I have lots of excuses for it being two months since my last post. Firstly we spent the Semana Santa (Easter) week in Seville. Around a million tourists descend on the city to see the parades of hooded penitents carrying heavy statues and religious tableaux to the sound of mournful music and drums. But while some walk in the procession all day without shoes there are also young children taking part with their miniature hoods and cloaks followed closely by attentive parents. These two look as though they got lost.
Then there is the fact that there are always things to do. The latest project is the gate. A simple thing if you have a B & Q store nearby. But here, as people say we are only 60 miles or so from Africa, you are lucky if you can find anything you really need in the shops, so invariably you have to make do or make your own. Here is my attempt at a garden gate.
Then there was the disastrous week. The water pump developed a rust hole and leaked a huge amount of water overnight. This necessitated hunting around the shops for a replacement pump, preferably one which would not rust. The old pump was just a year old. Maybe I can claim on the guarantee.
A guarantee did not apply to the exploding shower screen which happened the same week. Ever since it was installed, by a so called professional plumber, the sliding doors required constant adjusting. As I was standing in the shower late one night after a hard day, stark naked and cursing the shower screen which would not close properly, trying to adjust it with an allen key, it exploded with a bang and I was covered in glass. Fortunately there was no serious damage to me or my personal possessions!
We thought that Goofy was growing up and turning into a responsible adult. Based on that assumption I left him to roam one afternoon while I popped down to the shops. When I returned there were various flowerpot pots up-ended and mess everywhere. So a decision was made, Goofy always gets shut away when we go out. But maybe it would be better if he had more room. A dog run was called for. Preferably one that could be dismantled and moved if needed. Here it is, complete with a sandpit, a little shelter and a sunbathing platform. What a lucky dog!
We have planted to the front of the conservatory with small herbaceous plants. The wind is a problem though as it seems to accelerate around the windmill and becomes stronger where it converges beyond the conservatory. We will see how the plants get on. Maybe more succulents are called for, though not cacti with their pesky spines. In fact the succulent garden to the side of the conservatory is doing really well.
Having the pond and waterfall, and lots of plants growing now has made a big difference to the amount of wildlife visiting the garden. There are not many tall trees around us, in fact there are not many trees at all, so the birds tend to sit on the windmill sails.
The compost bin has been filled so another task was to build a second one. I entrusted this to David to test his bush carpentry skills. He did very well and knocked this up using some old pallets.
Out in the field we have been planting a windbreak using Schinus terebinthifolius (Brazilian Pepper Tree), Casaurina, Coccoloba uvifera (Sea grape), bought as young plants from the government Agriculture station, and Eucalyptus which I grew from seed. There are also a couple of Flamboyants against the end fence to give a splash of red.
We have put in some palms also. Canary Palms, a Royal Palm as shown here, Washingtonia Palms which grow very quickly, and a Queen Palm. I had some cacti and a Yucca which were also planted out.
My Christmas trees had a bit of a set back with being over watered while away in Seville, but are now growing away and the second batch are catching up. Next year I will sow these Pine trees in April as the growing weather really doesn't kick in until May.
I am having a running battle with the mice. They go into the greenhouse every night and have been eating my Gazania seedlings. I set four traps with dog biscuits as bait and they generally manage to extract the bait without setting off the traps. Clever things, and brave. But, they are dicing with death. I normally get one mouse caught out of the four traps. This morning a rather fat mouse, who had obviously been dining out on my dog biscuits, was caught in a trap. Unfortunately the trap came down on his neck and he was still alive and struggling. I think I did the humane thing in introducing him to a bucket of water. He was last seen swimming furiously around the bucket. Maybe I am heartless, but I have my seedlings to think of.