The Garrido Adventure

Hello all,

late summer season has provided us with carobs, figs, beans, almonds and chillies. Some of the tomato plants (the early ones) are definitely on last legs and looking pretty depressing, while others, planted later, are still going strong. Our greywater goes straight out a few meters from the house and some tomato seeds must have been washed down from the sink as we suddenly discovered five monster tomato plants right around the inlet. We have given them no attention whatsoever and they are the biggest tomato plants I have ever seen. Food for thought and a nice indication that using greywater for irrigation is indeed a good thing..!

August was supposed to be a holiday from builders and building work but that plan somehow didn't happen and we have only had a few days "off" from bish-bash-boshing...However, I don't mind as things are moving really fast now and "the end" to all this (as if there is ever an end to a house like this...) seems more discernible. August has been mainly about the pool and fixing up "Zone 1" around the house, levelling and making ready for stone laying and gravelling. We're trying to find a balance between comfortable walking around and being outside and keeping the place as "natural" as possible. I hope we'll get it right. Still - getting some paving in will be great - we stumble when we walk on level streets in the village as we are so used to totally uneven, gravelly, slippery, stony ground everywhere. Pool is finally in and we have had some swims - the water is fresh indeed, sure to wake you up - but it has to be done :-). Electricity is ready to be connected, gas pipes are dug down, we are done designing the kitchen, Simon is going to lay the floor next week...Gosh!!! This could become reality after all! In the meantime, I am busying myself sanding doors and windows and pondering colours, harvesting carobs, picking lavender to put with the linen, gardening, and mopping mopping mopping the floor. The digger machine having been here for days has pounded the earth to a fine dust that the wind picks up and puts down - everywhere...The mornings are getting cooler, with a fog in the valley in the early hours - a telltale sign of autumn moving in. I've been clearing the forest at the end of each morning walk with Marley and Viva, ripping out pesky, flammable gorse to be able to get to those yummy mushrooms that should start popping up at the end of this month.

We also went to a place about 45 minutes drive from here, Font de Calda, which is an amazing gorge in the mountains, filled with fresh water even during the driest summer. The drive there is something else - not for the faint hearted. A real gem, see pictures below.

We are off for dinner at friends' shortly, here are some piccies:

Back of house cleared