Monday October 31 st., 2011.

Last night was a long one. It lasted until 4 this morning with lots of words with Kuba, Peter, Mihai, Dave Veevers and Eli.

It's been a lovely day today, warm and sunny.

Oscar came around for lunch and then we went through plans for a  "co-operative" gardening project in Estapona.

It should work well.

A Musician's workshop at the Pita Escuela.

Beautiful carvings.

This is an ULOG style solar oven.

This is a a really simple principle. Cook with the energy of the sun. ULOG are a Swiss group who have been very successful at distribution in Africa. Many Swiss people use Solar Cooking techniques in Switzerland.

Mihai working on the terrace extension.

Sunday, October 0th., 2011

My camera went "sepia" on me. It makes for a nice effect though.

It's been quite a busy day for a Sunday. Peter has done a great job tidying up all the cable work for the satellite system and putting the boxes out of the way on the wall. It's really good to have some space on my desk. ! 
Mihai and Pepa have been working on the terrace extension and repairing bits and pieces in the house. As for me pretty tranquillo - great lunch, vegetable pie with lomo and egg, muy bien, full tank. !

This was yesterday's "flood irrigating". .

Primarily irrigated for the roots of the old Apricot tree, secondarily for the earth which is powder dry in places. !

This is an "unexpected" picture which I took this evening. !

Do I see a" Smurf" ?

Friday October 28 th., 2011

I spent quite a lot of time today sorting out computer systems, like updating Skype and generally "cleaning up". Pepa has been continuing with the terrace extension and Mihai splitting wood.

Peter and I took "Goofy" in to the vet to look for an identity micro-chip. Nothing.!

Introducing "Goofy". No identity chip, "no nothing". Lost abandoned dog. !

Anyone want a dog?

Dashinka and Fluffy at play

Dashinka is "very pregnant"

This photo was taken in South East Winsconsin on the night of October 24th. A CME (Coronal Mass Ejection), hit Earth's magnetic field on Oct. 24 at 1800 UT, sparking a strong (Kp=7) geomagnetic storm. Auroras were sighted in the United States as far south as Arkansas, Texas and California. The very red sky is unusual in Aurora Borealis activity.

Thursday October 27th., 2011

We had a nice damp morning - not exactly raining but at least damp. !

I have put up 3 pictures of Tim's exploits this last Summer, including a link to his web site.

All is very "tranquillo" in the house. !

This was quite a big group from Greenpeace who came to help us on various projects.

This is a picture from a course Miguel and Tim put on this last Summer. Miguel is a Maetro on the uses of Agave and Chumba. He lives in Mexico.

This Tim teaching in his workshop

Press this link for Products and you can see the products that Tim produces for sale and teaches others to make in his workshops.

Wednesday October 21st , 2011

I think we have kind of caught up with ourselves after the party and the new super fast satellite connection. There have been  lots of things to play with, like, download a new version of Linux, (actually it was too complicated for the "Notebook"), but it was good to try it out.

Today I went on a search for a good music player for Windows 7 basic version. 

Music Bee is the choice and so far seems better and definitely much faster than I Tunes or Rythum Box. We are finding all sorts of great music that had got hidden in obscure files.

Pepa has started a terrace extension, I will post a picture tomorrow.

Ondra, I hope the operation went well. Love from us all here.

The Fridge is Ready

Robert,, Mihai and Pepa, cleaning up prior to the Party

Maya, Our Los Molinos baby. Graham is the proud Dad. Alice is Mum. Note the blue skies. !!

Ondra and Teresa ejoying a little sun in Bohemia. Today, Wednesday, is the day that Ondra will be operated on. Let us send him GOOD VIBES.

A very clean Los Molinos High Street.

Monday October 24th.,2011.

The party went well over the weekend. We declared ourselves "open for business" at midday on Saturday and Oliver closed down the DJ music at 2.00 on Sunday afternoon - so - a good 25 hour festival for Sunseed's 25 th Anniversary.

Olivier was excellent - really good energy and really good music and loads of happy people, probably maxed at around 100 and averaged 40 to 50 most of the time. 

In short, a really good Fiesta party, plenty of food, plenty of everything = happy people. !

Today we are ON LINE with the satellite. Now it takes 15 to 20 minutes to manage this blogspot - previously - one hour or more. !!  3.2K upload from Movistar, 400Kb upload with Bentley Walker TwoWay system. Now "we're cooking with gas". !! Thank you Dan and Jon for the system and thank you Robert for the D Link Router.

I am holding roots which lodged in the pipe which had in turn got flattened as the hillside crushed it underground. Nashko is looking on with a big smile. !

Nashko and David in an "action moment"

The Caña bridge re-furbished by Fred and Sunseeder this last summer.

Thursday October 20th., 2011

The weather is turning a little cooler and Enrique tells me that we may well have 30 mm of rain next week. That's 30 litres per square meter - that would be really good. !!

I bought 18 square meters of black plastic and Mihai and I covered the wood with it.

Pepa has been repairing the paving outside the wood pile. Good job. !

Mihai is tucking in the black plastic over the Winter wood supply. 18 square meteres. of plastic. !

Pepa has done a nice job of re-paving this area.. Muy Bien

Nice new, "old" tiles set by Pepa outside the front door.

Wednesday October 19 th., 2011

Pepa, from CZ has been busy over the last couple of days. 

He has finished off the "mortero" work on the window, created a couple of flower beds, cemented some stones into the path outside the front door and tiled over the earth hole by the main door. Good work. 

Mihai has been gardening, cutting out the caña, tackling the huge Agave which crashed on to the terrace and watering, so, a good day. !

Mihai with a Giant Pineapple. !

Pepa from CZ has been busy creating a new flower bed.

Tuesday, October 18th., 2011

I  have not been out and about with the camera today, so I have posted some of Mira's pictures.

This Saturday, October 22nd, we will host a 25th., Anniversary, 25 hour party at The Casa De La Realidad. This is the 25th anniversary of Sunseed in El Rio.

Without Sunseed I would not be here.

I have ordered 200 litres of Alhambra and 60 bottles of wine. Since we are all in a bit of a "crisis" we will sell the beer and wine at 1 Euro a bottle. 

Olivier has agreed to be DJ. He has a great music collection and I have said we will "pass the hat" for him, so he has a little money for his wife, his life, and his family.

All are welcome. Bring musical instruments, food and good spirit too.

We start mid-day Saturday.

Hasta La Vista

A picture of Carla, Mira's "wife to be". ! House building. !

This is an amazing mural commisioned for Mira in Andalucia.

This is a picture Mira painted many years ago. I like it a lot.

Monday October 17th., 2011

The day dawned cold and wet. What a surprise that was. !!

The dogs taking a drink at the pool just above "the love pools".

I think this is a lost dog, rather than abandoned. Anyhow we will take her to the vest and have her checked for a micro chip and thus find her owner, we hope. !!

These are Oscar's tomatoes growing on composted material including goat shit, grass and house compost, sprayed regularly with "Effective Micro-organisms", E·M's. The soil in the Filabres is poor, dry, and stony with very little organic matter. Compost is essential for good harvests, and these tomatoes show this to be true.

Saturday, October 15 nth., 2011

We stacked the wood this morning and this afternoon Peter got to work on the satellite again. He found the satellite but we have not yet got a strong enough signal for good communication. More tomorrow. ! Alan flew back to Scotland yesterday. I think he will need more than a kilt and a sporran to keep warm over there. !!

Oscar's Jacuzzi in the Filabres, plus the trees he has planted over the last 18 years. The structure beside the Jucuzzi is a well. We excavated it many years ago. It is about 8 meteres deep. The water for the Jacuzzi, or "hot tub", comes from a bore hole, solar powered, pumped up the mountain then gravity fed in a long black tube and "voila" about 1,000 liters hot water every day when the sun shines, and, it usually does. !.

Peter finding the satellite. Yes, he found it.

The Olive wood now safely stacked. We are nearly ready for Winter. !

Friday October 14 th., 2011

Friday.

Well, still no fast Internet service from Bentley Walker. Poco a poco. Living out here is always a test of patience. Things take time, and, somehow we can enjoy things more for that very reason. !

The sky is very blue. You can see it in the photos. Rain please. !

More Wood. These are smaller olive woods rather than the larger eucalypt of the other two loads. Well, we're ready for a cold Winter. !!

Another nice view.

Mihai wheeling his wheel-barrow down the Los Molinos High Street. What a beautiful High Street. !

Tim's wood well stacked. It's like money in the bank. !!

Thursday October 13th., 2011

We shifted 4 tons of wood this morning. Tim did the stacking and Alan, Mihai, Olga and myself wheel-barrowed the wood down the "high street". 

It really is a very beautiful "high street". It is easy to take for a granted the amazing natural beauty that surrounds us here in El Rio

Alan having a chat on the Sunseed Terrace on the "high street".

Wednesday October 12 th., 2011

Quite a quiet day today. I caught up on the "blog" this morning, then walked the dogs, had lunch.caught up with all sorts of news on the Internet, especially the Occupy Wall Street news. 
Looks like this may well be a major time of change for us all. I hope so.

This is Cesar at work. The "work" is to make a mold for the cactus then to cast in bronze or other material.

Tuesday , October 11 th., 2011

Ondra and Eva left for CZ today with the car full of Olive Oil and trousers. !!

Yesterday I collected some new parts for the Ram Pump and fitted them, and today Ondra brought over some self locking nuts, and I was then able to set the stroke on the pump and secure the bottom valve with the self locking nuts, and, fingers crossed, we are OK for the next few weeks. !!

Cesar came over in the afternoon and he gave me a "lift" over to Paco's farm where we looked at, and ordered wood, and then investigated the old cortijo on the hill with the Eagle "shit" full of bones. ! See picture. !!

Back "to the ranch" and Catherine called by with the electronic meter for satellite finding, and we talked about the "pro's and con's" of buying land in Tabernas - so - a gentle day.

Cesar and I found these "droppings" in the old cotijo near paco's farm. Maybe they are from an Eagle since the contents of the "droppings" are almost entirely of mouse bones. The mice must have been eaten whole and then digested. !

This view of The Filabres, is taken from an deserted Cortijo near Paco's family's land. Oscar lives in those mountains and the pictures of the newly tiled roof are also from The Filabres. It is very dry up ther at the moment. Note the clear blue skies. !

I went with Cesar from La Herreria, to look at Paco's wood. As you can see there is a lot of it, and it is dry - very good for our stoves. ! I have ordered a truck for Frank and a truck for Tim. Muy Bien. !!

Monday October 10th, 2011

That was a busy day with loads of travelling about. First down to Almeria with Frank and Sheenah, back to El Rio and then off to Lubrin to see the oil bottled for Ondra and Eva, and then to see the roof they had put on during the previous week.in the Filabres. Back home with visitors and the day was gone. !!

This is the roof that Ondra and va put on last week. Both sides of the single storey part of the house. The tiles are all nailed on, so there is no chance of flying tiles in a high wind. !

Full of Oil and "ready to roll".