Category: Life in General

  • Dam It (again)!

    Following my previous post, where I showed the creation of our summer bathing pool, it was pointed out that I didn’t show the competed project. Ooops! What do you think? Anyone fancy a paddle?    

  • Dam It!

    With just under three weeks remaining until our latest Permaculture Design Course kicks off, it’s all systems go here at Casalinho as we prepare. The job we’ve been looking forward to the most has got to have been installing the dam which we put into the stream each year to create a wonderful, natural bathing more »

  • Tolerance 2: Goats Speak Up

    Living with the chickens is all very well. We can put up with being used as perches. But we really, really wish …. … that they wouldn’t crap on us!    

  • Go, Willow, Go 2013 Brainwave Auction

    Willow is a very special little girl whose parents are friends of Casalinho. They have set up an auction, running until 10pm on Sunday 24th November, to raise funds for Willow’s Brainwave treatments. So why am I telling you? Well, apart from the auction being full of fabulous items which would make spectacular Christmas gifts, this more »

  • Too Close for Comfort

    Our volunteers wrote a lovely tutorial on hot composting for me to post here, but anything hot doesn’t seem appropriate after yesterday afternoon! We had our first forest fire of the year, the closest to Casalinho we’ve experienced. One of our visitors raised the alarm, and whilst another phoned the emergency services I drove down more »

  • Les Scouts de Stembert in the Community

    You could be excused for thinking, having read my last post, that the recent  Scout camp at Casalinho was one big round of sunbathing and swimming. Well a lot of that did go on, but a lot of hard work too! The Scouts de Stembert, all the way from Belgium, were kind enough to donate more »

  • Les Scouts de Stembert at Casalinho

    It’s hard to find time and quiet to write this blog these days. So much going on here. Just recently we’ve hosted the first of this summer’s Permaculture Design Courses, more on that in future posts, and following that we’ve been joined by another Scout group for their annual camp. This group were from Stembert, more »

  • New Year

    So the wrapping paper has been composted, the duck bones have been boiled for every scrap of broth, we’ve baked cookies on the hobo stove and we’ve enjoyed many good times with our wonderful volunteers Jennifer, Brandon and Ste. I guess that means the festivities are over for another year.   On Christmas Eve we more »

  • Powerdown Blogging

    Apologies to all, the blog is probably going to take a back seat now for the darker months. We’re really struggling with electricity at the moment, and given the choice of cooking dinner with the light on or updating the blog, I’m afraid dinner will win every time. I’ve been developing a bit of a more »

  • It’s a strange world

    It’s a balmy evening at Casalinho as I write. The animals are all shut up for the night and the bats, which I never tire of watching, are beginning to appear. Our dinner tonight will be based around tomatoes and red peppers which I harvested from the garden just an hour ago. It’s hard to more »