AUTUMN AND HALLOWEEN

The vegetable plot is now rotovated and lying fallow whilst we decide what we will plant next.  We had a reasonable harvest this summer, although I could have watered a little more frequently which would have yielded far more.

Halloween is almost upon us and last weekend we spent a little family time making jam jar candle holders to put in the trees. 

The oranges are growing well again and will be ready for Christmas and the olives are coming along nicely also.  We have no turkeys this year due to space constraints but perhaps we will again one day.

Although it is nearly the end of October, the weather is unusually warm and two days ago we went to the beach to see how many tourists were still about.  Quite a few actually and although the water was a bit bracing to get into, once you were in it was wonderfully refreshing.  There were a few large jellyfish about so we didn't stay in very long! We are still getting temperatures of 26 - 28 or more during the day which is wonderful, but not for the farmers!

Lettuce planting has begun again in one of the next door fields, in another field there are potatoes (that are not doing so great) and artichokes.  One of the farmers I know has offered us some radishes.  They are Mallorquin radishes and can be about a foot long and very mild to taste, very different from the hotter more peppery variety we get in the UK.

Sadly we lost both the little kittens eventually, but a strange thing happened afterwards.  We found two more grown up kittens at the next door farm and they seemed to be very hungry.  They were fed at our place and they stayed for a few days, then the disappeared.  I think they belong to a family along the lane here.  However, 3 tiny kittens have appeared and I found them all snuggled up in my utility room the other day.  They are very frightened of humans - probably a good thing.  I have no idea where the mother is/was but they seem to be feeding and drinking ok.  I will try to get some pictures, but they run away and hide very quickly.

We seem to have a lot of, what my son calls, Tiger Spiders.  I have yet to look them up but apparently they can give a nasty nip!  We've had a summer of stick insects and praying mantis also, which have fascinated many.

Here is a picture of a so-called Tiger spider. Sorry the picture is on it's side, but you get the general idea! AARRGGHHH.  Very Halloweeeeeeeeny!

OLD CATS, NEW CATS AND OTHERS

It has been sometime since my last post, due in part to the craziness of life and also living here in Mallorca.

There are so many things to write about and catch up on that I am sure I won't remember them all, but here we go..

Our cat population increased to 11 in total.  Adolf, if you remember him from previous posts, has managed to see-off Samuel Sprat, which I am very sad about, Samuel was a very loving pusscat and he'll be missed around here, especially in the vegetable plot where he took up refuge, but perhaps he'll come back one day and challenge the moustache off Adolf.  Our lovely old Abuela (grandmother) cat has also been seen-off by the same culprit.  Again, another one that will be missed.  Where she has gone, I have no idea, there is no sign of her.  The two tiny kittens that never seemed to grow stayed very tiny and never really flourished.  They were constantly skinny and bony and even though they ate and drank without any problem it seems there was an underlying fault in their biology.  The little brown and white one passed away the other day and the black and white is wrapped in a blanket in the kitchen as we speak, I don't think he'll make the night.  All really sad, but you kind of get used to living with the ferals' and dealing with life and death as it gets thrown at you.

This week, we had two new additions to the cat clan, both kittens, probably about 5-6 months old, they were bothering a local farmer, so we bought them home.  However, they seemed quite happy for a few days and even fitted in well with the rest of the cat clan, but suddenly they disappeared yesterday.  They may return, unless they belong to someone nearby.

We managed to get two more hens to keep our solo one company.  They are all doing well and laying abundantly.  Don't ask me their names as I can never remember, something like Bertha, Dorothy and Gloria - who knows.  But they are happy and enjoy corn and mixed greens as treats.

The vegetable plot is now ready for rotovating, once done I will lay a layer of compost or dung over the top and leave it to settle for about 15 days, then it will get churned in and then I can begin planting again.

The weather has definitely changed.  We now awake feeling cold, time to get the duvets and heated blankets out of hiding.

The dogs are both great, the pool is now covered, the trees have produced an abundance of figs/pears and oranges this year, amazing.  Next fruits are the olives, which are already growing.  I also need to prune back the vines and the various overgrown fruit trees, but that will wait till its a little colder.

So just to say that we managed to grow tomatoes, aubergines, corn, chillies and other peppers and swiss chard.  All did fairly well considering I didn't water them all as much as I should have! I know for next time.

Pebre Bord - Tap de corti peppers.  These, when they turn red, are picked and hung in the sun to dry, when dried they are ground into a paprika powder and used in the making of sobresada sausage.

The two new girls.

Protected grapes.  The birds didn't get them this year.

Corn

Resting wherever they like! (Mittens)

Some harvest, including a 5 litre bottle of great olive oil from a local farmer.