With my parents coming out in early September it has been a rush to get lots of jobs finished. This was a good thing as I find having a deadline spurs me on to achieve more. The most important job was to get the guest room finished which included installing a new window. The room needed more light and air. We had Pepe to make the window and Jose to make a hole in the wall and fit it.
We found some colourful material in Decolar in Puerto and Wendy made curtains and matching cushions. New beds and covers came from Ikea. I was painting the window on the morning before they arrived, so it was all very last minute.
So here is your bedroom for when you come to stay with us!
Since Mum and Dad are of 'advanced age' (they read this so I am being as polite as I possibly can) we thought it prudent to put in handrails so they could access the upstairs rooms in the windmill. Experimentation with bending steel tube didn't amount to much and we ended up with having a company specialising in stainless steel to fit them. And they look very nice too.
The roof terrace was another job to finish. The walls at the back we had built up to give some wind protection but it still remained to fit steel railings to discourage people (and dogs) from falling off the roof. A little one man business just down the road in Antigua was the answer. Alonso has to be one of the fastest welders I have ever seen, which is just as well as he charged us next to nothing to make up the four railings. Bernat and I made holes in the tops of the walls and secured them with Sikaflex resin and then tidied it all up with mortar and white paint.
David has been helping out. He really is a Trojan worker. The only problem is he hates seeing me do a job which he thinks he should be doing. If I am digging a hole he will jump around me saying 'Jefe, Jefe, es mi trabajo! trying to grab the pick or shovel out of my hands. A couple of weeks ago I set him to work to repaint an old metal garden table and chairs. We used a blue Hammerite paint and made new seat bases, cushions and covers. The glass table top is probably not very safe to have outdoors so I have cut a new one out of marine ply which I will cover with mosaic tiles when I am feeling arty and have plenty of time. We found a secondhand barbecue in Puerto to complete the patio.
What else has been going on? I built a stone edged gravel path to make it a little more comfortable walking up to the dog's casita.
Then we laid out lines of stone to mark out new paths and low walls elsewhere in the garden. David is away getting married (this Saturday), but when he is back working we have this to cement in. Alonso made the steel arch in the centre pic below.
The plants are (finally) settling in well. The secret has been to water, water and water. Some of the plants are fairly romping away. Here are some of them.
This is a Moringa oleifera tree which died back to nothing after planting. Six weeks later it is six feet tall. It should prove useful in that all parts of the tree are edible, and it can be coppiced to use as animal feed or green mulch.
This large succulent is one of the very few plants which I found growing in the finca when we arrived. It is a majestic Agave attenuata. It makes a superb focal point. I removed small offsets to plant on the other side of the windmill to balance the planting.
Here are tomatoes (and a melon) overtaking the ornamental plants. The tomatoes originated from one solitary plant which had sprung into life all by itself, which I then carefully tended, only to have the fruits devoured by the dogs (in one sitting when I wasn't looking). At this time Wendy thought it would be a good idea to put the collected dog poo around the plants as a fertiliser. The next minute the tomato seeds in the poo had germinated and now we have tomato plants growing up all around the garden!
A very useful plant is the Neem tree (Azadirachta indica), from which can be extracted neem oil. This is a natural insecticide which is widely used in India and other tropical countries, and is now becoming commercially available in the developed world. This tree has grown about four feet since it was planted earlier this year, and looks extremely healthy. It helps being behind the windbreak fence.
We now have a number of edible species planted including Orange, Pomelo, Lime, Mango, and Fig. Here are the Olive, Avocado and the Loquat. It will be interesting to look back in a few months time at these pictures to see how they have grown (or died!)
A very nice plant is the Milkweed Asclepia curassavica with its red and yellow flowers. It attracts butterflies too which is an added bonus. However I didn't really think this through as last week the plant was completely defoliated by masses of Monarch butterfly caterpillars. At least the caterpillars were lovely to look at for a few days.
Below are more plants which are becoming established. Clockwise, starting at top left, is the African Daisy Osteospermum, a red Mandevilla to grow over the new arch, the violet blue flowered Solanum rantonettii, a succulent with carmine flowers which I have not yet identified (anyone know?) which is growing into the broader leafed Aptenia on the right, Senna alexandrina to keep us regular, then a new bed planted with banana, Phoenix roebellinii palm and a Desert Rose Adenium obesum in a pot. The bottom left picture is the Ficus lyrata the Fiddle Leaf Fig from west Africa, a Passion flower Passiflora and a Dwarf Poinciana Caesalpinia pulcherrima. Lastly, a Flamboyant tree Delonix regia, also known as Poinciana or the Christmas Tree in Australia as it bears scarlet flowers there in December.
When the wall was built we left planting holes to allow plants to cascade down the stone walls. This is a Scaevola aemula from Australia which is also great in a hanging basket. It is standing up well to the wind and seems to propagate very easily. I knew its cousin in the Maldives very well, Scaevola taccada, which is a large shrub with white flowers.This is much nicer. Scaevola is sometimes called the Half Flower as the corolla is only half round.
I have germinated some Eucalyptus seeds with the idea of adding Eucalyptus to the stock of windbreak trees. So far E. leucoxylon and gunnii are growing well. A few Pampas grass seedlings have germinated as well. My friend Peter in Tenerife kindly sent me some seed of the Argon Tree Argania spinosa which have just started germinating. Argon oil is produced mainly in Morocco (just down the road), and the tree is very very drought resistant.
The animals seem to be getting on well. Top dog is Goofy and he asserts his dominant behaviour more and more over poor old Pongo. Goofy is also very fond of Ella who just loves leaping onto Goofy's tail. It can be a bit horrifying to see Ella's head almost disappearing into Goofy's mouth when they play.
Ella finds everything of great interest, including my plants. It is a battle to encourage them to grow ahead of the steady rate of attrition she is causing. Here she is caught red-handed.
I wonder how the hierarchy of dominance will work out as she grows older? She is certainly trying her best to be the most important family member, which includes taking over Goofy's bed!
In the meantime I have to assert my position as leader of the pack. This is reinforced twice a day at mealtimes when they have to sit and wait for my signal for them to eat. You can't actually see the drool falling from their mouths in this picture, but I can assure you there is plenty there.
Then it's walkies!
Of course when my parents and daughter Harriet arrived it was down tools and time to kick back and relax a little. And a good excuse to try out the new BBQ.
The animals were thoroughly spoilt. Each had a present. Goofy's toy was made of a material which was not completely indestructible, so it lasted about half an hour.
Yesterday we had Bernat and Pepe here to remove the skylight on the roof of the windmill and fit roof timber in its place. There was a lot of wind noise coming from the flimsy skylight and we think it was where the rain was entering. It was fun watching them play around with the crane. Rather them than me though.
I find as I get older I really don't enjoy heights. The power company has been replacing the pylons this week.This combines two of my pet hates, heights and electricity.
Next on the agenda is clearing rubbish out of the shipping container and fixing the roof to make it waterproof. Then building paths and stone walls around the garden. The stone walls are an integral part of the scenery in Fuerteventura and I think it important to bring that landscape element into the garden as much as possible.
Wendy starts school again on Monday. So far 140 enrolments!