in the road we were like meerkats trying to see who was walking by. Challenging times, yes, but it also... Continue Reading →
* Agave americana 'Marginata'
My six for this Saturday focuses on different seating areas around our garden. Perfect places to catch the early morning sun and enjoy breakfast, to write, read, sample a Gin and Tonic at the end of the day or just ponder the meaning of life and the COVID crisis. While others enjoyed a heatwave the... Continue Reading →
Lucky Jim I have a pet mosquito I call him Lucky Jim He follows me everywhere even when I swim Though I swatted him a hundred times, he lives to tell the tale And every time he bites me, my skin resembles Braille! While digging in the garden he’s zooming around my head Jim even... Continue Reading →
It was difficult to select six highlights for my garden diary 'six on Saturday' this week. There is so much going on in the garden, including projects, I am spoiled for choice. My Gnome has been busy working his fingers to the bone, cutting our huge Melaleuca privacy hedge, moving the contents from the old... Continue Reading →
My Gnome has been SUPER busy with a new project. After seeing a friend's three-bin composting system, Gnome kindly agreed to construct something similar to replace my old single bin plastic composter. I try to recycle/upcycle everything so what we will use this for I'm not sure. At the moment I am leaning towards... Continue Reading →
Where has this week gone? It seems impossible it's Saturday again! I have been so engrossed in helping my Gnome build our new composter (more on this project in a separate post) that I nearly forgot to post my weekly gardening update. This week we were blessed with heavy rain on Tuesday night which gave... Continue Reading →
I am dismayed to learn that Portugal is in negotiations with the UK to agree on an 'air bridge' by the end of June. I may be having a senior moment but why actively encourage British tourists to come to Portugal when we have all worked so hard to protect the health service and spent... Continue Reading →
The temperatures this week have almost made gardening unbearable but as they say: the 'early bird catches the worm' so the Gnome and I started work before 8am. We've not only been working in the vegetable area but have started a new project - more on this next week! Last week, a fellow six... Continue Reading →
When Portugal declared the end of the State of Emergency and moved to a new phase, aptly named ‘Calamity’, I felt apprehensive. There are still no reported cases of Covid-19 in the western corner of the Algarve but with the phased opening of restaurants, beaches, shops etc., even with limiting the numbers, maintaining social-distancing, hand... Continue Reading →
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While I aspire to achieve a certain level of vegetable self-suffiency, I am a realist and accept my limited mobility and available growing space dictates how much I can grow. The secret is probably to keep a constant supply of new seedlings in production and, unlike other years, the moment a plant becomes stressed or... Continue Reading →
Human Lottery Death, Human Lottery Vulnerable Destroy their ticket The Youth invincible Until their number is called Millennium children complain While prophets of doom and gloom proclaim: There are plenty of toilet rolls in Hell! This is one of the poems I wrote for National Poetry Writing Month on writingforums.com where we were challenged... Continue Reading →
This week I have mainly focused on creating colour in the living areas of the garden. aka, the terraces, pool and in the Gin garden. Although, if am honest, I have not had much time for 'chillaxing' in said Gin garden as there is always some area of the garden screaming for attention, especially as... Continue Reading →
It's been another strange week. This morning I was informed we need to adapt to the NEW 'normal' - or words to that effect. I'd just woken up but I've already embraced 'normal' to stay safe. On a positive note, hopefully the garden centers will be open from today as Portugal moves from State of... Continue Reading →
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In these uncertain times we all need an anchor in our lives to help keep us sane, so the commitment to grow all my fruit and veg from seeds is mine. The seeds and compost may have cost a small fortune, which will make the produce gold-plated if and when it grows, but this is... Continue Reading →
My garden diary this week focuses on my efforts, given the COVID-19 lockdown, to grow as many fruit and vegetables as possible in an assortment of pots, containers and plastic crates as I can lay my hands on. The only problem is that I normally buy established seedling plugs from the plant guy at local... Continue Reading →
My courgettes were growing exceptionally well and then disaster struck. I noticed the ends of the baby courgettes started to wither and die off. The rest of the plant is perfectly healthy so the only thing I can think of is that the wet weather meant the bees were not pollinating the flowers.... Continue Reading →
We have now been in lockdown for four weeks and apart from a visit to the Farmacia (germ central) last Friday, I have lived within the boundaries of our property. I do miss driving to the cliffs above our local beach for a morning coffee or sundowner and meals out with friends but that's okay,... Continue Reading →
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It's been a long week and as I watch the cases of COVID-19 rise across the Algarve, I've now accepted we are likely to remain in lockdown until the end of the summer. To help me stay focussed I have moved from panic into survival mode and have decided that instead of growing the usual... Continue Reading →
Due to health issues and the fact we are approaching our winter years, we decided to go into self-isolation on Friday 13th March several days before the Portuguese government declared a state of emergency and 'official' lockdown. We prepared well in advance thanks to our daughter who lives in France. She warned us what was... Continue Reading →
In between writing this post, I am dodging the showers to take photographs. Yes, hopefully, the much-needed rain has finally arrived. March is one of my favourite months as most of my resident plants, cacti and shrubs flower before the heat of summer when colour and interest is mainly provided by the usual suspects such... Continue Reading →
What a week! I won't mention the dreaded C word as it has already taken over our lives. Thank God we have been enjoying wonderful weather with temperatures as high as the mid-twenties during the day and a minimum of 13C at night. Time to hunker down in the garden and tackle all the outstanding... Continue Reading →
A couple of years ago I rescued a small, solid white plastic table from our local rubbish bins. I will qualify this by saying people do leave good stuff near the bins in the hope it is rehomed. What a great way to recycle! The only promble - the plastic had deteriorated and lost its... Continue Reading →
While we've been enjoying beautiful weather we have followed storm Denis, which is ravaging parts of the UK, with horror. It certainly helps to put life into perspective when you see the devastation it has left in its wake. My thoughts are with you. This week's SOS focusses on the progress of my little horta... Continue Reading →
The day finally dawned when Hubby accepted my disability and the fact that despite nearly one hundred sessions of physio over the past two years to help with reoccurring bouts of tendonitis, numerous sessions of acupuncture to help control the pain, and a meniscus op, he agreed to let me buy a wheelchair so I... Continue Reading →
My garden Gnome worked his magic in the garden this week while I've been busy plotting, planning and repotting. I seek sanctuary and some degree of sanity from my garden endeavours as the craziness of Brexit comes to pass and Britain embraces the next phase of its history. 1. Raised Vegetable Bed My garden gnome... Continue Reading →
For my Six on Saturday this week I will focus on my vegetable and strawberry challenges. This week has brought another mixed bag of weather with temperatures ranging from 3C at night to 20C in the day on our sunny sheltered terrace. Northerly icy winds followed by heavy rain confirmed it was still winter rather... Continue Reading →
Top of the list for my Six on Saturday this week is my Sickly Epiphyllum Oxypetalum. It's dying and I don't know why. Any advice gratefully received. This week we've had a mixture of weather including heavy rain (at night) with the night time temperature from a low of 3C to a high of 15C.... Continue Reading →
A new year brings a plethora of resolutions one of which is to actively participate in the Six on Saturday garden challenge once again. I am sad to say I have neglected my garden for several months due to a persistent knee injury, so on hobbling around my plot the number of flowering plants came... Continue Reading →
Our Literary website, 'Flashes', is organising an Ekphrastic challenge. Using the image above write a poem or story (max 1000 words) that you feel best interprets this picture. Our team will choose two winners, one for the best poem and the other for the best piece of flash fiction. Both winning entries will be published... Continue Reading →
This week the sun pushed its way through the clouds and once again temperatures reached the high twenties. At least the heavy rain we enjoyed for a couple of days replenished the water-butts, gave the shrubs and hedge a much-needed drink, and brought some relief to the scorched landscape - fire risk downgraded from high... Continue Reading →
