This time, due to other projects on my part, I’ve only stayed for a month, so I’ll be missing not only the first figs of the year, but also the big crop of apricots and plums that has just begun in earnest.

The food

Some of the cherry trees at Flores de Vida bore fruit for the first time this year, and the older ones too, but the birds are always far too quick and empty the trees before the fruits are fully ripe. At our friend Javier’s farm, where we used to fill up our boxes and ourselves several times a season with the best cherries we knew, there was hardly any fruit this year. It was just enough for a meal and a snack ; )

On the other hand, the goji bushes surprised us. Not only did they bear fruit for the first time, but they also produced a lot of fleshy fruit, so we both ate more fresh goji than ever before. It was just the two of us the whole time.

The three large mulberry trees also had an equally intense time. There was also an apricot tree that produced an abundance of ripe, delicious fruit, well ahead of all the others.

The loquat trees in the field produced a lot of fruit this year, with small variations in taste, juiciness and crunchiness between them. We did fill the crates once outside, but it wasn’t necessary for us, given the quantity that is now present at Flores de Vida.

Works

The vegetable gardenAs far as the work was concerned, I devoted myself to the streamer, as is almost always the case at this time of year. As usual, the land was overgrown everywhere and looked very wild and abundant. I processed a tankful every day and spent an hour cutting the tall grass.

As a result, not only did the small trees reappear, but the vegetable garden also became recognisable. In many places, I also weeded by hand and Nat harvested the beans.

Nat’ also took advantage of the welcoming state to resow various vegetables.

I also continued to mulch the trees and surrounded some of them with a thick layer of straw (this is to make it easier for a hot summer to pass, as more moisture is retained in the soil).

As a result, a wall of visual protection will grow there, and a private space for a caravan will be found behind it.

Towards the end of my stay, the two of us renovated the roof of the oldest caravan and the roof of one of the two oldest dry toilet sheds. We first removed the old wooden or cane and canvas construction, then reinforced and repaired the structure, coated it with a mixture of diesel and linseed oil and screwed corrugated iron sheets onto it. Finally, they were covered with a layer of cane.

Admittedly, there were more intermediate stages than expected, especially for the caravan, but there were no major complications or difficulties. We’ve finished building the toilets. The caravan also has a new roof, and all that’s missing now is about two-thirds of the cane cover.

It’s very practical to be able to harvest cane directly at Flores de Vida and not have to go and get it outside, load it laboriously onto the roof of the van and bring it back.

The weather

This project with the roofs was delayed by numerous windy days. There were also regular forecasts of rain, which unfortunately only turned into brief showers. On the whole, it wasn’t as hot as I’m used to at this time of year. Most of the time, it was more pleasant to spend the day in long clothes, but with the change of month (early June), short clothes were finally in order.

The fleet of vehicles ; )

Nat’ refurbished the finca’s vehicles. The van and large trailer each needed a new wheel, and he installed solar panels on the tractor so the battery wouldn’t run down during long periods of downtime, but it also needed changing. After sharpening the blades of the gyro-shredder, he mowed the terraces again, further enhancing the sense of space and openness I’d already started to create.

Plantations

Some trees, fortunately few in number, which were previously healthy and adapted to the climate, have suddenly withered away for no apparent reason. But many of them are still thriving.

Overall, the vegetation is on the increase. Even the surrounding slopes in the hills were still very green at the beginning of June.

Some of the trees showed obvious damage to the trunks, the cause of which we could only guess at. Because of the same orientation, we deduced that the sun’s rays were too strong in the evenings and so we covered the affected areas. We attached old clothes and pieces of cloth with clothes pegs to protect them from the sun.

Other wounds were more consistent with wild boar and roe deer. They apparently rub against the young trunks so hard that it damages the bark. Or they nibble them. Fortunately, only a few trees were affected.

Animals

Frogs and a multitude of birds can be heard all the time. The orioles are very shy, but their bright yellow plumage makes them stand out.

At night, a toad can be seen sitting on the path.

There are also wild boar footprints and, in some places, excavated straw mulch. Fortunately, they don’t touch the vegetable garden. It’s worth noting that there are no fences or wire fencing anywhere in the grounds, and not even in the vegetable garden, but everything’s fine.

The snakes and lizards sun themselves in the hot spots, but disappear as soon as we approach.

Mosquitoes and flies, even the little ones that bite (the mosca negra), were barely noticeable this May.

One night, I very probably saw a genet briefly. In the darkness, I heard a clatter on a plate I had left outside with some leftover loquats and, when I shone out with my headlamp, I saw first just two eyes, then briefly a spotted animal with a bushy tail running away quickly. It’s the first time I’ve seen one here.

Online projects

As well as taking care of the place on a daily basis, Nat’ spent the month creating his new online programme and enjoyes his birthday. : )

L’article May 2023 est apparu en premier sur Eco-logical Life Center.

A central project was to construct a new and more durable sun protection for the large trampoline. So that the constant UV radiation does not spoil the plastics of the trampoline all too fast, we had already made an attempt last year to build a protection. The trees on the site are growing steadily, but have not yet reached the heights and size to form larger shady areas. The aim was also that this protection would not restrict or even prevent the use of the trampolin. So all solutions, which require to remove something first and then to position it again, were eliminated, because with such an effort the spontaneous use is normally avoided according to experience.

Last time we built a dome from reed rods and covered it with some kind of canvas. Optically it was a big compromise, but fulfilled the purpose. However, the construction did not withstand a strong storm and collapsed. Fortunately, the damage to the trampoline itself was not dramatic.

The new idea was to first reinforce the aluminium structure with wooden beams and then put reed panels between them, which we already use in many places. The advantage is that this material now also grows in Flores de Vida, they are not that difficult to make. We let the foliage protrude over the safety net, so that it bends like an open dome over the whole trampoline. In addition, we stabilized the whole structure with wire.

The whole structure makes a stable impression for the time being and is also visually appealing. It provides sun protection and invites use.

Furthermore, we have restored the vegetable garden. Prepared patches, maintained the irrigation system, removed lots of wild fennel and trimmed grasses and herbs with the new battery-powered streamer.

This tool is a real gain: much lighter and quieter than the petrol-driven version and free of smell. We are not dependent on fuel, but can load it with our solar system. Although the operating time is considerably shorter, one is forced to take a break again and again.

The conditions on the entire land are now so good that we would no longer be able to deal with the rapid growth without such a machine. So we were able to clear the young and small trees quickly and at the same time mulch the soil well with the cut plants.

We planted tomatoes and other trees.

We also repaired the bicycles and cleaned and tidied up the Crudine. Here and there small clean-ups and repairs have been done.

The weather was pleasant. There were also some hot and very sunny days, but most of the time it was bearably warm.

As usual we had plenty of strawberries in the garden and tasty cherries from Javier. This year these were surprisingly little visited by flies and contained almost no worms.

Soon, tons of loquats completed our menu and by the end, lots of apricots were added. Many of the trees in FLores de Vida now carry properly what also appeals to the birds.

As always, there was also time for exchanges on various topics, conversations about life and opportunities to make music together. We also started almost every day with stick exercises.

L’article The unofficial June session est apparu en premier sur Eco-logical Life Center.

The people

Next to Nat’ there were Jean-Loup and me who supervised the session. Both of us had already participated in sessions and spend several months in Flores de Vida.

Six people registered for this session but only four confirmed and actually arrived. Two came two respectively one day before the official start but unfortunately one of them was so uncomfortable with the weather and food situation and the way of communication that he left after one night and before the event really started.

So for the first week we were six people with French, German, Italian and Polish origins and spoke mainly in English at times in French. In the second week we were joined by another person who fits quickly very well in the group.

The weather

It was unusual cold and wet for this time of the year. We had some rain, cold days and many times clouds but it was getting warmer and warmer during the session. Same for the nights, the first ones were very cold.

The accommodation

The small amount of people allowed to accommodated everybody in a caravan or the yurt. The yurt also served for the gathering when the weather was unpleasant.

The food

We started with different varieties of apples and pumpkins from the harvest last year and oranges from one of Nat’s friends near the seaside. Additionally some dried fruits from the abundance last summer. There were almonds and different kinds of olives too.

In the middle of the first week we made the first excursion to the organic cherry plantation of Nat’s friends Javier where we picked and eat a lot of fruits. In the second week we went there again and repeated this action. And that time the fruits have been much darker and sweeter.

The strawberries were late this year, probably caused by the cold weather the weeks before. But there were more and more to enjoy during the end of the session.

The vegetable garden provided a variety of green leaves, asparaguses, broad beans and we had some fermented vegetables too.

The tasks

There were two main little projects we focused on: the cleaning of all the little trees and the replacement of the wooden structures that supports the wine. We take care for both very flexible and decided more or less day by day how to continue. Sometimes we worked all together at the same time on the same task, sometimes we made small groups.

At the end all trees were cared. We weeded around them and made sure their irrigation is in place. The two big wooden structures were dissembled and replaced by metal ones, the vine plants attached to their new supports.

Additionally we weeded some parts of the upper and lower vegetable garden, planted a lot of tomatoes and completely cleaned the inside of the community yurt.

Because of the nice interaction with Javier the whole group decided to help him one day by weeding for a few hours on his farm.

The other activities

Everyday started with a yoga class. Two times we visited the lake for a swim and relaxing. We had an evening of Korean relaxation, a kind of massage, and a short class of attentive theatre. On a few evenings we sang together and once Nat’ gave us a guitar concert.

Every evening at 19 o’clock we gathered for a sharing circle. We started with listening to the other persons’ review of the day, the thoughts, the feelings and everything else some one wanted to share. We discussed several topics that came up and planed the next day. Already from the first circle it was a very harmonic, joyful and open atmosphere.

We had a lovely opening ceremony and a totally different but also lovely closing ritual. Both suggested and lead by participants but worth to include in future sessions.

My conclusion

There are things that are similar for most of the session. The time for everybody to get used to the group, the food, the weather, the surrounding, the work. The ups and downs. The excitement, the exhaustion.

It was a quite small group this time but this might also have caused that it was very quickly a quite intimate exchange of feelings and thoughts. We succeeded to create a safe and honest space. It was a successful session in terms of the accomplished tasked for the project and in terms of group process and personal development. I enjoyed very much and hope to see these guys again.

L’article Springtime session 2018 est apparu en premier sur Eco-logical Life Center.