The tourist season is well and truly under-way here in Asturias with the last two weeks of June, August and the beginning of September being the main season. Outside of those few weeks it is very quiet and tranquil. There are many fiestas around and it seems like almost nightly, we can hear the rockets exploding that mark the start and finish of the celebrations.
There are many markets around at this time of year. We went along to Posada where there was a street market and a vegetable produce, small mammals and bird show. There were demonstrations of cider making, free trees to be taken to plant, a collection of around 50 very impressive bonsai trees and many craft and food stalls.
We had a stall at a local Rastrillo (street market) and managed to sell all of our stock of chairs by 2pm and quite a bit of old pottery and glass. Luis handed out a fair few business cards for chair restoration and it is likely that many of them will be in touch over the coming months if past experience is anything to go by.
The vegetable beds are doing well with most crops, and apart from a disastrous onion harvest, we will have a bumper year if the warm weather continues. Chard, squash, marrow and courgettes, beetroot, basil, kolrabi, beans, fennel and carrots have all done exceptionally well. We are busy making best use of the produce by making lots of soups for the freezer, jars of basil pesto and plenty of fresh salads using raw shredded vegetables and salad leaves. The tomatoes have come on well despite an early attack of blight and with a bit of luck we might have enough to make a few jars of tomato pesto.
We have just taken delivery of 50 sq meters of stone and 3 cubic meters of sand to pave the winding path and terrace. Luis has made a series of mosaics to be integrated with the stone...watch this space. We have paved half of the path and hope to get the remaining two sections completed in the next couple of weeks. The terrace will take a little longer due to its size.
The wildlife pond continues to attract animals, birds, amphibians and insects. We managed to capture deer, more badgers, a pine marten and hedgehog on night camera. I have included the film of the deer but you can watch the others by clicking here or by subscribing to videos to get new uploads. Stick with the video as the deer come back into shot near the end.
We recently had a large family meal in Palencia where the majority of Luis' brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews and their respective partners (24 or so) came together for the first time in many years. Luis' sister Rita made a very large Paella and roast chicken, I took veggie food and nearly everyone brought desserts. Luis' brother Oscar was over from Venezuela where he lives as a Marist Brother and teaches in the Orinoco Delta. He is on his way to stay with us for a few days which we are looking forward to, after which we have a few visitors due to come over in August and September so it will be a perfect time to share our plentiful harvests.
The vegetable beds are doing well with most crops, and apart from a disastrous onion harvest, we will have a bumper year if the warm weather continues. Chard, squash, marrow and courgettes, beetroot, basil, kolrabi, beans, fennel and carrots have all done exceptionally well. We are busy making best use of the produce by making lots of soups for the freezer, jars of basil pesto and plenty of fresh salads using raw shredded vegetables and salad leaves. The tomatoes have come on well despite an early attack of blight and with a bit of luck we might have enough to make a few jars of tomato pesto.
We have just taken delivery of 50 sq meters of stone and 3 cubic meters of sand to pave the winding path and terrace. Luis has made a series of mosaics to be integrated with the stone...watch this space. We have paved half of the path and hope to get the remaining two sections completed in the next couple of weeks. The terrace will take a little longer due to its size.
The wildlife pond continues to attract animals, birds, amphibians and insects. We managed to capture deer, more badgers, a pine marten and hedgehog on night camera. I have included the film of the deer but you can watch the others by clicking here or by subscribing to videos to get new uploads. Stick with the video as the deer come back into shot near the end.
We recently had a large family meal in Palencia where the majority of Luis' brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews and their respective partners (24 or so) came together for the first time in many years. Luis' sister Rita made a very large Paella and roast chicken, I took veggie food and nearly everyone brought desserts. Luis' brother Oscar was over from Venezuela where he lives as a Marist Brother and teaches in the Orinoco Delta. He is on his way to stay with us for a few days which we are looking forward to, after which we have a few visitors due to come over in August and September so it will be a perfect time to share our plentiful harvests.
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| Luis y Oscar |
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