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Showing posts from April, 2009

'Kevät keikkuen tulevi'

This title is Finnish and means in a very rough translation that 'spring swings in'. Our spring keeps swinging in for sure, back and worth, back and worth. On Thursday it was so nice and sunny that even my husband's 103 year-old grandma lifted the legs of her pants to feel the warmth of the sun on her legs - 26 degrees, sunny, and a barely noticeable breeze, just enough to bring the warmth closer. Yesterday the wind blew the pillows of the chill-out sofa all around the garden - today it feels like winter with a cold wind and rain, once again. We are hoping that the swinging will do its 'back and forth - thing' again and bring the warmth back soon - otherwise I don't know what's going to happen to all of the baby-fruits that are filling our trees! Today I posted an announcement on the bulletin board of the internet house - normally it has things of upcoming concerts, weather reports from the net and so worth . This time, however, I posted an apology for ...

Garden Planning

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I am originally from Finland, and in Finland, normally, all you need to do in the garden in the winter is shovel snow. In Portugal, winter is the busy season in garden work. There is lots to cut, prune, trim and even plant. Cleaning up seems to never end - and it continues on to the spring. Today I was planning with the gardeners: where to plant the cleavias that have overgrown their space, which part of the ramp will be covered by the lavendar, how to bring in the watering for the newly acquired plants in vases... And very importantly, how to hang the hammock between the palm trees. This is one thing I like about the Portuguese seasons - most of them, at least partly, give you a chance to relax in the nature in your t-shirt. The chill-out sofa is wonderful all year around. Even in the winter when the sun is low and hits the sofa, many people take their afternoon coffee there. And in the summer, when it is in the shielded shade of the trees, it is the haven from heat. This year...