bUiLdiNg aGaiN...

just a quick note to say I 've just posted the last week news on the Mount of Oaks blog ... we're busy here building one more roof :-)

nEw sEaSoN...nEw sTaRt...

I´m really excited with this new season and new start that I´m entering here at the Mount of Oaks...

Lyna and baby Nolan already arrived and she´s full of energy for this new season of her life too... I´m really glad to have this sister back here...It´s time for community again, after the long and, I believe, needed time of solitude, rest and reflection...
As you can see here , the permaculture course in March is already full (between 15 to 17 people attending)...and most of the participants will be portuguese this time...

It´s nice to be able to offer this course at a low cost so that much more people can have access... probably we don´t have the best conditions to offer, but people don´t seem to be bothered about it...

I still have loads of work to do in order to prepare better conditions for the course this year...like a shower place and easier warm water, a better compost toilet, fixing the things which the rain and snow damaged this winter, and also provide a shelter in case it rains (I do pray and hope it will not)...

Since I came back from Christmas and New Year, I´ve been fixing the road, making trenches on the sides, carrying lots of stones and some gravel for the entry that flooded... 

I also made a better fence between us and Tia Adelina (mainly because the dogs run straight into her garden every time they hear something on the other side...and I know she´s not so happy about it...some fences can bring more peace as well... 

fences that are not hard to cross and are mostly to protect the neighbour´s garden from my dogs, rather than to separate me from her, or because of fear...

I´m working on the bath roof now and it´s great that I will have Lyna helping as well... It´s much easier and faster with 2 and she also loves building...

Lyna and I went today to Alpedrinha... This is another village not so far from us, in the opposite direction from Póvoa de Atalaia, and it sits on the Gardunha Mountains that surround us...

They have a day-care centre with lots of kids... Lyna thought it was the best for Nolan to spend part of the day with some other kids his age, and I also think it´s going to be great for his development both as a kid and also to learn the language ... with a french mum and a german dad who communicate in English between them, I think now with portuguese he will have a wide range of choices to communicate...

The place was nice, fun, joyful and people were really kind... They knew about us, so they will give us the cheapest rate to pay as well...around 30e a month, which is quite handy too, as Lyna is not receiving her mother´s support anymore... Anyone who would like to contribute for that is more than welcome, just get in touch...

Anyway, I´m really looking forward to what this new season will bring...
I´m excited about the permaculture course and also the possibility of making a strawbale building workshop this coming  June (only if there´s enough people interested to cover all the costs)

If anyone wants to offer HELP in the kitchen during the Building workshop, it would be much appreciated so I can take part of it myself...

PEACE

rEpOrTs oF JumPEr wItH kUrDisH pEoPLe iN IrAquE...

Just a little post with a link to JUMPER s blog ...a friend of mine from Czech Republic who lived for some months with us at Mount of Oaks...

So far he has posted lots of pictures, and a post both in Czech and English... he really wants to share what he has been experiencing and seeing there... it's now his second visit with a CPT (Christian Peacemaker Teams) group and he totally loves it... I heard some nice stories from him when I met him at Juran and Ulli's wedding in Germany, and I want to keep in touch with his news too...

he fell in love with the Kurdish cause... just thought you might be interested as well, so log in on his blog... he wants to write as much as it will be possible for him... and he would also appreciate your prayers and support...
May you be an instrument of Peace and Reconciliation Jumper... you're not alone !!!
(on the picture, the second guy from right to left)

aFtEr sNoW...rAiN & fLoOds...

The snow melted as it started to rain...lots of rain... so this was our entry road one morning as I went to check it out...

There was a water fall on the right side of the land and I presumed the stream  must have been overflowing...

And that was the case... after one hour I managed to clean the stream taking out some eucalyptus' branches which were blocking the water flow and causing it to go over the banks straight into our land...

I also made some trenches so the water could flow away from the road and into the bottom fields, and that helped a lot too...
After fixing the river stream I could already see a major difference...

I also cut some "giesta" (Broom) branches and laid them on top of the water where it was more muddy so the van could have some traction... I did manage to drive out of the land and parked the car outside (just in case I had an emergency) ...

Now I need to put some gravel that the village hall piled on the road for people to use for that purpose... It's quite a lot of work to do it by hand, but hey...what to do ?!  That´s what I have...

I will have enough work for the whole week I guess...
I had other plans as I have lots of things I wanted to do before the permaculture course, but this is life with the elements... we are the ones going around them, and not the other way around as some people may think... the natural forces are stronger and I can only wait for better conditions to come...

It's also nice for me to learn "how the water thinks", and what to do better to prevent such situations...or how to use that force for our own benefit ... But I can't do everything at the same time , can I ?! Shantii, Shantii...one step at a time ...

This weather forces me to be more indoors, reading and resting, even though at this time it would not be tiring to be working outside either (sometimes is more restful for me than reading)... But I give thanks and enjoy it !!! The ponds are filling which is really good to handle the hot Summer... 

For those who live in the city, maybe the rain is just annoying, even though it might not even be affecting you much, unless your house leaks or some flood cuts down the electric cables... but give thanks and enjoy too, remembering that the land really needs more water to provide for the food we eat, and definitely the springs need more water to provide the water we need to drink...

I don't like to think in a fatalistic manner, but if we keep wasting and polluting the natural resources as we are at the moment, maybe sooner rather than later, water will be more precious than petrol... a little thought for us to think about...

sNoW aT tHe MoUnT oF oAkS...

I wouldn't believe it if I wouldn't see it...yes, all these pictures were taken yesterday and this morning...

I was keeping the maintenance of our track, making small trenches to lead water to the sides instead of creating deep erosion paths in the middle of it. It has been raining quite a lot and it's doing some damage...

Suddenly, big flocks of snow started to fall and I was just marveling... I thought it would be like last year when it snowed for a while but soon the sun came out and it was all melted...so I tried to take as many pictures as I could, as it is so beautiful and special to see snow ...

I kept working as it´s a good way to keep warm and I was already wet anyway, when I realized I was getting a bit too wet... 

the snow kept falling all throughout the day and night...and now we have about 10cm of snow on the ground... I had to make my way down to the kitchen this morning because the trees were all bent to the floor and blocked the way...

It's just beautiful to see... my only concern is the local farmers who have lots of things planted and their damages will mean loss of food, and loss of profit... Living off the land has these things, we have to be totally dependent on what the weather dictates each season... And all there is to do is embrace it and accept it... 

I'm also hoping that birds and other wildlife manage to get some food in these conditions...
Anyway, I will not spend much longer here typing as my toes are getting freezed...

Here are some pictures with some comments as usual:

I thought that was worth taking...I could actually say there was snow...

But more was coming ...

I even made a little snow big foot man, while playing with Muxima throwing snow balls at her...she thought that was fun !!!

when I realized I was too wet to be working outside, I went in the bus, made some fire and read a nice book.. and the snow kept falling ... and falling...

This morning, as the sun was trying to rise :-), this was the beautiful view I had...

I had to make my way to the kitchen through the trees which were all bent to the ground so I could get through... there must be at least 10cm high of snow...

I was wowing all the time... so beautiful !!!

Poor olive trees, all bent down... I hope they will have a good recovery...
I'm worried about Duma (the cat), she left in the night and didn't come back yet...she's not used to snow, so I'm hoping she will manage to find shelter...

 

so far the roofs are fine... except for the prayer shelter...

Oops, it collapsed... one way to learn...green roofs need a really strong structure to hold all the weight... oh well, a good excuse to make something better to last longer...

and also a good excuse not to use the car !!!

I might post some more later these days... now I better go to the bus and make some nice fire...

nEW yEaR mEsSaGe...

"Enough Light for the Next Step

Often we want to be able to see into the future. We say, "How will next year be for me? Where will I be five or ten years from now?" There are no answers to these questions. Mostly we have just enough light to see the next step: what we have to do in the coming hour or the following day. The art of living is to enjoy what we can see and not complain about what remains in the dark. When we are able to take the next step with the trust that we will have enough light for the step that follows, we can walk through life with joy and be surprised at how far we go. Let's rejoice in the little light we carry and not ask for the great beam that would take all shadows away."
(by Henry Nowen)

I get these daily meditations and I thought this was a nice one to meditate on as we enter a new season... a new decade on our journey towards The Light...

My prayer for all of us is that we live content with the Light we have... that we live in peace even when shadows are ahead...
I pray for boldness to step towards unknown situations and trust that no matter what will happen, God will be there with us...

I also got a personal word for this year to come :
Resurrection !!!

what it means, I don't know yet, but I want to trustfully and hopefully walk towards it, knowing that :
" the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
which shines brighter and brighter,
until full day."
(proverbs 4:18)