In the heat of the midday sun at La Pasera

Continuing our time specific theme for Summer it struck me the other day how life changes with the weather. Here at  La Pasera it has been very warm and muggy for the past few days with little relief from the persistent heat and overwhelming warm humid air. Unlike the rest of Spain and Europe it seems, where constant sunshine has been the order of the day, we have had short bouts of strong sunshine followed by low overcast skies which have felt equally oppressive. Not only has it had an effect on us, it has changed the entire dynamics of life in the garden.

Wentworth and Gawber are to be found in deep shade either in amongst the thick carpet of honesty and crocosmia, too drained by the heat to contemplate chasing a bathing Jay or Finch. The blackbirds scavenge dangerously close to the snoozing cats who from time to time open an eyelid when a scurrying lizard whisks by.

The birds roost in the bushes with an occasional sortie for food or water. The insects come out in force making the most of the wide and inviting flowers and nectar within. The ants march onwards in their regimented manner to their cool underground tunnels and the spiders await their pray, ready to pounce and wrap, saving the bounty for a later feast.

The lizards take advantage of the warm limestone rockery and with their flattened abdomens, soak up the heat...Whilst the grasshopper takes shade in the cavity of a Calla Lily.

The plants throughout the garden wilt, especially the young broccoli and pepper plants. The ruby red-veined leaves of the beetroot almost touch the earth and the onions leaves begin to turn golden yellow and become brittle. The harvest continues with large juicy blackberries, ruby Swiss chard and sweet, sweet beetroot whilst freshly harvested Lemon Verbena perfumes the air as it is strung up to dry.

As for the humans at La Pasera in the heat of the midday sun? Inside a cooled house or workshop, enjoying the chores of the day and taking time to enjoy the heat of the midday sun. Learning from the cats that it is best enjoyed... from a distance.

  

Dear Deer...

Dear Deer,

The other day whilst chatting to friends on Skype I spotted you out of the corner of my eye from the study window about to take a drink from our garden pond. It was lovely to see you in daylight as we normally only ever see you and other members of your herd on the trailcam at night and sometimes in the early morning as the mist is lifting.

With your slender frame, bright dark eyes, and your growing antlers you looked very handsome and quite relaxed given the time of day (late afternoon). You took a small drink from the pond but then moved on to the birdbath which you seemed to prefer. I wondered if you were the same deer I had to rescue from a farmer's dog a few weeks earlier when you were running around and around the garden seeking an escape route? It was fortunate I managed to stop the dog in its tracks by running between you both.

We often see you in the meadows surrounding La Pasera and it was only the other morning when three of your herd grazed the bottom field whilst we watched on and finished our breakfast. There is a lot to eat around the fields and meadows so whilst I don't mind you nibbling the odd raspberry leaf in our soft fruit bed, I really do draw a line at nibbled mange tout and orange tree leaves.

I never saw your sibling until you wandered down towards the winter lettuce and started jumping playfully. You make a splendid pair I must say. I managed to open the window without too much noise but only had my compact camera available but I think I got some reasonable shots of you both. I noticed that you also like one or two of our garden plants...

We realise that April is a more relaxed time for you now that the hunters have stopped harassing you with their dogs and guns, and that you are generally less stressed but if you continue to munch away on our food we might just have to put up some barriers to keep you out. I really wouldn't like to do that, so please take note. We loved your curiosity when you spotted the ceramic hare and wondered what you would make of the cats if you came across them?

You are welcome to visit as your forebears have done over the years but stick to the meadows for your snacks. Take care and safe journey little ones.

Best wishes

La Pasera

Luis, a donkey called Rosie and a pair of high heels

Yes you read it right...high heels, read on.

In the nine years we have written this blog we have never used it as a platform for fundraising but we feel this is such a good cause we want to share with you our idea. Here in Asturias there is a donkey sanctuary that takes care of retired, abused, neglected and older donkeys. It is owned and run by a lovely lady called Marleen Verhoef from the Netherlands. We have known Marleen for about 7 years and really admire what she is trying to do at El Paraiso del Burro - The Donkey Paradise.

This Spring Luis will face three tough sporting challenges in an attempt to raise £1000 for the care of Rosie and other donkeys at the sanctuary. We'll tell you about the challenges later in this post but first let me tell you a bit about Rosie the Donkey.

A concerned member of the public first contacted Marleen and told her about his neighbour's plans to have their old donkey euthanized because they no longer had a need for her. Marleen and her volunteers investigated further and found Rosie to be in very poor general health, subdued and neglected. Her front hooves had not been trimmed for some considerable time resulting in her being unable to walk. She was about 25 years old.

We don't know the history of Rosie but like many of the donkeys at the sanctuary (24 in total) she had probably led a hard working life, used as a pack horse to carry supplies or people around the fields or bought on a whim and never taken care of. Kept outside in all weathers without shelter and never wormed, had dental or hoof care or groomed. Her front hooves had overgrown and curved inwards underneath her chest, she could not walk, she stumbled resulting in her being unable to feed properly although we doubt she was fed anything much other than scraps.

She was taken to the sanctuary and her life began to change for the better. Initially, Rosie just curled up on the ground as standing was painful. After extensive work over a long period of time, the Farrier was able to correct her posture by building her specially fitted high heeled supports that would, with physio, help release contracted tendons and muscles. With a healthy diet, regular grooming and good general care, Marleen and the volunteers helped her to walk again. Her general health improved tremendously and with veterinary, farrier intervention and dedication she has become a different donkey that can now socialise with her peers and roam the extensive pastures at El Paraiso del Burro.

Hooves trimmed and ready for another fitting

Rosie showing off her 'high heels'

Each donkey at the Sanctuary costs about £500 per year to care for. Marleen and her team of volunteers work tirelessly to care for, feed, and rehabilitate these delightful animals to give them a comfortable and pain-free life in their autumn years. Many need regular veterinary care and all need regular hoof care from a local farrier . The volunteers need housing and feeding and the land, 8 hectares of pasture and woodland, needs regular maintenance to keep the donkeys safe. We are now looking for donations to support this worthy cause.

Luis has challenged himself to three tough sporting events to help raise much needed funding for Rosie's care. Details of which can be found in the page above (under the header). This spring he will cycle to the mountain lakes in the Picos de Europa, a tough 100km ride involving a 12km ascent of 1100m. He will undertake a challenging 50km hike in the mountains in a day and he will cycle 160 km in a day along the canal of Castille. Further information about these challenges can be found on a dedicated facebook page: Luis' Caring for Rosie Challenge 2015 

Any donation no matter what amount will help Luis to keep motivated and keep him focused as he faces these challenging sporting events. It would be great if you could donate some money to help us reach our goal of £1000 - enough to provide basic care for Rosie for the next two years.If you wish to give an off-line donation please contact Ian or Luis directly and it will be added to the total amount donated as an off-line donation or you can donate anonymously. Please sign up for updates as we will publish more about Rosie and her life and updates on Luis' training programme and events over the next 4 months.

Donations can be given here - just press the gofundmebutton:

Anything you can do to support us will be greatly appreciated. Please share this post amongst your friends on social networks. For the time being there will be a page dedicated to this good cause which can be accessed through the link at the top of this page under the main banner. Thank you in anticipation. 

"The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated."

Mahatma Gandhi

Looking forward to 2015

It has been an eventful year for Luis and I here at La Pasera and in the UK. Luis continues to develop his artistry and knowledge in mosaic art and following a visit to an exhibition and meeting of mosaicists in France he has booked a mosaic course in Belgium for summer 2015.  He continues to restore both cane and rush chairs but increasingly finds his energies and thoughts moving towards mosaics.

I have continued writing, taking photographs and making music and have one or two interesting projects in the pipeline for 2015.

La Pasera still offers us our little bit of paradise, we continue to grow the majority of our vegetable and salad crops and no doubt that will continue for the foreseeable future. Plans for 2015 include the addition of hens for fresh eggs and finishing off the final bit of hard-landscaping.

We would like to thank all of you who read and/or visit our blog and wish you all a happy, prosperous but most of all healthy 2015.

Don't forget you can visit our other blogs as well, the links can be found at the top of this page.

Best wishes
Ian and Luis x    

August at La Pasera

Summer is well and truly here. Along with the hotter weather, influx of tourists, much needed rain and more events than you can shake a stick at, it's all happening in and around La Pasera.

We have had an exceptionally dry May, June and July with little or no rain which is unusual for Asturias. The clay ground had started to crack and the normally green grass became scorched and brown. Thankfully the rain came a few days ago and after several heavy showers and a few half days of persistent drizzle, the land is looking greener and the crops are perking up.

We are currently harvesting lots of beans, chili peppers, tomatoes, beetroot, raspberries, marrows and cucumbers with many more crops to come over the next few weeks. One plant we haven't grown before is Lemongrass, we know when it will be ready to harvest but would welcome ideas on preparing it, and preserving it for cooking. Get in touch if you've grown it and can advise us.

We have had another load of wood delivered in preparation for winter. It is mainly Oak and needs to dry further but it was a good price and a decent amount.

We are staying away from town (Ribadesella) for the next few days as life is about to change as thousands of tourists arrive in preparation for the 78th International Descent of the River Sella. There will sound stages, closed roads, outside bars and toilets, lots of partying, camping in every available patch of grass....litter and of course the canoe descent with over 1000 competitors from all over the world. We might walk down to watch the race although once the winners have passed the finish line there is not that much to see but there is a great atmosphere in town for the rest of the day and weekend.

Once the visitors for the canoe descent have disappeared, although busier than the remainder of the year, August brings many fiestas, street markets and fairs. We are busy preparing for a street market where we will sell a few chairs and stools, give a live demonstration of bergere cane work and hopefully make a few useful contacts for future work.

A restful weekend at La Pasera

We have been quite busy most of the year with maintaining the garden and vegetable plot, entertaining friends, travel, mosaics, music, writing, photography and chair restoration as well as days out walking or sightseeing. Oh, we also finished the building work and decorated....

It has been extremely hot here and very dry with little or no rain. This weekend we decided that it would be a good time to let the weekend happen without any firm plans or expectations. Saturday saw us visiting a small craft fair in a mountain village. There were only a few stalls selling jewelry, fresh produce, food and hand-made goods but it was also an opportunity to meet up with a long-time Internet based friend whom we had never met in 5 years. We knew she would be there with her art works. It was good to meet you Niki. Check out here website and artwork here: Niki

Saturday afternoon we relaxed in the garden, read, pottered around watering the pots, examined the vegetables, massaged the cats and listened to music. The warm summer evening was spent enjoying a fresh garden salad, glass of wine, watching the sun go down and observing the bats as they fed on the wing.

Sunday was as equally warm but with a light coastal breeze which helped. We walked to our local and nearest beach, a lovely isolated (well most of the year) cove when the sea forms a lagoon and gentle waves in summer and a long stretch of golden sand opening out into the sea when the tide is out. It's a great place to explore as there are caves at low tide and many small rock pools.

The afternoon drifted by with time spent in the garden, reading, chatting, booking Luis' next mosaic exhibition trip to France and catching up with PC based work. We ate our evening meal on the terrace, had a glass of wine and relaxed. Fully restored we were now ready for the busy weeks ahead of us and really valued the time out. Every so often, a complete rest and break from routine does you the power of good....

Restoring a garden bench and making a rustic one from recycled material

We like sitting in the garden. Typically the weather allows us to use the garden much more than when we were in the UK. We have various areas dotted around where we sit and watch the natural world go by.

Some years ago I came across an old wrought iron bench that was in urgent need of repair. The wooden slats were rotten and the wrought iron had broken and was in need of welding (not an easy job).

After sitting around gathering dust, we managed to get it repaired by Luis' brother-in-law and we sourced some new hard-wood slats which we treated with white spirit and linseed oil. A coat of paint and with new slats fitted, it looks great and is a welcome addition to the terrace.

The other bench we made this week was from a discarded beam someone had dumped on the roadside. We cut it in half, fastened it together with a couple of metal plates either end and stood it on two old terracotta chimney pots we have had lying around for some time.

This week we also decided to site the mosaic coffee table Luis made several years ago. He now needs to get on with making a couple of matching mosaic pedestals on which to stand it, in the mean time bricks will do.....