rEfLeXiOnS oN LaSt cOupLE oF mOunThs...

It's been a long time since I last posted anything, apart from my last note about my laptop´s keyboard... as you might presume, I do have a keyboard now as I found a cheap one on ebay, only 12e... perfect! 

That was not the only reason why I haven't got the opportunity to write...
As I keep mentioning, my days on the farm are quite full and many things happen all the time...

Now I sit here in "my house" (the big bus), the sun just set, I just lit a nice fire to warm up and made myself a cup of tea... the season of cold days (and especially nights) have started, and the olive harvest season is about to come to an end...
Somehow I feel I haven't spent much time on my own for a long time, and maybe this is just what I needed, to sit, relax , and write...

nO cOmPutEr...aNd oLiVe hArVeSt nEeDs hELp...

it's been a few weeks now that I can't use my computer, only to connect my internet modem in order to use my phone for the internet, as i´m doing now...

My keyboard got a few drops of rain and doesnt work anymore, but the rest is fine... I can only use the mouse ...

I´m using my phone now for accessing the internet and checking emails, so i just wanted to drop a line to let you know.

All my mail contacts are on my computer, so i ve only been replying to those who have been sending me emails recently.

I found a good deal for a MacBook pro and I´m going to sell the one I have now, an. iBook g4 14", after replacing the keyboard (I just found a good deal yesterday for a used one)

I have lots of news... Good and not so good, but you´ll have to wait until december when i get my "new" laptop.

If anyone would like to send a donation to help on the costs, or buy my old iBook g4, let me know.

The OLIVE HARVEST is about to begin, so I have no time for the internet anyway.

If anyone would like to come and help from now until the end of the month, you are more than welcome...

I was going to start today, but the weather is really not good for that... There is a soft rain and a really crazy wind...

ok , that s it

PEACE TO ALL

sUmMeR tiMe...

It has been a really hot summer... one of my excuses not to write so often on my blog... it's really discouraging to write during siesta when it's too hot (that´s why siesta is practiced here), or in the evenings when I'm basically exhausted...

I just wanted to catch up with the last month before I have another bunch of things to share...
After my time in the USA I had lots of work to do here... mainly cutting grass to prepare the camping area for the permaculture course participants, and to open up the walking paths... I will use the same cuttings to mulch most of the trees...
I had lovely visits who helped me with that...

aBoUt TimE...

it's about time I post something about my time in USA at the "Faith to Faith, Face to Face"

 

I already came back 4 weeks ago, but I had so many little (and big) things to do here on the land that I was not so enthusiastic to be at the computer... It's also not so encouraging when we have between 35º and 40º celsius...It´s been really really hot... so, If I'm not working, I'm swimming ...

I would really like to share some of my thoughts about the time at the camp... first because it's always a good way for me to process it all, and then because I would like to share it ...
of course this would be simply my personal experience...if you're interested in more you can also read great entries by Audrey on the camp's blog... click here ...
I chose this picture to start with (it was actually a post card Marcia gave me from Chiapas-Mexico), because that is the picture I have of this camp... building bridges, where once there were walls...

fACE 2 fAcE...fAiTh 2 fAiTh...hEre I gO...

Soon, me and Emma will be going to the USA to participate in an inter-faith program called "Faith to Faith, Face to Face"... click here to find out more about it.
The program operates in four regions around the world, Belfast (Northern Ireland), Cape Town (South Africa), Jerusalem and the United States of America. 

Emma is the leader of the Northern Ireland region and this is one of her jobs with the Corrymeela community that she's part of... so, this will not be new for her, but for me it will be the first time, both in this program and in the USA...
I'm really excited and looking forward to all the experiences that will await us at this time...

hApPy hApPy dAy !!!!

Just a couple of days after finishing our strawbale building workshop we had lots of friends and family for a "baby party"... (go to MoO blog to see how the course went... it was great!!!)

This was definitely a happy day… a celebration day for many reasons…
My twin nephews, Nelson and Joshua, turned 3, and we also celebrated Nolan’s 2nd birthday that would be later this month…

We also had baby Diogo with us, only a few months old, son of Pedro and Lisanne, my sister’s best friend…
And Kiara, Lua’s daughter was also with us…

A party with and for children… I think we all became a bit like children, except for the alcohol consumption, but hey, it was a party !!!
Another big reason for celebrating was that my mum came from Angola…

This is Lyna's Yurt floor finished...
Click here to know how the strawbale building workshop is going...
It's only the second day and we are ready to lift up the walls tomorrow :-)

hArD wOrK...

Check out here for our last weeks hard work...
I'm back in Belfast to visit Emma who got a viral meningitis... she's much better now, and I'll be back to the land on tuesday to get back to work...
We need to finish Lyna's Yurt floor, and get ready for our Strawbale building workshop... I'm looking forward for it...
IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE SOME MORE ATTENDANTS, SO, PLEASE PASS IT ON TO THOSE WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED
it will be from the 27th May to the 3rd June...and costs 200E, food and camping place included...

tHe sHacK...

what an amazing book !!! I just finished this morning and I'm still so thrilled about it all... I highly recommend it ...There are lots of deep insights given with a nice sense of humour... you can check it out here on "the Shack" 's website.
It will definitely break down all your pre-conceived stereotype images you may have of God... 


Let me share just a little part that stood out to me, to give you a little taste :
(one of the many conversations between Mack, the main character, and Jesus)

wOnDeRs oF nAtUrE...

I just arrived from Dublin, after not being sure I was actually about to take the flight. All UK airports are closed because of a volcano in south Iceland which erupted today...they say these ashes are really dangerous for the plane's engines so they are not taking any risk allowing any planes to take off...
Even flights to Brussels were being canceled, I didn't understand...but I guess there was no danger of flying south to Portugal...it was a bit chaotic at the airport, but I made it to the gate on time...
Thank God there are no major losses in Iceland, people are being evacuated, but no injuries nor deaths...I just quickly read the news...

oNe mOrE suCceSsfUl PErMaCuLtUrE cOuRsE ...

we finished one more successful permaculture course at the land... with 13 participants, most of them Portuguese (which made me really happy), a few Germans, one Dutch and a "multicultural" one ( he was born in Holand, lives in Portugal for more than 10 years and his parents are both from America)... that's Chris Uhler for those who know, he's part of the family already...and he was also the youngest of the participants... 

It was a pleasure to know all of them... and it was a pleasure to spend some time again with Lesley who is such a delight... Most of the people who came were new for me, so it was nice to get to know them...  such a beautiful bunch of people...
Marcia also came from Lisbon to help me and Lyna in the kitchen, and as she said, it was so nice to spend this time with like-minded people, even though all different and unique in our own ways... it was soooo nice to be with Marciaagain... I miss her here so much...

wE hAvE hOt wAtEr aLrEaDy :-)

Me and Lyna were like children when the hot water came out of the solar water heater...this is how it looks , but check it here to see the last processes...
The permaculture course is coming soon and we still have to finish little things and make the shelter for the course cuz the forecast predicts rain... I'm still hoping that changes, but still, we have to be ready for what might come...
around 20 people will come and camp for 9 days for this intensive permaculture design course, but I'm looking forward to get to know them all... I do hope despite the weather, we will have a wonderful time together...
Me, Lyna and Marcia will be in the kitchen cooking and making sure there's always hot tea and coffee :-)

rain...rain..rain...

check out here for last week's news...
Thank God the sun will be shinning this week...and I hope for the next weeks too...we need to dry a bit... the soil is totally saturated with water...even in our kitchen and common place the water springs from the floor...
In this picture you can see that our upper pond is overflowing...actually, the other one below as well... and our road is being a bit more destroyed....it's amazing how much power water has...it doesn't look as strong as stone, but it does find its way through...
so, I'm looking forward for this next week...we've still lots to be done...
Have a good and pleasant week too
PAECE

wOrK iS gOinG wELL...

I have lots of news about the last 2 weeks of work in the land... 

Last sunday I went to Moses for some rest and I ended up trapped by the snow...so I could only come back to the land on tuesday and then had lots to do...

 I wrote a bit here on the MOunt of Oaks blog... I'm still trying to figure out what to write on my blog and on The Mount of Oaks blog...I'm not sure if it makes sense yet to have 2 blogs, but hopefully in the near future it will not only be me writing about life on the land here...

As you can see, the bath roof is done...

After that I started to work on the plumbing system for the washing station near the kitchen and the bath house...as you can see here on the same post I mentioned before...

I gave up on the idea to build a shower place before the permaculture course as I'm seeing the weeks flying by and I don't think I would have the time to finish all I wanted in the first place...

Willi is determined to fix our road down below because it keeps raining and it's getting almost impossible to go up with the cars... it´s not so nice when we need to carry heavy material for the things we're working on...

As I said I went to visit the Winter's at Moses, and I ended up getting trapped by the snow...they convinced (it was not so hard) to stay overnight and go monday morning...it was also Joshua's 13th birthday, so, another good excuse to spend some time with them all... we watched this movie "Avatar" online, and I have to say that I highly recommend it (if possible for you, go to a good theater and watch it 3D)... It´s so impressive... I was really touched by the story which, even though fiction, we could easily relate with our sad reality throughout history... when out of fear of the unknown people kill each other in the name of "peace" (or for the sake of money and good busyness)...it made me cry in a few parts of the movie... I can say that after the Lord of the Rings, it's definitely my favorite movie...beautiful pictures too...

Anyway, monday morning I left, and I just needed to drive up the hill to see this...

Yes, snow again...and more was ahead...

I literally had to go around trees that were falling on the road with the weight of the snow... It was actually quite exciting and beautiful... but then I got trapped here

these were the tracks of my car wheels as I tried to drive up this hill...I got to a point where I lost traction and I had to go back...I was literally sliding to the edges, so every once in a while I had to go up a bit to straighten my wheels and slide back again... it was fun and exciting... I also knew I would be fine because I could just call the winters to pick me up if I was in trouble... but I did it ...

I was taking another way to go to Fundao, but then I thought the road could be worse ahead and I was not far at all from Moses... so I went back... it was not snowing in Moses, so they were all surprised when I told them what happened... they had planned to go to Coimbra and watch a movie for Joshua's birthday, but they thought it wouldn't be a good idea if it was snowing...

we enjoyed one more day in each other's company which was great... But not so great was the fact that the electricity was "acting" weird and ended up damaging most of the computer chargers, Josh's play-station, the internet modem and the washing machine... shit!

We did have a good time playing the guitar and me and Andy playing Djembes... Vonny ends up falling asleep with the drums...

Tuesday morning I was again ready to leave...hoping I wouldn't get trapped with snow again...

well, I didn't... But looking at the road, I was glad I decided to stay one more night...the road must have been blocked with snow...
It was good to spend those days with the Winter's, but I also had my mind in all the things I had to get done these next weeks...

when I arrived, Willi and Sebastien were fixing the road below...such a good timing as I was just arriving with the back of my van filled with stones from Moses...I was already thinking we needed to put some more stones on our road...

but Willi was far ahead in his thoughts, and now he's determined to fix it properly... 

That's a lot of hard work there as you can see... Thank you Willi...

nice pictures by Sebastien...



While Willi was busy with the road...I kept working on the plumbing... I fixed the taps on the washing station because they were leaking from my first attempt...I opened a trench from the kitchen to the drums (next to the big bus), and dug the pipe in the ground...

And now I'm starting the second stage which is the solar water heater...here in the picture I was starting to build a small tower to put one more drum, which will fill the drum inside the insulated box next to it where our water will be heated... I have to build it with bricks, and that's why you can see a small foundation being prepared on the right side (facing the solar south)... I have to confess that this will be a great challenge for me, and I do hope that in the end of it, it will actually work :-)
we'll see...the tower is done now, so tomorrow I'll buy the bricks and start with it...
It's been a really exciting time for me to learn all this different things :-)

It's now 3 weeks for the permaculture course to start, when 20 people will come to stay for 9 days...
I do hope we'll have time to finish the bath house walls with a shower compartment (as I said, I gave up on building a whole shower place for now), the compost toilet and the shed for the course in case it rains... I feel the rain will stop for a while after the next full moon on the February 28th...but we never know really ...

Anyway, I hope you all have a good week...and time to process and rejoice for the week that is past...

miSiOn aLmOsT aCcoMpLiShEd..

I just posted about my last week work on the Mount of Oaks blog ... click on the link if that interest you...
Oh, and I just want to say that I changed my settings on both blogs to moderate any comment, cuz I was getting stupid ones from chinese blogs, probably trying to make publicity or sell useless stuff... sorry about that...

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)