Welcome to Techno-Billies

Kevin and Sylvia set off for pastures new. Adventures await as we know the terrain they are about to cycle through - some of the best bird watching country Spain has to offer! Buena Suerte Kevin y Sylvia y gracias por todo el trabajo duro! We were given 12 fertilised hens eggs - Castilian Black hens - which we are hoping to hatch to begin a new flock of chickens for eating.  A friend has offered to put them into her incubator for us and then its just a case of wait and see... The eggs are cleaned gently with plain water and then marked with a zero and a cross on opposite sides so that she knows when they have been turned.  Here they are going into the incubator nestled in among some goose eggs. And here is a goose egg that hatched just yesterday morning....  Welcome to Geraldine the goose. Geraldine's egg was hatched in a box on top of the radiator!  With careful attention and regular turning (3 times a day) for 31 days. She is sooooo sweet!  I do

Like this.... Just got to decorate and furnish the inside... this is a vintage Japanese Obi that I bought at a flea market in Osaka, I think it goes great inside the tipi.  Still to put in is the ground sheet, then a couple of stone slabs in the centre for the brasero (a mini metal fire pit), some rugs and then the furniture (2 single beds and a small chest of drawers).  Then... we test it out by spending the night.  Can't wait... except look what I saw when I stepped back a bit to get a better photograph of the tipi.... A Baskian Viper or Iberian Cross Adder (venemous) The tipi will be extra accommodation for our family, friends and volunteers when they visit... When do you want to come?

We have been working hard along with our volunteers to get the long list of finca jobs done and so we planned a little time out for fun and friends.  A BBQ was arranged with everyone bringing along what they would like to eat and drink (that way it isn't too much of a strain on the hosts).  And cheekily I seem to have ended up with one bottle of sparkly wine more than I started with! The weather was brilliant.  Warm like an English summer and the air full of birds and bees. After food and catching up with friends old and new we had some entertainment. Our very own, super talented volunteers gave us a show.  This is what they do as they travel around on their bicycles.  Street performance. And their entire show is carried and performed from the back of the bike, theatre, props and all! I can't begin to describe the fun and the mayhem (especially when Fergus decided to join in) but it was certainly different. And everyone enjoyed it!

...and at quite a pace I can tell you!  Our volunteers finished preparing the veggie patch. And then they planted some trees around the edges, two apples, a pear, a plum and a peach.  These will provide much needed shade during the height of the summer once they are established.  In the meantime I will probably have to rig up some shade or my tomatoes and peppers might just frizzle away. The watering solution is all but solved.  Our blimp fills with rainwater from the roof and now we have a  hand operated bilge pump to get the water from the blimp and over the rocks to where we are going to put another container.  The idea being that we shall top this container up from the blimp.  The smaller container is just a very short hop from the veggie patch and the hen house. Oh yes talking of hen houses.  Our now redundant goose house has been moved back up from the water meadow and now resides beside our existing hen house.  The idea being that we shall get some more hens

This week we welcomed Kevin and Slyvia to our finca.  They left the UK last May on their bicycles heading for the continent and have been travelling pretty much ever since.  If this wasn't remarkable enough they are actually a travelling theatre company!  For more info about them try their blog here . They wintered in Portugal and are now on their way back up through Spain towards France and familiar territory.  They always travel by bicycle and on the way are keen to meet up with other cycle fanatics joining in with eco-cycling projects and bike workshop events and basically promoting a world view that functions at the speed of the cyclist... you've heard of slow food... well imagine a whole world slowed down to bicycle speed. They are staying with us for a couple of weeks during which time they are working on making a vegetable garden for us.  This patch of bare ground is destined to produce our potatoes this year and perhaps some watermelons too! On top of thi