A Day in Days

Merry Christmas!

This post is brought to you in photos from multiple days here in the mountains of Portugal to provide a seamless retelling of what a day is like at Casalinho. (We always wear the same clothes, thus the need to tell you the photos were taken on different days).

We wake up and it is freezing cold! We get dressed and head over the the training room for porridge and corn flakes with coffee for Brandon and tea for Jen.

Whatever, is not eaten is soon pre-washed the permaculture way. And maybe another cup of tea...

Finally, we start our day of work with the animals. The ducks are particularly glad to be back out for the day. Jen milks the goats while Brandon feeds the chickens, ducks, and rabbits. 

Once the goats are milked we walk them up so they can self forage. 

Hammering in the stake to hold the goats to a particular patch of ground.

Then we go into the woods to collect additional goat food which they'll eat through the coming night.

Cutting goat food is FUN!

Lady Goat Food

Here is where the hard work begins...

CHICKEN TRACTOR! This ingenious idea is to have the chicken put their natural scratching to good use by putting them on beds that need weeding. They will eat some of the weeds and dislodge the rest in their hunt for insects.

Currently, Brandon has been working with another volunteer on the tire terrace. Its purpose is to stop the gradual erosion and sliding of the beds above.

The farmhouse is on the left, and our group of caravans for the volunteers are on the right. Beds of strawberries are above the terrace.

Jen has been at work at weeding beds, transplanting strawberry plants and lettuce, planting asparagus and also helping on the tire terrace when extra braun and brains are needed. We work all through morning, the bells from the village telling us what time it is.

After a 2pm lunch, work is done for the day. Some afternoons we walk to Unhais-o-Velho to use the internet at the public internet hub and then relax by Tia Sue's wood stove while sipping wine.

Unhais-o-Velho

The Bar

To bed at 9:00pm

Wine wine and more wine

We've been here a full week in central Portugal and it's hard to believe that it's gone by so quickly. Exactly a week after we had arrived here we took our first day off. This is how it went: Wake up at 6:30, walk 45 minutes to Unhais o Velho, the closest town which has a bus stop, a bar and a wireless hotspot, to get on the bus to Pampilhosa da Serra. It was market day in Pampilhosa da Serra, which meant that at each tiny village the bus got more and more crowded with older men and women on their way to do their weekly food shopping.  By the time we finally arrived we were all crammed together, which meant I got to utilize my Portuguese to communicate to the lady on the seat next to us that our friend was not leaning on the door and no he was not going to push the door open while we were in motion. 

Breakfast was an omelet sandwich, some coffee with aguardente, a few beers and some red wine. The trio of old guys next to us were working on a plate of grilled bacon strips and had finished two bottles of wine by the time we were ready to go. We'll be having that next time!

After breakfast we went to the POOL to SHOWER (our first time bathing in a week) and swim. Next on the agenda was acquiring a wheel of delicious mountain cheese with some nice red mold on the outside and lunch of grilled chicken with more wine. We finished off our day with some more wine and a little shopping trip where we bought goodies like wine and cookies and biscuits for our cheese and four dozen eggs. All in all a good day, but we didn't take any pictures other than that first one so here are some others from the farm and around.

A view from our walk to Unhais O Velho

Mushroom hunting

for our lunch!

The farm

Washing dishes is not fun in the freezing cold

Our caravan sitting area

James, one of the four dogs, curled up in a chair

Brandon getting ready to start weeding some fruit trees

The fruit orchard

Important tools of the trade

Strawberries in December is not so bad!

Portugal Quick Update

This post comes without pictures. Only to say we arrived in Portugal and have started working at the farm (http://www.casalinho.com/). Jen and I have been weeding fruit trees for the past three days and finally see an end in sight. Our internet source is a 40 minute walk from the farm and we forgot the camera, hence no pictures. Next time when we remember we will tell of the wonders of Lisbon and the beauty of our temporary residence.

Here are a few morsels to pique your interest: Last night we had our first installment of "Top Hobo Chef." Cooking source-hobo fire. On the menu-coal roasted chestnuts and simmered quince in a caramelized sugar syrup cooked in a dented metal bowl. Delish!

More next time!