The Wasps Have Gone

The Wasps Have Gone

I stepped out on to my deck today, and something struck me. The words arose in my mind – “the wasps have gone”, and I said them out loud in wonder. For the past four years I have experienced a wasp invasion in and around my yurt during the summer...

Cork Harvest

This year we harvested some cork from our forest for the first time. https://montedavida.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/MAH02243.mp4   Cork is widely regarded as one of the most ecological and sustainable materials available. Here in the Alentejo region of...

Waiting for Rain

This is my third summer here at Monte da Vida, and the driest and hottest so far. It is now early October and we have had one proper day of rain since May. Our stream only ran for a few weeks in the spring. I read that the local reservoir has dropped to 17 percent of...

Adventures with Stone

It’s now been about six weeks since Steven the Scottish stone master started working with us, and we have become somewhat stone-crazy at Monte da Vida. Steven’s enthusiasm for stone is infectious, and also makes a lot of sense. Stone is abundant, cheap and...