The calendar claims it’s Spring, but we have had some unseasonably cold weather the past month. For about a week, we had brisk north winds and temperatures down to about 43 degrees – factor in wind speeds of 50 mph and the windchill was below freezing! The above photo is from the port in Biscoitos on our drive home one particularly windy, wavy day. The fury of the sea really is a sight to behold…
Kitty News
Nicodemus and Archimedes are doing well and as sweet as ever! Archie likes to greet Raymond and I at the door when we arrive home, running up from the lower patio while Nicky joins a few moments later with a stretch and a yawn. Our routine is to then have some cuddle time in the basement ‘cat lounge’ – Archie on Raymond’s lap, hugging his neck and Nicky on my lap, nuzzling into my elbow. Afterward, they love our daily walks through the back yard, chasing each other up trees or wrestling in the grass.
Yard Updates
Top row: the evening ‘golden hour’ on the trees above the stream
Middle row: the black fig leafing out and the smaller annona newly trimmed
Bottom row: the dill garden and a massive calla lily along the edge of our yard
On my most recent day off I felt motivated to clean up some more of the stream-facing side of our patio wall. It provided another great place to plant something, this time a transplanted African Boxwood that had blown over in the back yard. A waxy-leafed evergreen, Myrsine africana is native to southern and eastern Africa as well as the Azores. It fits right in between the Japanese Cedar (foreground) and the dracaena (background).
The thunderous waves breaking on the lava, 800 feet from our house.
Greetings from (sometimes) sunny Ilha Terceira! The above photo captures the wonderful convergence of the rare sunny day AND our day off. On our way home from errands in Praia da Vitória, Raymond and I decided to stop by the UNESCO world geopark site called Fajã da Alagoa to watch the waves crash upon the cliffs made of tall stacks of hexagonal basalt. We had not visited in a while and it was nice to appreciate the simple beauty – just off the beaten path less than two miles from our house.
Kitty News
Nicky and Archie are doing well. Now six months old, they reached the age in which it is widely accepted to neuter. So we scheduled an appointment for early February. It went smoothly for the boys and they are as loving and sweet as ever!
Yard Updates
Between the rounds of wind and rain, we were able to do some yard cleanup – trimming the dead and frayed banana leaves, shaping the annona tree near the house, and moving the woodpile from the mill room to outside. We also planted some lettuce, dill, sorrel, and chamomile along with some sweet potato slips in the terrace garden (under plastic panels to keep the soil warmer).
Above: the neighbor’s lovely wall and our driveway; the stream with newly planted Japanese cedar growing near the calla lily at lower right; the newly stacked woodpile next to the grill
House Plans
Raymond and I have met with the builder again, with an architect this time, regarding the roof project. We are now looking to remove the oven and bathroom as well. The plan is to expand the kitchen into the former oven space and to extend the bathroom along the entire side of the house. Additionally, we really like the idea of a passage and retaining wall along the side of the house that would connect the driveway to the backyard.
Below: current bathroom with oven behind it and proposed passage
Above: view from the driveway of the neighbor’s massive wall and proposed passage
We are now waiting for the house surveyor to take measurements so the architect can draw up the plans. The idea is for the project to begin in September since it takes 6 months for the Japanese cedar lumber to be harvested, cut, and cured before it is ready for building our new roof.
Happy New Year! January was notable as the first time Raymond and I were able to take vacation time since we started working. In Portugal, after six months at a new job one qualifies for two days of vacation for each month worked. Since this is the low season at the hotel, most of our colleagues took time off in December and January. I had a stay-cation for a week at the beginning of the month to stay home, hang out with the kitties and work in the yard – it was bliss… After a week back at work, Raymond and I had a week of vacation together and traveled to Lisbon for a week (more on this below). We ended the month with me back to work and Raymond taking his second week of vacation at home (and some well-deserved rest).
Indoor-Outdoor Cats
Raymond and I decided near the beginning of January that we and the now-grown kitties would all be happier if they had their own living space. So, during my stay-cation, we moved them to the mill room / basement where they can come and go as they please as indoor-outdoor cats. I enjoyed taking them for walks in the yard and showing them the trees for the first time (which they love to climb!). They also love nibbling on the lush grass, sunning themselves in the driveway, and racing each other at every opportunity.
This move has changed the dynamic of our household a lot – Raymond and I have a cleaner, calmer house and the cats have fresh air, space, and adventure. Not only this, but they are SOOOO affectionate and cuddly when we get home; as though they needed space away from us to really appreciate us.
A Lost Calf
One particular morning as I was outside with the cats I heard mooing sounds. While not uncommon, it seemed louder and more persistent than usual. I then saw a calf that had fallen down from the pasture above the other side of the stream. After a brief attempt to approach and redirect her upstream, I sought the assistance of our neighbor who said he would tell the owner. A few minutes later, two men arrived in the yard and proceeded to persuade the calf to cross the stream and march across our patio and concrete stairs. They thanked me and departed up the driveway towards the road.
While on the other side of the stream during the encounter, I discovered an absolutely enormous boulder. A little trimming of the invasive ginger revealed a majestic landscaping showpiece that had been there, obscured, the whole time. Working with what was already there, for instance the spindly araçal trees on either end of it and the towering Australian Blackwood tree behind it, I made a little growing box out of two stumps at the front and planted a Japanese cedar in it. Additionally, as the top of the boulder has a depression filled with rich leaf mulch detritus, I planted a small clone of our tree fern. It is now a stunning sight from the house and yard, and just think, it was always there…
Lisboa!
After passing through Lisbon many, many times to get somewhere else, we finally devoted six nights to this wonderful European capital city. We met up with Raymond’s mother at the airport and took the subway to a two bed / two bath apartment we had booked. Located in the neighborhood of Baixa, which was rebuilt in a grande, gridline fashion after the earthquake/fire of 1755, the apartment was spacious and comfortable for our needs. It rained a lot the first two days but we were still able to explore the sights and do some shopping.
We also visited the layered ruins of a Phoenician settlement, Roman fish sauce factory, Moorish pottery kiln, and 18th century foundations in the basement of a bank. Very cool. Later that day we passed the cathedral of Lisbon en route to the Castelo de São Jorge atop a hill above the city. Built by the Moors around 1100 it was later conquered by the first king of Portugal.
A highlight of the trip was a visit to the nearby city of Sintra. We took a 40-minute train ride and then walked to the Quinta da Regaleira, of the “Initiation Well” fame (as seen on Oak Island). The entire grounds, though, were gorgeous – filled with gardens, stone towers, fountains, coves, grottos, banquet patios, a chapel, and a small palace. It was easy to become enchanted with the naturalized landscapes of and dream about emulating some of it at home.
Merry Christmas from (sometimes) sunny Terceira! The above photo captures the capital city and marina on a particularly sunny afternoon after Raymond and I finished work.
Though we do not have a Christmas tree, it’s nice to see them around (above, at the local bakery and restaurant). We did, however, put up our stockings at home! The neon lights celebrating Happy Holidays were another festive reminder of the season, even if the sun and sea did not convey Christmas.
Wind Storm
The island had a horrible wind storm in December with gusts of 65 mph. It made for some very dramatic waves at the port in neighboring Biscoitos. Unfortunately, it knocked over two big banana trees in our orchard, destroying their bunches of unripe bananas. Between the wind and rain, there was also some serious erosion on the other side of the stream.
Stream Side Planting
After many months of enjoying various potted plants that were found on or near our property, I finally started finding places to plant them. The tree fern, Japanese cedar, and dracaena all found homes along our patio wall. Aside from looking beautiful, they should help secure the stream side from future floods (we have plans for additional Japanese cedars to be planted as well).
Raymond and I are celebrating our third Thanksgiving here on “Third Island” and for the first time attending an American-style get-together. We are excited to celebrate the feast with some new friends we made in the last year. We are immensely thankful for all that has come our way in the past year: hosting Raymond’s mother and the ensuing trip to Rome; meeting and befriending our doppelgängers from Michigan who live three villages over; finding local jobs and earning income; visiting and touring about the island with Lukus’ aunt and uncle; finding new (better) employment at Terceira’s first 5* hotel; working together and sharing the same schedule; being able to donate our millstones to the new working windmill in our friends’ village; and, most recently, successfully renewing our residency permits! We are now legally allowed to remain here for an additional three years. <sigh of relief>
Autumn Waves
The winter winds from the north have returned, creating some dramatic scenery. The above photos were along the coast of Biscoitos looking towards Quatro Ribeiras. Needless to say, our glasses became quite salty watching such thunderous waves. A few times during the month we could hear them at night crashing into the cliffs near our house.
Rainbows
The rainy/misty weather of late Fall brings its share of rainbows. The top three photos are from our commute home just above the capital city of Angra. The bottom two photos are from the parking lot in Angra where we park the car during the work day (taken just before my appointment with immigration for the residency renewal – it seemed like a good omen!).
Kitties Update
Archimedes and Nicodemus are doing very well and are good boys most of the time. They have grown a lot in the two months since we adopted them and their personalities are definitely taking shape. Archie is cautious, cuddly, and obedient – Nicky is very curious, caring, and sensitive. They both love to play with toys, wrestle with each other, and have quiet lap time with Raymond and I.
Nature’s Bounty
We have been harvesting some beautiful purple-skinned, white-fleshed sweet potatoes from our garden and cooking them in soups as well as a Thanksgiving pie. The anonna fruits seem to be a bit delayed this year, but we have already eaten four that we ripened in the basement and they were delicious as always. Lastly, a big bunch of bananas reached maturity and were similarly ripened in the basement – something like 20 lbs of bananas… We gave some away to colleagues at work, some to our neighbor, and made a total of three batches of banana bread. Even after that, there are still about two pounds hanging up downstairs.
Serra Santa Bárbara
This is a view from Angra of the Santa Bárbara mountain/volcano, the high point of Terceira at 3,300 feet above sea level. The youngest of the volcanoes that formed the island, it is also the one from which nearly all seismic activity originates. After a lull during the summer, the number of earthquakes has increased dramatically in the past month.
This map shows the location and severity of earthquakes for the past 30 days. While most have been in the 2.0 – 2.9 range (barely perceptible in my experience) there were two (3.4 and 3.5) that many people felt. It made for interesting conversation at the hotel breakfast buffet – who felt it and who did not. Raymond and I were sleeping at the time and did not feel it.
Above: the island of São Jorge in the distance with Mount Pico towering behind it
Raymond and I welcomed two new additions into our home at the beginning of October – two darling kittens!
We adopted the two brothers from our neighbor’s son who lives just up the hill. His cat had four kittens at the beginning of August and initially we were only interested in getting one, but when the time arrived we decided to get a pair. In retrospect, it was the right decision. They are inseparable and keep each other company while we are at work and are absolutely a delight to watching playing together. We named them Nicodemus and Archimedes (Nicky and Archie for short) and they are cute as can be!
New Windmill
The construction on the new windmill being built in Raminho (a few villages over) was completed this month. The community had an inauguration to celebrate, complete with musicians and folk dancers.
The village (freguesia) built it both as a scenic viewpoint and as a working, historical recreation of the traditional windmills on Terceira. And, of course, it would not be complete without our two donated millstones!
The craftsmanship of the mill is absolutely beautiful. We were told an artisan from São Jorge island was brought in to build it. It was amazing to see our former table being put to good use!
North Coast Views
I had beautiful weather on a day off (for once!) and walked to Biscoitos for lunch and some sisal twine to wrap a log for a cat-scratch. It was a lovely walk which provided stunning views of the coast and vineyards of Biscoitos (top), Quatro Ribeiras (below) and our little neighborhood.
Above: view of Monte Brasil from our new favorite bar/restaurant after work
Summer’s End
It was a beautiful season on the island, but alas, summer is over. Like in past years, the sun and (relative) heat of July and August were quickly replaced with gray skies and mist. Oh, and our first hurricane!
Above: driveway, wall and house; newly cemented hole for new stone table
Yard Updates
The monstera vine we planted lasted year along the stream side is flowering and fruiting for the first time! It takes patience, though – I have read that it takes roughly a year for the phallic fruit to ripen.
Next up, here are some potted plants along the patio wall. Everything was found on our around our property: dracaena, tree fern, Japanese cedar, lily, and ice plant . The dwarf papyrus growing in the stone basin has gotten bigger and is looking great.
Lastly, our neighbor trimmed the hillside above the orchard and we trimmed a few big branches from the chestnut tree which has provided more air and much-needed late-summer light to the fruit trees. The black fig tree and the new pear tree seem to be happy with the additional space.
Hurricane Gabrielle
This was our first official hurricane in the two years we have been on the island. Thankfully, it was only a category 1 and passed just to the north of Terceira. Aside from loosing power for a number of hours and a blown-over banana tree there was no damage to our property. That said, it was an exciting drive to work that morning – lots of wind, rain, and fog as well as roads covered with leaves and small branches.
Above: some wind-damaged banana leaves and windfall annona fruits
Above: sunset behind the island of São Jorge from the west coast of Terceira
Above: view from our driveway of the park where people gather to watch the bulls, drink beer, and eat from the food trucks
Tourada!
At the beginning of August was our village’s annual festival and its accompanying bull-on-rope running in the street. We had a few friends over to the house beforehand and, between drinking sangria and the drizzle, missed the first three bulls but did catch the last one.
Two-Year Anniversary
On August 21 we celebrated the anniversary of our arrival on Ilha Terceira. It’s hard to believe that two years have gone by! Raymond and I could not be happier or feel more at home. What began as a leap into the unknown has very much become our life – familiar, comfortable, routine. I am ever grateful for the house, property, community, natural surroundings, and employment we have been blessed with here.
Above: Departing from Detroit Metro Airport, August 2023
Orchard Updates
This summer has been cooler and more humid than last summer, which has been wonderful for the orchard. The black fig tree is growing like crazy as are the two yellow fig clones we purloined last year. To celebrate our two-year anniversary we planted a lovely pear tree between the black fig and the chestnut tree (below). Raymond and I both have meaningful childhood memories of enjoying delicious yellow pears (from his neighbor’s tree and from my grandma’s tree) and are hopeful it will do well.
The big annona tree is still flowering even while the heart-shaped fruits are maturing (about three more months until they are ripe). I truly wish you all could smell the intoxicating aroma of the annona flowers – a sweet, honeydew musk that lingers heavily in and around the tent-like canopy of the tree.
Above: Raymond and I are excited to have the raspberry bush we planted last year already flowering and producing fruit. The berries are delicious!
Millstones
We were asked by our builder friend if we would be interested in donating two of our four millstones. He is working on a project in the village of Raminho (the northwest ‘corner’ of the island) to construct a functioning windmill in a public park. As it turns out, our millstones were the perfect size and we were happy to donate them and put them to good use (they were both unused – one leaning against the big stone wall along the driveway and the other made into an outdoor table).
Of course, we kept the millstone in the floor of the basement as well as the top stone we had moved into the yard. These have more provenance than the donated stones as they were actually used in our mill room.
While it is a bit sad to not have the round table anymore, our friend dropped off a traditional stone slab in exchange. We are excited at the idea of a larger, rectangular table with more seating.
A homemade sign in a little vineyard in Biscoitos advertising grapes, figs, and sweet wine. We love that this is the third time we’ve seen this sign appear.
Above: view from the roadside scenic overlook in Quatro Ribeiras
Changes, Changes, Changes
Raymond and I had a lot of changes this past month… Namely, I resigned from working at the ice cream shop at the marina and started working at a new hotel in the historic center of the capital. The thought of working at a fancy boutique hotel (Terceira’s first and only 5-star!) was just too tempting…so I applied, interviewed, and was offered the position of Dining Room Assistant at the hotel restaurant.
Since the hotel (Torel Terra Brava) was not open, this meant three weeks of cleaning, unboxing and moving items, collapsing and disposing of boxes, setting up rooms, vacuuming, etc. In the mean time, Raymond resigned from working at his restaurant and applied, interviewed, and was offered the position of Cook at our restaurant!
After much hard work, the hotel officially opened on July 30. It has been fun engaging with the guests and welcoming them to the island. A few Americans have already inquired where I’m from…I say, “Michigan,” and it throws them for a loop!
Above: views of the reception and bar at Torel Terra Brava, views of the dining room and cold buffet counter at Três Bistro restaurant, and Lukus and Raymond in their snazzy uniforms.
Views from the Hotel
Above: the sea view with marina and Goat Islets at the horizon; the city / mountain view; a view of the top of Monte Brasil from a small roof top patio.
Scenic Commute
With both of us working in Angra, the commute across the island continues. But at least the drive is stunning and ever-changing (the wild hydrangeas that extend for miles along the roadside are just reaching ‘peak blue’ right now). Raymond and I are also on nearly identical work schedules which means no more hour-long bus ride nor additional 45-minute walk to or from Biscoitos.
Below: walking the cobblestone streets of the city center to the hotel
Around the Yard
We have had beautiful weather lately and it has inspired some much-needed yard maintenance, including trimming along a section of the stream, reorganizing the potted plants along the stream side wall, removing vines and weeds from around the monstera plant as well as the papyrus plant in the back yard grotto, trimming banana trees to promote fruiting, and tidying up the side patio (now with two areas to sit) and front yard / driveway. Many thanks to Raymond for the stunningly bright lime whitewash along the driveway wall!
Above: a crowd gathers to watch the bull running in Biscoitos.
We just finished the 10-day-long Sanjoaninas Festival in the capital, Angra do Heroísmo (above, adorned with lights). Versus last year when we only participated in one evening of festivities, this year we could not avoid the party with both of us working in the city. Aside from the crowds in our respective places of work, the streets were full of people, food vendors (tascas), and various dancing troupes and philharmonic bands. The last night ended in a show of fireworks over the beach (which I did not attend as it was midnight and I was walking up to my car to drive home).
Yard Updates
After a month of settling in place, the millstone was ready to be finished with crushed gravel. It’s a nice addition that also gave us the opportunity to edge and define the herb garden. We both enjoy standing on it as it is the flattest, smoothest spot on the entire property – I swear you can still feel it vibrating from the years of spinning and grinding atop the other millstone. It has become a nice ‘power spot’ in the yard.
The back garden bed is coming together nicely with volunteer tomatoes, two kinds of watermelons, and lettuce. Most of the borrage has since been chopped down as mulch. And good news! Our one bunch of bananas that survived the rough winter are finally ripening! In addition, three new banana trees have started to flower (above).
The anona tree near the grill received another trim (before: left and middle, after: right). We have been enjoying the extra space and light since the previous (rather severe) trim, but now are contemplating putting a deck over the crushed terra cotta and wanted a smaller umbrella-shaped tree for shade.
Touradas
For the second year in a row, we attended the running of the bulls (with ropes) in the village of Altares. It was a joy to introduce Lukus’ aunt and uncle to this cultural experience. Always a thrill!
But this year Lukus also witnessed the running of the bulls WITHOUT ropes in Angra! It is as terrifying as it sounds. Large dump trucks were parked blocking the streets and loaded with onlookers, who also looked out from windows, over barricades, and from tree branches.
Unfortunately, the mass of onlookers was so dense that the only view of the bulls was between the feet of people on the dump truck. Still, it was exciting to see glimpses of the multiple (6) bulls simultaneously running through the square unencumbered by ropes.
Azores RLLZ 