Feliz Ano Novo! Raymond and I had a low-key New Year’s Eve and like most years we were in bed by 10 PM (only to be woken up by some nearby fireworks at midnight). If there is one word to describe the month of January it would be WINDY! This was actually our first full January here as we were studying at the University of Coimbra on the mainland last year. I guess I didn’t realize just how windy, cold, and drizzly it could be…

Tree Trimming

The good news is we took advantage of any good weather we got. Like giving the annona tree nearest the house a much needed trim. In addition to encroaching on the clothesline, the tree has not produced fruit for two seasons now, and we are hoping that a severe pruning will inspire it to fruit.

We also did some cleanup along the stream, sawing down six invasive nightshade trees. A few had fallen across the stream and needed removing, and the rest were simply garbage trees that are easy to despise (our neighbor told us that they are locally known as “crap trees”). Aside from being rather messy with weak branches that break easily, their leaves reek of kerosene and shed irritating hairs when disturbed. Raymond and I can see the difference in the tree line above the stream – so much more space and light for everything else now.

Earthquake

January 14 was the anniversary of the 4.5 earthquake that struck Terceira last year. Thankfully our house and yard were unharmed (and we were on the mainland at the time) but unfortunately the only road that goes along the northwest corner of the island was damaged by fallen boulders and deemed unsafe. It has been closed for a year now (the barricade was painted with “first anniversary”) and is quite a point of contention in island politics. The second photo shows the hillside newly bulldozed in an effort to keep boulders from falling into the road. Still no word as to when the route around the island will reopen…

There was another largish earthquake on January 19 of this year. Raymond and I were in the kitchen preparing dinner at the time and heard the glasses in the cupboard rattling. This happens from time to time – usually for tremors around 3.0 to 3.5 – but this time was strong enough that we both rushed for the doorway. The tremor stopped before we got outside. When we checked online it showed that the earthquake was a 4.3 – the strongest that Raymond and I have experienced here.

Rain

As I mentioned above, January seemed to alternate between drizzle, bursts of heavy rain, and windy mist. We had two instances of “high water” in the stream (I don’t want say “flood” because the water never spilled over into our driveway or patio area). It is always a little scary when this happens…our little babbling brook becomes a raging torrent (which is a bit unnerving to hear while trying to sleep). With this torrent is literally tons of rocks and sand that fills up the agricultural water tank at the street. The municipality came one day to scoop out the rocks and sand only to have it fill up, again, just 24 hours later with the next rain.

Yard Projects

We found a large truck tire across the stream and repurposed it to create a raised bed of sorts around the little avocado tree. The bonus is this seems to have stopped the birds from scratching away at the mulch and dirt every morning.

Closer to the house, we started to properly fix the missing retaining wall near grill. The rubble, dirt, leaves, and branches we’ve dumped there were only a temporary measure, and, if not for the wild cannas we planted, the walkway to our backyard would have long eroded away. So I raked out the leaves and branches and dug out a space for a new wall foundation. The existing wall was made with rocks topped with concrete and cinder block so we are aspiring to match it. Raymond had the great suggestion to pour a concrete pad first for an extra bit of stability (seen above between batch #1 and batch #2 with rebar placed). Thankfully all the rocks we needed were nearby in and around the stream. Concrete and cinder blocks coming soon!

I finally got around to scraping the old, peeling paint off the gate pillars at the end of our driveway. We decided to paint them white with blue trim, like our house, and topped them with two lovely round rocks (possibly to be replaced by matching decorative pots). Now just to continue the whitewashing project to meet the pillars.

Out for a drive…