Cycling in Asturias: The challenge of cycling to the mountain lakes.

Trip Report by Luis 

Asturias is a beautiful region with a dramatic landscape where you are never very far away from the coast, luscious green valleys and the majestic Picos de Europa Mountains. Setting off cycling from La Pasera  to the surrounding villages is a flat and enjoyable ride and if we go further afield along the coastal plains it starts to require a certain affinity for cycling up and down hills and mountains.

When we first moved here I disliked venturing further afield due to a lack of fairly flat terrain and well defined off-road paths. Cycling along tracks where you have to get off your bike and carry it for a considerable length of time as it may be too rough even for a proper mountain bike, is not my kind of cycling.

Eventually I decided to limit myself to cycle along the numerous rather quiet lanes and roads where coming across other vehicles is rather infrequent. Spanish drivers seem to be well-used to cyclists on the road and the driving code stipulates that a cyclist has the same rights as any other car on the road. I remember when we frist drove up to the Picos de Europa mountain lakes (Lake Ercina and Lake Enol) in the car and spotted a professional looking cyclist who was steadily gaining altitude. I remember thinking then that such strenuous cycling would not be enjoyable.

Overtime...I started cycling up some of the easier mountain routes and I started to see cycling up to the mountain lakes as a possibility. After some weeks of training, I have recently cycled up the lakes for the second time, some would say I am a glutton for punishment.

Torimbia beach

During my training I cycled to one of my favourite beaches in Asturas, Torimbia. Once you reach the car park and before you start walking down to the beach it is worth stopping a for a while to admire the beautiful views of the Asturian coast with its dramatic cliffs and golden beaches.

El Fito looking towards La Pasera

Further training saw me cycling on the coastal road to the West which took me toward El Fito viewing platform at an altitude of about 700 m that offers some magnificent views of the coast and of the Picos National Park. Once I'd cycled up El Fito I knew that physically I was ready to undertake the challenge up the lakes.

It is one of the toughest challenges within the "La Vuelta" or the cycling tour of Spain. This cycling route up to the Lakes of Covadonga entails a 1056 m ascent over 12.6 Km that starts at the base of the sanctuary of Our Lady of Covadonga.

Our Lady of Covadonga

As I commenced the climb I cycled under the shade of the luscious mixed perennial woodlands that had started coming into leaf whilst the ground was a carpet of colour provided by the wild flowers, grasses, mosses and lichens. Concentrating on the flora and the sounds of the numerous songbirds is an interesting distraction from the physical hard work and the rising body temperature from hard cycling.

Eventually the clearings in the woodland became greater as I continued cycling up the road but now the vistas across the green valleys are stunning and for a short while I almost forgot how tired I was becoming. Cycling on up the road, the mountains start towering on my left while ahead of me I noticed the distant cars climbing the famous La Huesera section, 800 m with a 15% gradient that I needed to tackle as I reached the half-way point in the climb.

Psychologically, it is the toughest section but thankfully, numerous people cheer you up as they drive past. God knows what they think as you brave a smile trying not to loose concentration on reaching the bend on the road ahead of you. After La Huesera you hope for the lakes to be just around the corner while at the same time you know that you only just passed the halfway mark a short while ago.

The alpine flowers I encounter on the roadside are like eye candy whilst I considered if there is the energy left to continue the ascent. Eventually the mountain peaks start appearing closer and closer with every bend I conquer, until I eventually cycled around a massive rock to a first glimpse of Lake Enol  which greeted me with its waters reflecting the rocks and greenery that surrounds it.

Lago Enol

At this point the sense of joy and achievement starts setting in as I know it is only a few more hundred meters before I will reach Lake Ercina where I can draw breath and admire the snow covered peaks reflecting in the water.

Lago Ercina y Luis

I usually ask one of the numerous people visiting this beauty spot to take my photo as I try to control the big smile that I hardly can contain. After a much deserved rest, it is a matter of starting the free ride back down while keeping a good hold on the breaks to prevent the bicycle getting too much speed. You can never forget that the impressive views come with significant drops on the side of the road.

In total, this circular ride from La Pasera is about 95 Km and a refreshing shower is always much appreciated before relaxing in the garden with the cats playing in the grass.

Luis y Gawber

White Nancy, Bollington, Cheshire - new mosaic

This mosaic was commissioned by a Bollington resident, Bollington, Cheshire, being the home of the White Nancy. Luis took the inspiration from a black and white photograph taken in winter. The Photographer was consulted and the subsequent mosaic took shape. Needless to say the recipient is thrilled with the result. The original photograph can be found here:   White Nancy  (Luis chose to leave out the graffiti).

More information about White Nancy can be found here:
"White Nancy was actually built as a summer house by the Gaskell family, who lived below the hill at Ingersley Hall, in about 1815. It is stone built with external rendering and regularly painted white in order to maintain its visibility. It is thought that it may have been built at that time to commemorate the battle of Waterloo. Internally there is a seat all round the wall with a large table in the centre. The table is circular, cut from a single piece of stone."  (http://www.happy-valley.org.uk/whtnan.htm )

Preserving food naturally - The new dehydrator part 1.

Whilst in the UK we purchased a nine-tray Excalibur Dehydrator. It is something we have considered buying for a while now. The discussion as to buy or not really focused on likely usage of the dehydrated fruit, vegetables and herbs we would produce. We currently freeze much of our excess for the garden or make soups, jams, chutneys, sauces and stews for use throughout the year. We also bottle many things such as peppers, beetroot and chillies. After chatting to several people who use dehydrators and reading articles about dehydrated food and raw food we decided that it would compliment our current efforts to grow the majority of our food, chemical free and as naturally as possible.

Dehydrated food has a long, long history and as a method of food preservation, has been proved to be an effective way to store excess for use throughout the year. Although there is an initial cost in drying the products, unlike a freezer, once stored, the food requires no further energy use. On the hole, enzymes are preserved much more efficiently than other methods of preserving. Vitamins, minerals and natural occurring sugars are also maintained with the exception of some vitamin C and A which can be lost if stored or dehydrated incorrectly.

So what are we going to do with it? Fortunately the dehydrator came with a free book that explains the basics and provides lots of ideas for use including making fruit leathers, dried fruit, vegetables and herbs, how to make cottage cheese with it, dehydrating raw foods to make a range of biscuits and crackers...and so on. We will definitely be making fruit leathers and plan to use them for walking trips as a snack. Throughout the year we get a glut of certain fruit and vegetables so we will be trying to dehydrate most things except brassicas and lettuce which apparently do not dehydrate well. Luis wants to create root vegetable crisps which sounds yummy and I might have a go at creating my own seaweed based crackers. Watch this space, more reports coming in the near future. If anyone out there uses a dehydrator, we would love to hear from you and hear about any tips you have learnt from experience or otherwise.

Potting up seedlings

If you are a regular visitor to this blog you will recall that this year we are trying to advance the vegetable growing season. We are thinking about investing in a greenhouse but until that day, all seedlings are raised in a small propagator against a south facing wall.

The seeds were sown in January and have been slightly slow to grow due to the colder weather we have experienced by the coast this year but eventually they sprang to life and needed potting up in a soil mixture we mix ourselves at La Pasera.

Our potting compost mixture varies according to the specific vegetable requirements in terms of drainage, moisture retention and fertility but the basic mixture contains a proportion of our own heavy clay soil, leaf mould we produce from the leaves we collect from the garden and perlite or vermiculite to improve drainage. If the are to be grown in the pots for more than a month, we add some fertility to the compost in the way of organic fertilizers. Our aim is to avoid the use of commercially produced compost and this year we are only using it for seed germination.

Our home-made compost was recently used to pot up the tomatoes, chilli peppers and Isla pepper (a fleshy pepper variety that does well in the cooler northern climate and that tastes sweet even when still green before it ripens).

In relation to the tomatoes, this year we are growing the Alicante tomato that we like and does well in spite of the high humidity we experience during Summer - being so close to the coast we can experience sea mists which can devastate tomato crops if not careful. In addition we are also trialling three further varieties of tomatoes that are supposed to be very tasty and that someone sent us in a seed exchange. This varieties include Marmande, Black Krimea and Ramallet a tomatoe variety from Mallorca that you harvest while the fruits are still green and hang up as if they were onions for them to ripen over several months. It will be interesting to see how they do with the high humidity. We will be spraying the tomato plants with a horsetail mixture and copper sulphate in an attempt to minimize the possibility of blight. So far the plants continue to grow slowly and over the next few weeks we will prepare the soil were the tomatoes will be planted and grown under partial cover. All this talk of tomatoes makes me start thinking of tomato and garlic or tomato and basil salads....Mmmm.

Flowers, plants and trees in Asturias - Winter

One of the joys of living in Asturias near the coast is the milder winters and year round lush and verdant landscapes. The winter this year has been particularly mild with below average rainfall and less snow in the mountains than usual.

As you walk along the country lanes, mountain paths or river estuaries, it is forever pleasing to see the rich and colourful range of flowers, plants and trees. It always surprises people that there is so much colour at this time of year. The richness of the landscapes are truly beautiful. Here is a short slideshow of just some of the flowers, plants and trees that can be seen during winter in Asturias... and the flowers, for Mums everywhere including my mum. Happy Mother's Day (UK).

The big experiment: Can you train a cat to ring a bell?

Wentworth and Gawber normally reside in the studio/workshop and have free range to come and go as they please through a cat flap. We reckon that most cats around here would not know how to use a cat flap and to date, it hasn't been a problem. The problem lies not with other cats but the beasts they drag through either with the intention to eat or the desire to play with. Voles, mice, slow worms, lizards, birds and crickets have fallen foul of them both. It is fair to say that usually, only the mice and voles are eaten, the rest tend to escape or we set them free.

The thoughts of the house turning into a food larder or playground for beasts has so far prevented us installing a cat flap in the house. The cats do like to spend time in the house and often come in either during the day or at night for a couple of hours. Sometimes, if we are occupied with other things, they can be sat by the back door unnoticed for a long time. Occasionally Wentworth will come and find you but more often than not they wait until noticed.

We are experimenting. We have installed a small chrome budgie bell at the back door on the inside and have started to demonstrate that bell ringing = open door. The first time it was demonstrated, Wentworth went into "there is a strange alien shiny monster mode" and would not pass near it, Gawber on the other hand, sniffed, looked up and strolled out. I hope they learn to use it or are we wasting our time? Cats are notoriously awkward if they want to be... We will report back.

Making orange liqueur

Each year we make several types of liqueur for consumption and for gifts. Cherry, liquorice, milk and lemon, sloe and blackberry amongst others. We don't drink all we make but it is useful to have in for when friends and neighbours visit or to take to people as a small token of our appreciation.

One of the most scrumptious liqueurs we make is Orange. Each year around Christmas time we buy lots of very sweet oranges that have not been dyed or waxed (commercial oranges are usually waxed and dyed...Orange). Luis buys them in Palencia through a wholesaler who sources the best fruit available. Besides eating many, we usually make about 3 litres of Orange Orujo.

Orujo is a rough raw spirit that is derived from the distillation of the solid remains left after pressing the grape. Cheap to buy (about 5 Euros per litre) - 50% alcohol (100% proof).

Salud

To make the Orange liqueur, this is what we do:

3 litres of Orujo
rind of 9 oranges (absolutely no pith as this makes it taste bitter)
juice of 18 large oranges
600g of sugar

The mixture is left to mature and infuse for one month, strained then bottled. Served in ice-cold shot glasses. A small amount of sediment is simply mixed before serving. We have our own oranges but unfortunately we don't get the hot weather required to sweeten them like the ones we buy.

Orange liqueur is a firm favourite of ours and is warmly welcomed by all who try it. Salud!

In the footsteps of the ancients

Living so close to the sea and the mountains there is no shortage of glorious walking routes that can be started from home or within a short distance from home. We were really pleased to hear about a new walking route has been opened very close to La Pasera that is really quite magical. For some years we have walked the caminos and paths to and from the coast near Llames de Pria and the Rio Guadamia. Never tiring of the natural beauty of the area, it has become almost a daily jaunt.

The estuary of the Rio Guadamia leading to the Bay of Biscay

One of the stopping points along this local walk has been the Roman bridge that crosses the river near the next village to ours, Cuerres. We often sit on the bridge and if we are lucky, watch red squirrel, birds, deer or cattle in the surrounding countryside. From the bridge you can look down the small meandering river as it flows towards the estuary at Llames de Pria. We have often wondered if it were possible to follow the river down to the sea but as there was no obvious path or sign-age, we have never tried.

This month saw the opening of a new path - guess where?  Following the river from the Roman bridge to the estuary at Guadamia. The route is named after a deceased National Police Chief Inspector, Samuel Cachero, remembered as a great lover of the region and a prominent member of a local neighbourhood association.

The path has always been there but over the years it became overgrown and inaccessible in parts. It has now been cleared by a group of volunteers from a local resident association and new wooden bridges installed by the local council.

The route takes you along undulating pastures that follow the many twists and turns of the river as it winds its way down to the sea. Wandering through ancient riparian woodland  and flood plains, with its rich flora and fauna it is easy to idle your time exploring and observing. Deep pools and cascades bubble and rumble as you walk along and spy small shoals of trout dashing in and out of aquatic plants as giant water boatmen skim along the surface of crystal clear pools. Bordered in parts by rocky limestone outcrops it is possible to see through the vegetation and spot caves and fissures mostly inaccessible from the path.

Along the route there are several dilapidated old water mills that once turned hand carved millstones to grind corn. As you stroll along the banks of the river and criss-cross it over newly constructed bridges, you come across two magnificent ancient Roman bridges and the remains of a Roman road... There are many places to sit and take in the atmosphere and tranquillity imagining ancient times when the Roman legions of the General Agrippa used the route to transport salt and wine along the northern coast of Spain. This new route will certainly become part of our walking repertoire. A round trip of about 7km.

Over the next year we will keep you up to date with La Senda de Samuel as we re-visit to see the changing seasons.

Bird Watching in Villaviciosa

The opportunities for birdwatching here in Asturias are many and varied. There are very few bird reserves as such, but there are many natural geographical features that attract a range of birds from near, far and wide.

One such place is The estuary of the Ria de Villaviciosa. This is one of the few places where there is a dedicated exhibition and information centre on the bird-life of the estuary. There aren't any hides on the estuary which is a shame - apparently one was built but destroyed by fire soon after. Dotted around the estuary, there are various stopping points indicated by a sign featuring a pair of binoculars. 

The small town of Villaviciosa lies on the western side of the river. To the east bank of the estuary leads to Rodiles beach, a vast golden beach backed with pine and eucalyptus woodlands which are dotted with picnic tables and benches. At this time of year when there are few people around, it is a great place to sit and watch the bird activity in the tree canopy or ground. Along the way, there are may stopping points that are worth exploring and that offer you the chance to take in the views and potential bird-life.

To the west, there are several marsh and wetland areas with easy access by road. The bird life varies depending on the time of year and weather but more often than not there is interesting activity somewhere on land or sky.

We took a picnic lunch and walked around the area, stopping off at various vantage points both to observe and to take photographs. Bird photography isn't easy because it is difficult to get close to the birds. The following link is to a video made on the day by a Spanish bird watcher and his wife who were out filming and photographing. The link is of Ben - The Osprey, eating a fish, he is far out in the middle of the estuary but never-the-less, impossible to photograph with my equipment but it was great to see through binoculars. http://youtu.be/0TUmZORLodo Check out some of Juan's other films as well whilst you are there - most of them are from the estuary.

Do you want to learn to weave a cane seat? - Cursillo: restauración de sillas en rejilla

Short course in chair restoration – Weaving a cane seat.

Dates: May 4th - 6th 2012   and   October 5th - 7th 2012

Venue: Asturias, Spain

Cost €200 (includes materials, lunch and refreshments)

Content:

Due to demand generated from www.artesanialapasera.com I am pleased to offer a short course in chair restoration – weaving a chair seat in rattan cane. The course will include:

1.   Preparing a chair for restoration
2.   Materials and techniques
3.   Finishing and aftercare

At the end of the course the participants will have woven a seat using rattan cane.

The course will take place in a workshop at La Pasera. There will be a maximum of 5 participants on each course to ensure quality tuition from the instructor Luis Laso Casas. 

Luis has been restoring cane and rush seating for the past 10 years. He has re-caned and re-rushed chairs old and new from a variety of sources. From exhibition pieces to dining room suites, boudoir chairs to Thonet, he has restored somewhere in the region of 500 chairs and overcome many challenges to accomplish the craftsman finish that has become his trademark. There maybe both English and Spanish participants on the course but as Luis is bi-lingual, this is not a problem. You can also practice your Spanish is you so wish!
   
The programme will commence on Friday lunchtime with an informal chat and lunch. The course will be structured to ensure maximum support for participants and where necessary, one to one tuition. A vegetarian lunch will be provided on each day the course. If you are unsure about anything or if you require further information, please contact Luis at :  artesanialapasera @ gmail.com (no spaces) Telephone 0034 646436562

Cursillo de restauración de sillas: Rejilla

A consecuencia del número de gente quienes me han preguntado donde poder aprender a tejer un asiento de rejilla, esterillado francés, me complace el poner a su disposición los siguientes cursillos de restauración de asientos de rejilla o rattán.

FECHA:
4-6 de Mayo del 2012

5-7 de Octubre del 2012

LUGAR:

Ribadesella, Asturias, España.

CONTENIDO:

El curso incluye:

Preparación del asiento antes de la restauración.
Materiales y herramientas
Técnicas.
Tintes y cuidados.
Al final del cursillo, los participantes habrán aprendido la tecnica basica para tejer artesanalmente la rejilla usando junquillo o tireta de rattán.

MATRICULA:

€200.00. La matrícula incluye los materiales, tres comidas principales basadas en una cocina vegetariana y bebidas no alcohólicas durante el día. Puedo facilitar una pequeña lista de hoteles cercanos donde los participantes puedan alojarse durante el cursillo.

Aquellos interesados en participar en este cursillo deben ponerse en contacto con: Luis Laso Casas a través del email artesanialapasera@gmail.com

NUMERO DE PLAZAS:

El número de plazas está limitado a un máximo de 5 participantes.

Making Membrillo - Quince Jelly or Quince Cheese

Later than normal, we acquired 4kg of quince from Luis's Sister. If you are not familiar with quince, they are a hard pear-type fruit that have a unique dry/tangy and fruity taste. They are hard. We have been storing them in the pantry for a few weeks and one or two of them were beginning to show signs of fatigue so we decided to process them into Membrillo.

I forgot to photograph the whole fruit but I have included a lovely painting of quince. The picture was a gift from, and painted by Marias, Luis' younger sister as a house warming present. I must say she has done a great job.

It is a two stage process. Firstly the quince are cooked for 20 minutes whole, in a pressure cooker. When cool enough to handle they are chopped up into smallish chunks ready to be be cooked like you would cook a jam. Sugar is added to the fruit, in a ratio of 1kg of fruit to 750g of sugar. Some people skin the fruit but we choose not to. We also add a touch of mixed spice which gives the finished membrillo a lightly spiced undertone.

The mixture is cooked until thickened and transparent (less transparent if you did not skin the fruit), 1hour or longer depending on the amount of juice. It is crucial to constantly stir otherwise you will burn the mixture and taint the taste. Glass dishes are ideal for setting the membrillo. Lightly oil the glass dishes and poor the hot mixture into them and allow to completely cool. When cool divide into squares appropriate to your needs.

 We wrap ours in cling film then take them to our local Butcher who vacuum packs them for us. As she never accepts payment, we try and give her some home-baked bread or similar in return. The vacuum packed membrillo will last for over a year and can be enjoyed with cheese and wine, a nice home-baked loaf, oat cakes or by itself.

Planning the vegetable beds

Our vegetable beds have developed over the past 5 years into a system that suits us here at La Pasera. Three main beds are used with crop rotation, every season, where practicable. Crop rotation amongst other things, ensures that essential micro nutrients are not exhausted by continually trying to grow the same crop or species.

The 2 larger beds measure  9 x 5 meters   and the smaller central bed measures 9 x 2 meters.

Bed 1 empty, boarded and waiting for soil

Working with a heavy clay soil has more disadvantages than advantages. It may be nutrient rich but it is impossible to grow certain crops or to sow seeds directly. Working the land is more difficult as the soil compacts though a combination of the rain, sun and traffic. We could operate a no dig system but we generally do not source enough compost or manure annually to make this viable.

This year we have made a decision to buy in some sandy loam based soil which together with the compost we produce will serve to enrich our existing soil, helping to generally improve the conditions for growing and working.

In preparation for the soil, we have made a start on boarding the beds with strong wooden planks. The bed on the left now has heavy duty surround of 22cm height. This will help retain the soil when it arrives and improve drainage. We will complete boarding the other two beds in the next few weeks and gradually build up the soil levels when planting schedules and crop rotation allows.

Following on from our previous post, we have coppiced the hazel and repaired the fedge. It is such a haven for wildlife it is really worth the effort. Toads, frogs, lizards, slow worms, stag beetles, field mice, shrews and numerous insects occupy its nooks and crannies. It has its own eco system that is fascinating to observe throughout the different seasons.

A Shrew out of his home in the fedge

Planning for Spring - restore, review, repair and re-plant.

The winter months bring plenty of opportunity to assess where you are and where you are going in relation to planting schemes, hard landscaping and garden maintenance. Our grand plan of what we would like to do with the plot haven't changed a great deal over the past 6 years but we have added several extra flower beds and extended the vegetable garden.

Earlier today, we took inspiration from our friend at Mellow Fruitfulness and had a wander around the garden and took the opportunity to take a closer look at what was happening. Mellow Fruitfulness took a container and foraged interesting and colourful items from around the garden. We decided to do the same. If nothing else this allows you to take your time, review the jobs that need to be done and to prioritise them accordingly. The bonus of course is it also allows you to enjoy the warm winter sun, listen to the birds, spot things you might have missed and to daydream about the fast approaching season of Spring.

We did however break the rules by picking one or two flowers (but only on plants/weeds we will pull, move, eat or divide).

This is our haul:

Foraged, fruit, flowers, fallen leaves and seed heads

Plants to be moved or divided - we need to do it now before the Sprint spurt of growth...

This is our list of urgent jobs:

1. Create raised vegetable beds - wood ordered and to be delivered today - watch this space.
2. Plan the crop rotation for the vegetable garden.
3. Paint the shed - a coat of paint now will help prolong its life we hope.
4. Move several perennial plants that are growing in the wrong place.
5. Split several plants and relocate to other parts of the garden or to friends.
6. Prune/coppice several of the Hazel trees.
7. Regenerate the fedge (picture below).
8. Repair the compost containers as the wood is beginning to rot.
9. Service the equipment - sharpen the chain saw, lubricate and sharpen garden tools, ensure the mower and strimmer are up to a busy season.
10....where to stop!!!

Shed, compost bins and the fedge. Some of the Hazel that needs coppicing. 

  

How to advance the vegetable growing season: germination of vegetable seeds.

Advancing the vegetable growing season at La Pasera without the use of a poly tunnel or greenhouse is something we have always worked towards. This year we are starting slightly earlier than previous years. Living close to the sea helps as we generally have much milder weather than further inland. We have already started to germinate beetroot, peppers, chilli peppers, tomatoes and sugar snap peas.

Germinating seeds outdoors from mid January without the aid of additional heat or protection is something we are trying this year. Normally a greenhouse or heated propagator would be required. In the past, we have started raising vegetables from seed in mid February. In essence we are advancing the season by 3-4 weeks.

This year we hope to start eating beetroot, peas, sugar snaps and mangetout from early April; we are hoping the milder than usual weather helps a bit. To crop so early, we start by kick starting the germination process indoors. The seeds are then sown in soil, in seed trays. The method we use loosely draws upon hydroponics. It is more time consuming than direct sowing or traditional seed sowing but it guarantees a greater rate of germination whilst advancing the season.

This is what we do:

The seed is soaked in a bowl of water at room temperature over night or until the seeds are rehydrated. Once the seeds have swollen, you need to sandwich them between the moist folds of a cloth that is then placed in a plastic covered container. This needs to be kept in a warm place, the kitchen is a good area for us. The cloth will keep the seeds moist and in a dark environment until the root starts to sprout. Once the seeds have germinated, sow the germinated seeds in a freshly prepared seed tray or half pipe taking good care not to break the tender root. Cover with soil, water and place against against a south facing wall. Once the seedlings are big enough to handle, you need to prick them out and plant in individual pots or plant directly into the soil in the vegetable garden.

Sprouted beetroot seeds

Sugar-Snap Peas

One disadvantage of this method, is the extra time it takes to raise vegetables, not a problem if you enjoy gardening like me and take the opportunity while working around the garden, to enjoy the birds singing in the background, witness the beauty of the first wild flowers in bloom and the scent of both wild and cultivated flowers at La Pasera and the surrounding meadows. The days are now getting longer and time spent in the garden will no doubt increase accordingly... and maybe we'll find the time to visit the local beaches for a bit of beach-combing.

The winter flowers

We are fortunate here at La Pasera in so much that we enjoy a coastal micro climate. The village is sited on a coastal plane with the sea 1 km away in one direction and a 750m mountain, 1 km in the other direction.

View of the coastal plane from El Fito - Toriello is behind the peak!

This results in a mild winter with temperatures rarely dipping below 2 degrees which means no snow and rarely, frost. In winter, day time temperatures vary from 10 - 22 degrees with the odd day either a touch higher or lower. We experience strong winter storms and gusting winds can come with much force from the Bay of Biscay but generally speaking apart, from the occasional prolonged rainy period, the weather is tolerable and often mild enough to enjoy lunch on the terrace.

The weather affects our growing season in all sorts of ways and we still continue to learn about how plants grow differently to what we were used to in the UK. Wandering around the garden yesterday it was strange to see such an array of plants and flowers in bloom.

The Christmas Rose was a nice surprise as this particular plant originates from a division of my Great Grandma's plant from over 50 years ago. Propagated by my Mum then by me and eventually relocated to Spain, we were worried that it might not survive. Apart from snail damage, it has grown consistently for the past few years but rarely gets much bigger. We have divided it twice as an insurance policy so...time will tell.

In the wilder areas of the garden, Aconites, primroses and wild dianthus are blooming well and the hellebores are showing signs of flower. The crocus are showing through and several early ones are flowering.  Narcissus are pushing their fresh green leaves through and if you look very carefully the wild orchids are beginning to gain strength.

In complete contrast to the first signs that winter is leaving, the planted areas of the garden continue to produce flurries of colour such as training purple aubretia and the self-seeded white alyssum as you can see in the picture below. Marigolds give a very vibrant display most of the year and self seed in abundance. Incidently, the purple fleshy plant in the background is the frost tender purple aeonium which manages to survive outside here in the milder winters.

What a difference a day makes

Our nearest sandy cove is Gaudamia at Llames de Pria, about 30 minutes stroll from our house through country lanes or 45 minutes if you take the cliff side walk from our village, Toriello. The small secluded beach is at the end of a long tidal channel that leads to the estuary of the Gaudamia river. You can just about see it in the distance on the first photograph.

The weather is very changeable at this time of year in Asturias and we can go from cool storms and wild windy weather to glorious warm sunny days overnight. High tides combined with strong winds can facilitate a spectacular display of the force of nature.

The limestone cliffs along this part of eastern Asturias are peppered with blow holes or as they are known here: Bufones. When high tides are present the bufones start to breathe. A loud roar is heard as air is forced through fissures in the rocks. As the tide rises, sea water is forced into the fissures and is expulsed at great force causing 100m high plumes of water droplets into the sky. Numerous bufones can be seen as the tide relentlessly rises and falls.

The cliffs are about 60 meters high and provide terrific views and coastal walks. The day after the storms, the cliffs and cove were once again calm and bathed in warm winter sunshine. The fishermen return and perch on the cliff tops and cast their rods into the sea below. If you look carefully below you can see two fishermen enjoying their vantage point and hoping for a good harvest.

Planting peas ready for spring harvest

In December, peas, mange tout and sugar-snap peas were sprouted in a moist cloth and then grown on in compost using the half a drainpipe method (as seen in picture). This gives almost a 100% result with strong healthy plants. When large enough to handle, these were then transplanted into the ground and with good luck and fair weather they will be ready for harvesting from early April. We have grown many more peas this year as they freeze well and will see us through to the next season.

Lambs lettuce and little gem lettuce has also been sown using a similar method and should be ready for first harvest around the same time as the peas.

The land vole has become a nuisance yet again and destroyed several winter lettuce, eaten away at a few of the celeriac and continues to undermine the leeks and strawberry plants. We are going to try a newly discovered deterrent to keep them away from the vegetable plot which is peppermint oil on cotton wool stuffed into their burrows. Eradication is impossible as they are so numerous, a three pronged approach is the way forward....we think. Wentworth and Gawber's hunting skills, peppermint oil and short grass.

Shouldn't you two be out catching voles?