Busy Workload

I haven't blogged for ages as I got very busy and have had visits from family, which are always a delight. We had a wonderful week of sunshine and temperatures around 20 degrees C which confused the plants but which felt wonderful after such a wet winter. We are now in the throes of more 'normal' weather of chilly days with an occasional shower or burst of sunshine. I have started planting seeds in earnest, many of the annual herbs start off in pots and the propagator is roaring away full of tomatoes, squashes and those seeds needing a bit of warmth.

These peas are in a tub with more in the veggie patch and some of the spring brassicas are coming on. Trees are emerging from their winter hibernation and hint of blossom are showing.

This is the first apricot blossom from this tree which we planted last winter. I have just finished planting out some cut price ornamental shrubs from Lidl I can never resist a bargain.

This tub has an interesting mix of tulips, freesias and self seeded chard. I will watch what happens and move the chard if it gets too smothered. My daughter is due to visit later this week. I have a nice list of work for her to do with me. Having two people working here allows me to make so much more progress on the bigger jobs. I think we will end up doing more fencing. The big dog Toby, is causing havoc in my vegetable patch and the only real way to stop him will be to fence it off entirely as he currently sneaks in from the bottom field.
He tells me that uprooting and chewing on brussel sprout plants is so much fun he can't resist.

A Wet Winter

Galicia has been the victim of the oscillating jet stream along with most of the rest of Europe. We too have had storm after storm and it has rained every day since mid December. The River Mino is very high at Lugo flooding several riverside properties. Last night the storm 'Ruth' hit us and we have lost some more slates off of our old roof, with a large slate balanced over the edge of the house rather precariously. The local news reports that the wind speed reached 100mph with 11m waves at the coast, by no means the strongest we have endured this winter. Inland we are on Orange Alert with yet another Red Alert at sea. In common with UK politicians, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior, Luis Aguilera, has suspended his visit to Galicia to visit areas affected by the storms due to the complicated weather situation that still stands in Galicia. Emergency funding has been approved for repair of roads and to remove landslips. Another storm, 'Stephanie' is due to hit us Sunday.

The good news is that there are signs of spring all around. I have started planting seeds indoors and the first peas have been planted outside. Bulbs are emerging and the Camelia is blooming beautifully.

Most excitingly some overwintering seeds are starting to sprout outside. I have a sea kale seedling and two stone pine seedlings are emerging.

It feels as though climate change is well and truly happening, and growing food will be increasingly challenging.

The Galician Diet

I have been overweight for years. This has been due to a poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle, working at a desk all day. The recent UK concern with hidden sugar in the diet resonates with me here.
My family have also suffered with weight issues for much the same reasons as I. Since coming to Galicia I have gradually lost weight without trying and my close family members who have stayed here have found the same thing. One reason for the weight loss is an increase in my activity level, working all day on the land and with animals is bound to improve fitness levels but the main reason I think is the traditional Galician diet.

Most people in the country do not have access to take away food or large supermarkets, you have to drive into the cities for those. Traditionally food is home made, from fresh ingredients including home reared pork, chorizo and ham, chicken and rabbit from the back yard and fresh veg from the ubiquitous vegetable patches.

The fast food here is not very fast, it is the Menu del Dia from one of the many roadside eating places in every village offering a wonderfully fresh home cooked three course meal with bread, wine and coffee for around 9 euros per head. Against that, the likes of the city McDonalds can not compete. The Galicians are rightly proud of their food, it is superbly simple and delicious. Food is right at the heart of their culture. Most of their fiestas are food based. Take the Capon Fair we recently went to in Vilalba. All of the Capons are free range, fed on a mix of foods including corn and chestnuts, and killed and prepared at home.

No glucose syrup in sight. The food has real taste to it, no injections of water, no added colourings or preservatives. Even the home made wine needs to be kept in the fridge as it doesn't have any preservatives, and at 1.20 euro per litre is very affordable and you don't get a hang over. The Galician love of food and wine equates to happiness and a love of life.

Salud!