It is always busy when Michael is on the quinta, although this time I’ve managed to twist his arm on more than one occasion to take it slower than usual. The most important project for this visit was to build a front porch, and as I bought the steel beforehand, he could immediately start with […]
“Soils, like people, are transformed by the company they keep. They develop slowly, over time. Top soil, the upper, most productive layer of soil, takes over 500 years to form. That precious inch – and all remaining layers of soil – evolves in response to the climate, terrain and organisms with which it comes in […]
“It is not speed that matters, it’s persistence.”– Abhijit Naskar The past week was an exceptionally busy week on the quinta, and both Michael and I were exhausted yesterday. We told a friend on Saturday that no tool will be lifted on Sunday, as we were planning to make it a rest day, but nothing […]
“A silence where you interact with your thoughts is also a sacred act, a way of owning your interior being. Sometimes you need to wade through your thoughts in order to let them settle.” – Heather McRae-Woolf Brambles, producing delicate flowers in spring and juicy fruit in summer, are mostly a web of thorns growing […]
“Some places are for going through, others are for going to – and Monsanto is definitely one of the latter.”– José Saramago In his book Journey Through Portugal, José Saramago explains that he went to Monsanto expecting to find slate roofs, but instead found red Mediterranean tiles, and ‘imagined narrow, winding dark streets that would […]
“All that came before us and all that surrounds us is continually leaving its imprint on what we are and how we are, on what we do and how we do it.” – Miguel Moore Monday morning dawned cold, which promted Michael to send an email to the company that installed the heating system. “Unfortunately […]
“Those who don’t know how to suffer are the worst off. There are times when the only correct thing we can do is to bear our troubles until a better day.” – Deng Ming-Dao This past week, like the snowflakes when I woke up yesterday morning, was a flurry of activity that held great promise. […]
Surrounded by a cork oak forest and giant granite boulders, the chapel of São Pedro de Vir-a-Corça looks small and plain. Insignificant even, as it is the landscape that makes the strongest impression on visitors. It feels wild, mysterious, and ancient. The inselberg, against whose flank this chapel nestles, rises sharply from the surrounding landscape […]
“Walking helps thinking. You mull things, the landscape, your life, as you stroll along.” – Paul Salopek We often think that we have to travel long distances to find beauty and wonder, but we forget that it can also be found in our own backyards. Sometimes even without having to set foot in a car. […]
“Every food has an inspiring birthplace and holds flavors directly connected to the places and people that make them.”– Simran Sethi The day dawned clear and cold. A layer of frost carpeted not just the lower lying area, but also the brown and green swirls of grass at the feet of the olive trees. It […]
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