Early Spring

An advantage of living in Galicia as opposed to the UK is the milder winter weather. Today I noticed some early signs of Spring. The first of my camellia flowers has opened.

Also the Calendulas have continued to flower throughout the winter and look very beautiful.

I also noticed a large bumblebee working the flowering deadnettles which had disappeared by the time I got my camera. We do get overnight frosts here and the ponds ice up overnight but thaw within an hour of the sun hitting them.

At the moment I have my neighbours Billy Goat visiting my girls. There is a lot of chasing and grumbling but not very much 'action'. The girls do not seem as keen as he is on the idea of procreation.
Perhaps they are waiting for warmer weather.

Flooding

In Galicia we get a lot of rain mostly in winter. It can come in very heavy bursts but over the centuries, in rural areas the farmers have maintained the drainage systems. Pictures here show the results of the most recent heavy rain.

Here the culvert under our drive is draining the ridge away from the house onto one of our fields.

This is the ridge and resulting small waterfall which feeds the culvert.

Flowing water on our fields, this usually clears within a few hours of the rain stopping.

With the UK climate changing more attention will have to be paid to managing flood water. Of course there will always be instances of flash flooding, Spain has had plenty of those but building high density housing in traditional flood plains is madness. Sustainable urban drainage systems already exist but they cost money and need to be allocated space within housing developments. Perhaps constructors need to build less 'battery' housing squeezing as many houses as possible onto the land and consider long term water management as a higher priority than previously.

Luckily we are currently experiencing a few days of clear skies, cold nights and brilliant warm sunshine which is allowing me to get out into the garden. Bulbs are emerging, birds are singing and my goat is experiencing the delights provided by the neighbour's Billy.

A New Dawn

We face east and so the sunrises are spectacular. I watched another one this morning.

It also feels as though a new age is dawning in many ways. The end of the Mayan calender is supposed to indicate great changes. Society is changing, cracks are appearing in the fabric of the so called 'developed world', at the same time there is an increasing awareness of  changes for good. Tim and I are great fans of Permaculture which seeks to look at better ways of meeting our needs using what we have to hand. Many people like us are trying to find a better way. For several years I felt helpless and hopeless.... but no longer. We have both made positive changes for the better, a new lifestyle, new goals and a sense of purpose has inspired us. I don't think we are the only ones either. Tim is coming home on the 21st of December until the New Year. We have been unable to share many events together this past year, birthdays, Valentines day etc but it looks as though we will be celebrating midwinter together, and I can't wait.