Good Morning Roy,

Thank you for your nice and long message.

This winter, the same as previous ones, is very mild, perhaps too mild. It sure makes nature think we are in spring, no wonder with 20C most days.

I have been living here since 1981 and I say some seasons have gone missing. In 1986 I planted more than 100 citrus trees. 50 early oranges, navel or Washington, they are from December to March, 50 late oranges, from March to June, and they are called Valencia. Then there are lemon, grapefruit, and mandarin trees.

4 Avocados, plumtrees, Nectarine, peach, and a very big fig tree
As the harvest of figs is rather short starting in August and lasts only a couple of months. A lot falls on the ground so we give them to the happy chicken, only for eggs not for eating. This year an old girl died, just imagine a chicken that is nearly 20 years old.
I found out one can freeze figs very well. As I have a green farm the figs are clean. I just put them 6 in a pack in the deep-freezer. Very good with Greek yogurt, some honey, and different seeds.

You know that Cindy died last year summer and as I still miss her a lot we have not gotten a new dog yet. That is why there are only cats on the photo.

Michael took over the vegetable garden and some strange things have happened there, I even wrote a little WA post about it some time ago.

May your 2020 be a good and healthy year.

Greetings from the south of Spain,

Taetske

Good morning Taetske,

Thank you for your replyTaetske, it's appreciated.

20° that's hard to imagine for this time of year, I can see the attraction of being in Spain! Thankfully I don't particularly feel the cold, however, it always seems very attractive to be somewhere warmer than the UK. Having said this, the UK has much to offer, in fact, it's probably just the weather that lets it down slightly. I am privileged to live in a beautiful area surrounded by the East Anglian cornfields and woodland.

It's good to grow things, especially when you produce valuable food, to me there's nothing better than going out to harvest your own food.

I know that chickens can live a long time, but 20 years is exceptional I would think! I guess the egg-laying dried up some time ago!

I used to have 25 laying hens and 800 pigs, was several years ago now, how things have changed!

I hope you are able to get another dog soon.

Wishing you all the best.

Roy

Good Morning Ray,

Homegrown food is the best. You should taste the yummy orange marmalade we make every year. When you open the lid of the jar you can smell a hundred trees.

Chickens lay eggs for some 5 to 6 years if they get a chance of course. This old girl then decided it was enough and lived happily afterward being a pensionista.

The weather might seem nice and up till now, nature has been able to adapt to the higher temperatures. It is predicted that by the year 2050 Portugal and Spain will live in a constant heatwave of over 40C. By the year 2100, the south of Europe has become a desert and people have emigrated to the North.

I will not be here to see it happen but at the rate, we are going it is more than possible.

My Finca lies inside a bigger property, so my old farmhouse is 500 meters away from the road. My neigbours rents out their garden for weddings etc. I am sending you the link so you can see the surroundings.
https://elalamillo.es/

Hasta Pronto, Taetske

Good morning Taetske,

Thank you for your interest in reply Taetske.

I can relate to you regarding the marmalade, I believe some of these Mediterranean countries have perfect growing conditions that produces fantastic tasting food next!

The weather is a funny thing, especially in England as every year is different, or actually every day it's very different. I have worked outside all my life, so I've always seen different types of weather. However, other places may be different.

I never take predictions too seriously, I read this quote the other day;

1960's - Oil gone in 10 years

1970's - another ice age in 10 years

1980's - acid rain will destroy all crops in 10 years

1990's - The ozone layer will be destroyed in 10 years

2000's - The icecaps will be gone in 10 years

None happened, but all resulted in more taxes.

Unfortunately, people can make some very gloomy predictions that often wrong. As a Christian, I have a faith, so I don't trust or take too much notice of

man's predictions! Please don't think I don't care about the planet, because I do, it's important that we take care of what we have.

Thank you for the link, what amazing pictures and what a beautiful place for events, it must be very popular.

Have a very good day and thank you very much.

Roy

Good Morning Ray,

Let's hope you are right and we can live happily forever after, all the future generations included, on our beautiful planet.

Sadly the human species is not doing a good job in taking care of the environment which is our habitat after all.

El Alamillo is a very special place and more than 200 years old and I am happy I can live here. It is situated 8 km inland between Malaga and Torremolinos so if you should come this way let me know.

Greetings from the south of Spain,

Taetske

Good morning Taetske,

I hope you are doing well on the last day of 2019, Taetske. Let me take this opportunity to wish you a very happy and prosperous 2020.

I hear you regarding the human race not taking care of the environment Taetske. I feel very privileged to live in the countryside and to a certain extent, I'm kind of protected from lots of things that are going on in the world. In the UK, we are still fairly organised and reasonably thoughtful, I believe, towards the planet.

It does sadden me when I drive down roads and see unnecessary rubbish that has been thrown from car windows littering the countryside, there is absolutely no need for this, whatsoever. It also disappoints me when I keep hearing of new roads and building going on. The UK is a relatively small place, but highly populated and we all need a roof over our heads. However, I really dislike seeing the idyllic countryside being destroyed.

On another note, I see how the media putting huge amounts of fear into people and only telling people one side of the story. I know that news channels are crying out for stories and it seems that we are living in an age where there is plenty of fake news.

It has been said that many of the bushfires in Australia have been started deliberately, the mainstream media does not tell us this part of the story. It immediately blames global warming! Having said this, Australia is having an exceptionally warm summer it appears!

Thank you for your very kind offer, I would love to take my wife somewhere warmer for a couple of weeks in the middle of winter. Let's see how things go.

I have a friend who used to go out to the Canary Islands straight after Christmas for two months. So he would miss the months of January and February in the UK, that sounds like a great plan to me!

Have a great 2020 Taetske, may good things happen in your life.

Roy

Good afternoon Roy,

Thank you for your nice message and good wishes.

It is getting more and more difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. There is an overload of news and often it is meant to manipulate.

Anyhow, I hope 2020 will see more peace and understanding than in 2019. There is room for improvement I think.

I have worked a winter season on Gran Canaria and have visited Lanzarote and Tenerife. Nice islands each with its own character.

So perhaps we will meet in 2020? That would be nice.

All the best, Taetske

Hello Taetske,

First of all a very happy New Year to you, 2020 is here!

I find myself listening to less and less news due to the fact that in many cases there is nothing that we can do about it. And secondly, we can make our life better by working on our own business. I generally look at the news on the Internet so I can quickly bypass the biased stories!

On a brighter note, it's interesting that you have worked on the Canary Islands. It's a place where many Britons seem to visit, especially this time of year.

I really would really love to have more time to travel and take my wife's places, I am working hard to grow my off-line business and online business. It would be great to meet one day.

Have a wonderful day.

Roy

So I will say, Hasta Pronto Roy, see you on the Costa del Sol.

All the best, Taetske

Good Morning Valerie,

Thank you for your kind and long comment. That must have been really scary she was sitting in the middle of the road. Just as well there were few cars in those times.

Yesterday Shugar managed to fall in the small fishpond on the patio. She likes to sit in the narrow place behind where there are plants. She is not so stable on her legs. She got out real quick. As the temperature is around 20C these days it was not a big problem.

What a bore you still have those issues with the internet. I will keep my fingers crossed it will be fixed today. Sometimes I long for the time where I had no computer and would read books, those were peaceful times. A computer and having websites make us being slaves which I actually do not like.

I hope you will have cozy days with your family. Hopefully, 2020 will be technical hassle-free.

With a hug from the south,

Taetske

Goeiemorgen Liliane,

Wat sneu dat je weg gaat echter als kunst je beter ligt is dat te begrijpen.
Mijn email is taetskeguillaume@gmail.com
Ik hou ook niet van technische dingen maar dan helpt mijn better half.
Ik wens je veel success en ik hoop dat je prettige Kerstdagen zult hebben.

Greetings from the south of Spain,

Taetske

Good Morning Jessica,

You know Michael has been in the limelight a couple of times already. In these past 3 years, I wrote a few WA posts about him.
This year Shugar, Jasmin, and Sasha were the most important.

When Aaron has finished his guest post please forward the URL, I would love to read that.

Our families, be it fur-friends or humans are always in the background. They support and help us so it is right to acknowledge that once in a while.

Greetings from the south of Spain,

Taetske

Yes, I have seen Michael in your posts. I was not implying anything!! :)

Thanks Taetske. I will send you the link when he finishes. He is very busy with a new job lately. His supervisor resigned the day he started but he did not even know it yet! She seemed to have it all pre-planned. He has been doing two people's jobs ever since!

Good Morning Mark,

Now that is what I call a super cat. To have a water cat must be awesome. I suppose you made him a star on FB?.
Little Jasmin on one of her first outings in the patio was chasing a dragonfly. This dragonfly flew over the small fishpond.
Jasmin literally walked over the water and then when she realized was out like a blitz, she hardly got her little feet wet.
I have loved cats my whole life and they love me.

Greeting from the south of Spain,

Taetske

Maine Coon Cats love water. Look at some of the Maine Coons on YouTube. They are big babies and are more like dogs than cats. Bubba follows me around the house like a 6 year old kid. He watches me shave and is always watching me.

I see, so you have a fur guard. Got a photo from Bubba?

All my pictures of him are home in Ukraine. He was less than a year old in this picture. Still growing. He got to 47 inches long. Longest in the world at the time. Current longest is just one inch longer. He could literally climb the walls, fireplace. He always sought out the highest place in the room. He loved to sit on the refrigerator and hit you on the head with his paw when you walked by.

Gorgeous Bubba and such a lovely shining fur coat.
Thank you Mark for sharing.

All the best, Taetske