Faial update

 There is no excuse for the lack of updates but sure laziness. Often friends are asking for updates and we  forget that our daily activity which becomes our norm and perhaps uneventful to us, is still interesting to the flip side of this life.
Sandrine shared some corn seed she had ordered on line. I planted the seed and with in a day or two the birds had filtered the earth and enjoyed these jewels. I was fortunate to save a few and these were the results. They were too beautiful to eat, so I will save the seed for next year and try again.

Sitting outside a coffee shop I noticed the crossword on a public wall. While enjoy the warm sun, my mind found a few Portuguese words in this block of letters which I think is some cryptic clue.







What you are seeing is the dump, where household rubbish and garden and building material are disposed of. When we first arrived, we made regular visits for treasures, we found many useful items, either sculptures for the garden or furniture to be restored. Now look at it, flat, nothing. I did not explain too well that the household and garden have two separate sections, this is the building section and there is nothing. Everyday they must bulldoze it flat but the big question where are they pushing it to? The mountain behind is Praia do Norte.

I was just too slow with the camera but this was a gorgeous site. A farmer was coming round the corner and this lady he knew was coming out the shop with her shopping and he offered her a lift - in the back of the tractor.






A rogue fennel plant emerged in our garden, so I let it be, it did well and produced many heads. We picked and then by rubbing the florets the seeds fall out. This is time consuming but we must of harvested close on 1kg. I use it for a digestive tea mix, add it to our homemade muesli and the Portuguese make a great flat biscuit with cornmeal flour, butter, sugar and fennel seed and cook it slowly, in the forno which has cooled down after baking bread. I love these biscuits. I can not remember their name right now. Cheese is a great accompaniment too.

After a storm it is always interesting to visit the beach, to see its transformation and the treasures mother nature has washed up. Most of it is a sorry site, dead birds, a lot of plastic, many shoes and fair amount of driftwood. But on this occasion there was Sargasso seaweed and that was like finding gold that our garden would value. We gathered what bags we had a filled them up. It was not light work and the car was not close by. They recently put up beacons to stop cars coming down onto the beach. It was still worth the hard work.







Good way to sell more chillies - DO YOU KNOW PEPPERS ARE AN APHRODISIAC















The most  rewarding tree in our garden. We have planted, plum, orange, lemon, apples, fig and this tree a Tamarillo. I love it. Fruiting happens from November - December and they almost look like Christmas lights. So after a years growth we have fruit. We have since planted two more.











You might remember my birthday gift of various seeds, these were the carrots. Sweet and Delicious. Best advice if you are going to cook them and want to enjoy the two tone colouring, boil them whole, otherwise you loose the colour. Another definite for next year.

This sheep was constructed from old bits of polystyrene and there were other up cycled animals around the store and closer to Christmas they came together for the nativity scene at the entrance of the store.

On the 8th of December the shops were open in the evening, making special Christmas displays. The evening was perfect and there were many families out enjoying the crisp night. Different organisations and fregusias put their craft work out to display and raise money for different causes. The items to the right come from our village.

Attention Faial Property For Sale

If you are viewing our blog, please take a look at the headers and click on Faial Property For Sale.
We have friends wishing to sell their properties. We would be happy to help those who have a serious interest in buying property on Faial.

Tobacco Leaves Ready To Roll

Our tobacco leaves have been drying and are at the leathery stage and have now lost their stickiness.
This is how we did it and if you grow and harvest your own tobacco all comments and suggestions would be helpful. Firstly we cut the vein out the center then rolled a leaf really tightly then kept on adding more leaves until we had a tightly rolled cigar and glued the last leaf with a little honey. Last year we had read to roll this tightly then put it in a bag and allow it to ferment but a local guy said his father use to roll it tightly with honey. Well it turned out better to use as chewing tobacco rather than smoking tobacco. This year we have got as far as just rolling it tightly, without so much honey, so this is where we would appreciate any input.

Easy Peanut Brittle

Recently we bought some peanut brittle from Modelo but it was called Nougat - a bit confusing but thank goodness for the clear wrapper. Oh what a dissapointment, the nuts were burnt and the after taste on your tongue was really unpleasant. So how difficult can it be to make peanut brittle? Off to good ol Youtube and like I like to say, keep it simple. More simple this recipe couldn´t be. You will notice everyones comments - where is the bicarb? what about how much sugar etc and I notice there were no replies - WHY because we always want to make things more difficult than they really are. Just take an amount of sugar, and once it has got to the caramel stage add as much or as little peanuts as you like.

It is blowing a hooley outside and we are catching up on blogging and enjoying great
 peanut  brittle. We used almonds, be creative:)

Man - it is windy

Not much to blog about, But there is a reason it has been windy and raining for 2 days - have a look at
http://www.weather.com/weather/hurricanecentral/tracker

We have tied down the beehive, staked down the chicken coop that blows away closed the shutter on Judys house and we are about to get into a warm dry bed and see what tomorrow brings - sorry there are no pictures just these from the hurricane site

Tobacco, Tomatoes and bees

Well, Tanya gets back today from a trip, so I thought i would give you an update on what is happening in the garden - my tobacco plants are almost ready for harvest so I have taken off some of the leaves to hang - if you have a look in the pics there is a pack of rolling paper to give you the idea of the size of the leaves.

this is a close-up of the next picture to show the height of the plant - this is a different tobacco - either Habanero or Cuban - not sure

and to think they come from such tiny seeds

and here are the bees with a super on the Hive and some tomatoes - we are getting lots

and the tobacco leaves hung up to dry along with our onions that T plaited and our garlic

Maria Margarita playing the Hang

Last nights privilege was to absorb the beautiful sounds of the Hang from Maria Margarita.
This unique instrument was born in Switzerland in 2000 and Maria has been playing for 7 years now.

I chose this link as Maria and the Hang have travelled the world together and these are some fabulous pictures to accompany her harmonious sound.

Maria tells me she uses this instrument in a type of sound massage, so look forward to a trip over to Pico to enjoy this very relaxing meditative vibrational tones.
Thank you Maria you are truly talented.

Bee Informed

My darling bees arrived from Pico almost a week ago. I had been expecting them Tuesday last week but then heard they had not got their passport so it would be later in the week. When they arrived it was about 3 in the afternoon and very hot. I anticipated the guy who delivered them, would advise me that my location was correct and that he would help me move them from the nucleus to the new home. This was not to bee(excuse the pun)
I at least got him to suit up and open the box, as it  was wired up and had sponge in the front entrance. When he opened it many dead bees were carried out by the living ones. I felt sad that they had a hot long journey all closed up, with no air. Later that night I thought I had no bees left, and went out to see if there was any action. All I could  see was a pile of dead bees on the floor, being so absorbed by their loss I was forgetting it is night time and there might not be any around. First thing the next morning out to inspect -  there was activity. I thought great I would suit up and get them moved across. I got the smoker going but maybe not sufficiently but it was puffing. I readied my hive and then open the box, ah there were bees, I was delighted. I noticed the frames had plastic ends to them. I battled to lift out the first one but when it came up, all hell let rip, the noise was not pleasant like I had experienced at other peoples hives, so I thought lets move quickly get them in, only the frame did not fit in my hive, I was so pissed off and to top it all the face visor must have fallen against my face and I got stung. Quickly put the frame back in the old box, closed up and went straight away to take some homeopathic remedy apis and put some ice on the sting. I phoned a friend to come help but then it started raining, Friday 13 it just was not meant to bee.

Saturday she very kindly came round, we got the smoker working a lot more efficiently and went to do the job. I mentioned the frame not fitting so she started at the other end, all went well, except for the one I tried, so  I had done nothing incorrectly, only plastic not properly pushed on, with a Little bit of cutting we got it to fit.
 Eggs were present, some food but we did not see the queen. Petra did agree  they were still a bit aggressive. Her advise was to check them in 3 days time, which should have been yesterday but I thought, let them bee for a little bit, I see activity there, so let us pray all is going the way it should do inside there.

So my advise would bee, if you are a newbie, get an experienced person to assist you.
 There were many contributing factors to that day - stressed bees, being pissed that the guy dumped the bees and left and most probably emotionally feeling unsure, due to Nathan being in SA for his brothers funeral, so no right hand man.
I see more bees in the garden so happy to know they like their new home and I think there will be huge transformation in the garden after a few months of their presence.

Bee Update

Well the bee hive is almost complete - we are just awaiting some pieces which the Associação Apicultura, did not have in stock when we were there. Things like the bee suit, gloves and the metal entrance to the hive - Quite important, I think. We saw the person who organized the bees for us and apparently they are coming next week, so this gives us a little extra time. Here is a picture of the hive so far.

Here is a link to an article about the association
http://jornalincentivo.com/artigo_ver.php?id_artigo=581

Building updates in the workshop

Gee I have left you in the dark, no updates as to what is going down here on Faial.
Guess we are groaning like other countries around the world, about the weather and the lack of a good start to the summer.



The workshop is the place to be, it is all happening there. Nath has turned out some lovely stuff. He has made a corner shelf unit, a post box, an outside table and bench set, a gate to retain a gorgeous dog from going walk about and finally I get to have a bee hive not just one, two. So bees I have two new homes - and looking for tenants with friendly nature, good house keeping and prompt payment (liquid gold) please.

Espirito Santo

  I am a bit late on all the news and events that have been taking place. Over the past week we have had the celebration of Espirito Santo, many sopas have been held and fireworks going off. On the weekend of the 27 May we were invited to a sopas in the same venue as the last one I blogged about. Then on the Monday it was a holiday on Faial and from what I gather only Faial, Pico and Sao Jorge celebrate this holiday. There was a parade in Cedros, with the philharmonic playing, cakes, goats and pigs being raffled off and plenty to eat and drink. With all the rain we had been having, many prayers must have been said for this perfect day.

Citrus Gems

These gorgeous limes were planted in Australia for my birthday, thank you Robyn, I look forward to some pictures and how they are coming along. I hope my new Birthday tradition is catching on.  When you next have to buy someone a gift, please consider planting a tree.

These limes are native to Australia and are extremely vivid and flavoursome. Known and enjoyed for centuries by indigenous Australians, native limes are now hugely popular with the domestic gardener through to the professional chef. They are also tolerant of a wide range of conditions. (Some of the blurb on the back of the card)

Incessant rain and trança da casca do milho

Two days non stop rain - the ground is saturated, the rivers are almost overflowing and leaks are appearing that never leaked before, due to the direction and force of the rain (almost horizontal at times).

Never the less we are thankful for the rain for the farmers who needed the rain, but all the animals are looking like they have had enough now. It has been said too much rain in May can have an effect on the quality and quantity of the grape harvest.

Wow, we have read, surfed the net, baked, eaten way too much, had lots of good snuggles with the cats, braided all the husks that were collected with Maria but right now we would appreciate the suns return.

Nath has taken a video of me braiding the corn husks, the lighting is not the best but listen closely and you can hear the rain in the background.

Diatomaceous Earth

Seemed like only yesterday we were plagued by caterpillars eating our sweet potato leaves. The thought of the caterpillars has risen again as it is time to plant sweet potatoes.
 Our garden is chemical FREE and we plan to keep it that way. During our investigation looking for alternative ways to reduce this caterpillar we came across Diatomaceous Earth and what an incredible product it is.
 It was effect with the caterpillars and equally with reducing the ants and fleas which are now appearing with the spring rain.
So who would have thought this product was suitable for man to ingest. Yup it surely is with amazing benefits.
http://www.morethanalive.com/Diatomaceous-Earth-Food-Grade-Powder .
Be sure to add it to your pets food and sprinkle on their coat against fleas.

We are now adding it to our diet and boy are my nails growing at a rapid rate.

Apicultura Curso/Bee keeping course

The lengthy wait for a new post was due to a bee course I am attending being facilitated by Associaçao de Agricultores da Ilha do Faial. The lecturers are from North of Portugal. It has been every evening from 7-11 and today we got to have hands on experience - absolutely incredible. The course has been informative and interesting and it was all in Portuguese! shoo wee, mega concentration required and homework to fill in the blanks I did not understand. We are 20 and of that number 12 are female and two of us are foreigners. Great group all attending for their own reasons.  An acupuncturist is attending the course and is interested in bees for acupuncture, take a look at this video. Nature can continually amaze us.




We have viewed the processing room, seen how to rewire and re wax frames, how to identify Varroa, anatomy of the bee, its reproductive process, diseases, application of chemicals and organic methods of disease control, uses for various by products of bee keeping eg, propolis, wax, pollen etc

Happy Birthday to Me

It is My Birthday Today and another golden day has arisen, especially for Me.
I would like to thank all the Angels that have come into my life and continue to guide and assist me on this beautiful journey .

My new birthday proposal - I would very much like a tree to be planted, site irrelevant. Friends/Angels gifts you would like to give me  - would you mind that they be a tree, either given or planted. Just think how we could do our bit to renew forests that are being cut down daily. Here on Faial there are many ancient trees, Pat has two trees in her garden that according to her neighbour are at least 120 years. We could call these Age Markers.

Swallows

It is clear spring has sprung, we have had a full week of glorious weather and the evidence is out, windows are wide open, all winter clothing is being washed and put away. Summer wear is being reviewed and given a refreshing wash and the last signs of spring are the return of the SWALLOWS and I do not mean the feathered kind. It is our other family that leave for warmer climates and return to warmer days here on Faial. Welcome home Rosemarie and Werni and thank you Robyn for your kind words of encouragement regarding our blog. Just under a month now and you will be back to enjoy the Good Life.

In the beginning, we were totally out of sync with the rhythm of Faial and now we anticipate the sound of the tractor and know when it is full moon and what is being planted. I always wondered how they knew when to do what. It also helps that we are more involved now in our own garden and planting. Found a useful site too, which gives a bit of structure to our daily garden routine. Click Farmers Almanac

Make your own cordial

I had two bags of the sour oranges (I will get their proper name) from the dia da troca but what was I going to do with them, definitely not clean pigs intestines, nor did I have fishes to feed the masses that I needed a marinade of that quantity, so instead I made Veronica's cordial.
You take 1litre of the freshly squeezed juice and 500g sugar. You place both ingredients in a pot on the stove and bring it to the boil, then allow it to simmer for approx 15 mins. While that is simmering away, sterilise some bottles you would like to store them in. Once the juice has cooked for 15 min pour into sterilised jars and cap.
Perfect for summer - pour a little into a glass and top with cold water, super refreshing.

Bandarra New video and beauty of Faial

Here is a video by a band we enjoy from Faial- it shows some of the beauty of the Island, and some places we go to eg. - the Caldeira, and also has some shots in the bar "Fim do Mundo" (End of the world) owned by Pat and Manny  - enjoy the music and also the scenery.
Bandarra had a concert in the Teatro Faialense, where they had the release of their new CD - we went along and it was an awesome evening

Dia da Troca

 A couple of times a year we have dia da troca, we get together to swop produce we have an excess of in our garden, or home crafts.  It is absolutely wonderful, you never know what will be there.  Yesterday was the first time that someone brought 2 pigeons.

I seem to go with a bag of goodies and come back with a bulging bag of devine produce.

Lets see, I took some bottles of kefir, grape jam, small bottle marmalade, tobacco seeds, rosemary, lemongrass, sage and eggs from my chooks. I returned with a tea towel that had been crocheted round the edge, celery, two bags of sour oranges (not sure what they call them here) in Faial they use them to marinade fish and clean the intestines of the pig when making linguiça but the lady who gave them to me, makes a great cordial with these beauties. The juice from these sour oranges is cooked up with a certain quantity of sugar, then bottled to be used as and when you like.
 Carrying on, I got a coffee plant, laurel and tamarillo plant (love them) cant wait for their fruit. Some okra and pumpkin seeds, oh and organic toilet cleaner. I mean really how does life get better than this!!

The day was gorgeous, warm sun , no wind and everyone was just so happy to see one another. I left with a super full feeling from a magical day.

Look up www.biclaapedal.com this lady had created wonderful products with up-cycled materials.