We stripped the container of it's rotty, warped sheet lining, to give it a good clean and check for holes. No holes found, just some very confused geccos. We cut two nerve-rackingly large holes for windows, and patchwork-fitted recycled insulation panels on the walls and floor. Trying to find something eco, cheap and bug-proof to line the place with we settled on eco-OSB and treated it with homemade wood treatment, linseed oil heated up with bees wax. Yummy. A temporary kitchen was thrown together in one of the leaky animal sheds, the mice were very happy.
The Summer of the worst fires in Portugal's history. Further inland was hit much worse than our area, but at 11:30pm one evening, looking West we saw the whole Atlantic ridge ablaze. All that forest, all those creatures. Too sad for words.
Aldous (Huxley) and Fridha (Kahlo).
We went to the local rescue centre to see a room full of kittens; friendly little fur-babies that climbed all over us. Two big-eared, wild-eyed kitten faces glared out from the back of a cage in the corner of the room, "Ferals, they need more time with humans but I got bitten last week and I'm too scared to put my hand in there...", said the lady.
Somehow we couldn't resist. Two weeks later they'd become tummy-stroke-loving purr-machines.
We got started on construction of the compost-shitter, and container no.2 AKA the tool shed arrived. A few tons heavier, it's journey from the road and across the land was a few tons more precarious.
The toilet was completed and named:
Otter Sanctuary AKA Battle-Shit Galactica AKA Trout Farm.
And work on the kitchen begun. Must have kitchen by Christmas...
Otter Sanctuary AKA Battle-Shit Galactica AKA Trout Farm.
And work on the kitchen begun. Must have kitchen by Christmas...
Through Summer and Autumn we'd gained a lot: two hilarious felines, a bedroom, a tool shed, kitchen mark I, kitchen mark II, shower mark I, shower mark II, another's unwanted washing machine, dozens of windows and a fridge-freezer that fell from the sky and landed next to our car.
As the wheel of the year turned, Winter came to balance with loss: we said goodbye to our good friend Bob who died after a short battle with cancer, to Washing Basket the injured barn-owl, and to Fridha the cat, who'd chomped her way through half of a death-cap mushroom.
Fri Fri, you'll always be following us on the dog walks around the orchards with your brother, and screaming like a banshee at feeding time.
