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.
Sorry for the delay – what a busy month! We been working at our respective jobs in the capital, Angra do Heroísmo, and making the best out of our difficult schedules. The above photo is the ice cream shop at the marina where Lukus works. Thankfully, we had our first double-income month for May and it helps us to remain focused on the goal of renewing our temporary residency and saving for the new roof project.
Visitors!
Lukus’ aunt and uncle came for a visit at the end of May, staying at the beautiful rental house nearby. We all enjoyed the many games of cards, delicious fresh fish, and the scenic hike up the cascades in Agualva.
Yard Work
We used the extra hands to do some yard and garden projects – finally moving the millstone up the couple of steps and placed in the ground near the grill at the beginning of the back yard. Lukus’ aunt also did a great job of weeding the terraced garden and the (former) fava bean garden in the back, which has been replanted with borage, watermelon, lettuce, and a few volunteer tomatoes.
Spring has arrived again on the island, but that doesn’t mean sunshine and rainbows everyday. We went from windy, wet, and cold to sunny and dry and back again over the course of the month. Just for a comparison, the high temperature here was 55 yesterday (and grey and windy) while southern Michigan had a high of 79!
Power Blackout
For those who are following the news about the power outage across Spain and Portugal, rest assured that Raymond and I (Lukus) are OK. One of the benefits of living on an island is that Terceira has its own power grid which was not affected by the blackout on the mainland. It is hard to imagine the chaos it must have brought [is still bringing] to people stuck at airports, train stations, non-working traffic lights, inside subways, elavators…
Working Life
Raymond got the job that he applied to at the end of March and has been working in Angra as a bartender / waiter at a restaurant. Above: Raymond dressed for his interview, walking along the pier with Monte Brasil in the background and Right: the backside of the cathedral, across the street from his restaurant. I applied to a few hotels to no avail but had a great interview with a large local restaurant and start this Friday at their ice cream shop at the marina / beach in Angra. In the meantime I have been studying more Portuguese in preparation of communicating with coworkers (I am looking forward to speaking to tourists in English, German, or French when the opportunity arises).
House Trim Painting
The corner blocks and door & window frames on the north side are now all the same sky blue and the house is looking very uniform. Please forgive the as-of-yet-unpainted north side walls – this is an ongoing project complicated by their height and the difficulty of cleaning the green algae funk from them (power-washing does not seem to remove it).
Garden Bounty and Spring Flowers
We have been blessed with some beautiful carrots lately (with leek, above). After last year’s paltry crop we enriched the soil and, importantly, allowed the white clover bordering the rock terrace wall to infiltrate the garden bed. Oh my, what a difference it has made for the carrots! The low-growing clover leaves shade the soil from the sun thus keeping it cool and moist, protect the soil from water and wind erosion when it storms, and provide free fertilizer due to the nitrogen fixation that their roots provide (along with other legumes like alfalfa and black medic). Far from being weeds, these plants create a holistic ecosystem wherein they shelter beneficial insects and enrich the soil as their leaves decompose. I am a true believer now and have transplanted clover to nearly every garden bed we have.
We have been eating some delicious homegrown salads. They include green lettuce, baby beets and greens, sorrel greens (above with red veins), borrage greens, clover greens (yep, you can eat it, too!), carrots, and young leeks. It has been a real treat.
Moving into the orchard, the raspberry we planted last Fall is doing better. It had a rough time with the winter storms but it has a lot of new leaves and a few leaf buds on last year’s cane. The dill we planted next to it is also doing well. The black fig is now at least 5 feet tall and will soon overtake us in height and the little cloned yellow fig is already approaching 2 feet tall.
Lastly, some of the wild (though technically invasive) flowers in the yard: the beautiful and fragrant Crinum flowers of unknown species and some Cala Lillies. Fun fact: the Azores are home to 39 endemic species of land snails, all very specific to each island or even a particular ecosystem within that island. Here is one species that we have in the garden:
Unfortunately, we have found slug and/or snail damage on the collard greens so I tend to remove them from the garden. This one was moved to the lower stream side near the new retaining wall.
After the remarkable trip to Rome there was, unfortunately, a price to pay for sharing the air with thousands of visitors inside museums…Lukus was the first to get sick (the last day in Rome, in fact) followed by Raymond about a week later. We are both feeling better now, but it definitely took the wind out of our sails for about two weeks.
Storms
While the figurative wind was out of our sails, the actual wind was blowing fiercely for most of March. Considering the rain and wind gusts of 70 mph it was not such a bad thing to be inside recuperating. Unfortunately, the wind wreaked havoc on our banana trees, toppling one and shredding the leaves of all of them. The fava beans, too, were wind-whipped but have started to rebound (as has the fig, above). I have to remind myself that same scene played out at the end of last winter as well – our yard looked a bit like a hurricane came through and then by May everything had fresh leaves.
House Repairs
After much procrastination, I finally got around to stuccoing and painting the northeast corner blocks of our house. While the black-painted blocks were traditional (and still had engravings of the masons who had shaped them) they also had pits and gaps where water and weeds could get into the wall. A layer of stucco resolved this and gave them the matching texture of the other corners of the house.
For good measure, I primed the stone doorframe of the mill room / basement as well. So much cleaner looking without the moss and algae that accumulates on the north side of a house!
Roof Work
We have had a persistent roof leak in the kitchen above the sink and over the stone arch of the old chimney. Despite our best efforts to correct the issue we realized that the problem is beyond us. So, we met with a local builder and discussed options. Rather than just fix the immediate issue (which entails taking down the massive chimney and rebuilding that small area of the roof) we told him of our dream to raise the roof about two feet and have a cathedral ceiling with loft. He then showed us two homes a few villages over to get ideas.
Option 1: Wider beams but further apart. We absolutely loved the loft!
Option 2: Narrower beams but closer together (thus more of them)
We are waiting on the builder to give us some quotes. Apparently it is important for us to commit to the project soon, as the Japanese cedar wood used for the ceiling is harvested and milled to order and then takes about 4-6 months for curing.
Afternoon in Angra
We heard that a restaurant in Angra is hiring, so we printed some resumes (in English and Portuguese) and showed up to inquire. It was a lovely afternoon walking around the capital. It was also clear enough to see São Jorge island in the distance and Mount Pico on Pico island towering behind it.
St. Peter’s Square with Vatican Obelisk (brought from Egypt by Caligula in 40 a.d.)
To Rome!
After many months of planning, Raymond, Michelle, and I went to Rome for a week. It was the first visit for each of us and did not disappoint! It really is the ‘eternal city’ with history exuding from every building and square.
Day I
After arriving from a very late flight from Lisbon (midnight) we found a reputable taxi driver that did not overcharge us for the ride into Rome. We stayed at a lovey Air BnB apartment (top left: view from the living room). It had everything we needed for a comfortable stay and lots of character – only about 1/3 mile north of Vatican City. After sleeping-in, our first day was spend exploring the neighborhood and walking across St. Peter’s Square (not mention sending some postcards from the Vatican Post!). Next we proceeded to circumnavigate the entire nation of Vatican City by following its large and lengthy wall.
Day II
The three of us got an early start on our second day and had an espresso while waiting for our tour of the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica. Nothing prepares you for the magnitude of grandeur and the scale of the Vatican – our guided tour was three hours and should have been three DAYS…there is simply so much to see that it, unfortunately, felt a bit rushed at times to keep up with our group (all the while shoulder-to-shoulder with a multitude of other tour groups – our guide said there are something like 30,000 people who visit the Vatican museum each day). The sculptures were amazing and the highlights for me were the giant Roman bronze pine cone and statue of Apollo (later used by Michelangelo as inspiration for the face of Jesus in the Sistine Chapel), the pair of Egyptian lions, and the gallery of incredibly realistic animal statues. The other highlight, of course, was St. Peter’s Basilica – the capital of the Catholic world. The opulence and beauty of this place cannot be overstated – marble literally everywhere: columns, floors, statues, and everything else gilded. Plus the famous sculpture la Pietà which Michelangelo created from a single block of marble at the age of 24 (above, lower left). The altar canopy was also a show stopper (above, lower right).
Day III
This was a dedicated ‘off’ day for us without any tours booked. Nonetheless, we thought we should see the famous Trevi Fountain so we boarded the subway and walked the last 1/2 mile or so. It was pretty, but completely swarming with people…rather than wait in the long line to walk down to the water level, we were content to take some photos and do some shopping at the interesting shops nearby. After a delicious lunch we walked to the nearby Convent of the Capuchin Monks to see its Franciscan museum (I liked the St. Francis in Prayer (1606) by Caravaggio). The real draw, however, was the macabre crypt filled with the bones of 3000 disinterred monks. Though eerie, the artistically arranged bones were also a peaceful reminder of the transience of life.
Day IV
We traveled via two subway lines and arrived at the Coliseum stop for a guided tour of the Coliseum and Roman Forum. Alas, like our experience at the Vatican, the pace of the guided tour tended to distract from the sights and leave one feeling rushed. Regardless, it was an amazing place. The nearby Forum was the center marketplace/town square of Ancient Rome and absolutely exuded history at every turn with ruins of temples, palaces, and the senate.
Day V
A busy day, we got an early start and headed to the Pantheon for a self-guided tour. This was a much more relaxed way to take in the sights. The building is immense and literal perfection – the width of the dome is 142 feet and the height at the top of the dome is also 142 feet from the ground, meaning that a massive perfect sphere could fit inside it. To give you an idea of the scale, the open oculus at the top is 30 feet across! While created to house statues of all the Roman gods and goddesses, it has been a church for the last 1,600 years (in addition to housing honorific tombs like Raphael (above) and the first king of united modern Italy). Next to the Pantheon was a stunning gothic church built over a former temple of Minerva. Highlights were the painted/gilded ceiling, the sculpture of Christ the Redeemer by Michelangelo, and a marble sculpture in honor of Mary made to look like billowing fabric.
Later in the day Raymond and I took the subway to see the Flaminio Obelisk (ancient Egyptian, 1200 b.c.) and walked to the Spanish Steps. Climbing the 136 steps, we were treated to magnificent views of Rome (and St. Peter’s Basilica in the distance) as well as the Church of St. Thérèse at the top.
Day VI
Our last day in Rome, we split up – Raymond and Michelle went to St. Peter’s Square for some last minute souvenirs and I went on an epic walk: St. Peter’s Square to Castel Sant’Angelo, across the bridge over the Tiber river and onward through a very ritzy part of the city to the Spanish Steps. As you can probably tell, I was fascinated by the many obelisks in Rome (a total of 12 as listed on this 19th century post card) and decided to visit as many of them as I could (marked in yellow). When I read that the Lateran Obelisk is the largest Egyptian obelisk in the world I became determined to see it. So I hopped on the subway and traveled to the southeast part of Rome. It was very impressive – 105 ft of red granite with deep, clearly cut hieroglyphs commissioned by pharaoh Thutmose III in 1400 b.c.
Day VII
Early, early in the morning we left our lovely apartment and headed to the airport. Raymond and I bid farewell to his mother and we returned to Lisbon and onward to Terceira. It was a marvelous experience and one that we will not easily forget!
Bom Carnaval! Terceira is known as the “island of festivals” and even in the heart of winter they find a reason to celebrate. Like the more famous carnival celebrations in Brazil, Portugal uses the weeks leading up to Ash Wednesday to let loose before the somber season of Lent begins. And unlike in France (and I suppose in the USA, to some extent) this letting loose is not limited to just one ‘Mardi Gras’ or Fat Tuesday!
Bailinhos do Carnaval
Terceira has a long and unique history of carnival culture. Local groups comprised of musicians, dancers, and actors work for months on their costumes, music, steps, and skits before traveling around the island to perform at each village’s public theater space (sociedade). The above photo is from the sociedade in Quatro Ribeiras on “seniors night” (most performers were above age 60). The skits (bailinhos) were interspersed with music and choreographed dance steps (reminiscent of line dancing). Even if we couldn’t understand every word and missed nearly all of the innuendo, it was fun to see and be seen by the community.
Yard Projects
The extension of the retaining wall near the stream is finished and looking great! Raymond and I like the extra height over the existing cinder blocks so much that we are considering continuing all the way to the orchard. The fava bean garden bed in the back is doing well and they are starting to flower. This giant boulder is the foundation of our side patio area and we started clearing off the ferns, moss, and lichens that covered it. Raymond is in the process of scrubbing / pressure-washing it with the intention of applying a bright white lime wash. Lastly, I cleared more of the cane grass from the stream-side along the driveway and we are loving the clearer views of the stream and little waterfall.
A Visitor!
Raymond and I are delighted to host his mother again! It’s been fun playing cards, seeing the sights, and showing off our house and yard projects. We are doubly excited that she will be able to attend the main carnival performances in our village tonight!
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.
Feliz Natal! This was our second Christmas in the Azores and I still can’t get over how ‘un-Christmaslike’ it is. Aside from the occasional string of lights or Santa decoration, it is easy to forget what time of year it is. We had a rather nice stretch of weather in December – minimal rain and a number of sunny days. Daytime high temperatures tended to be in the low 60s and only a few degrees cooler at night.
Christmas Market and Botanical Garden
Raymond and I spent a lovely day in the capital perusing the Christmas Market. It was held in Praça Velha (old square) in front of the historic city hall, bedecked in lights and with a beautifully decorated Christmas tree inside. I was expecting the market to be like those in Germany, with a variety of vendors selling their wares, but on this particular day all the vendors were selling food. So, we sampled a number of traditional cakes and pastries in the square before going to the Botanical Garden to walk them off.
Bird Competition
While researching the Christmas Market schedule online, we noticed there was a ‘bird competition’ listed. Curious, we stopped by the agriculture pavilion on our way to Angra. How interesting it was! We stepped inside the indoor arena to the screeching cacophony of birds. Literally hundreds of canaries, parakeets, lovebirds, and parrots were in individual cages for the judging. Raymond and I had no idea there were so many varieties of canaries – some frizzy, some with orange heads, and some with Beatles-esque ‘mop-top’ feathers! We enjoyed whistling at them and seeing them respond (some sang quite beautifully).
Garden Projects
After more than a year of collecting bits of pottery, porcelain, and glass in the yard and garden, I finally got around to making a mosaic above the grill. It makes me smile to walk by and see the colors, including bits of Blue Willow like my family had growing up. Raymond calls it “a bit of whimsy.” I also made some improvements to the garden beds, edging each with old terra cotta roofing tiles from the rubble pile. It’s been great to amend the soil and keep it where we want it. We already planted more lettuce and beets in the additional space.
Behind the bathroom and perched between the wall of the oven and the hillside was a very large rock. We wanted it gone to expose the back of the oven and make way for the future retaining wall along the terraced garden. So Raymond drilled some holes and was able to break it into two large rocks.
The first photo shows the overgrown rubble pile to the left of the butternut squash garden bed (in October). We started to clear and expand the top terrace by first raking all of the vines and loose terra cotta tiles. Since there was a substantial amount of decades-old leaf litter mixed in, we have been grating the rubble and distributing the lovely compost to each garden bed. The bottom photo shows the top terrace’s new stone wall (meeting a mostly buried wall which marks the property line) and the new gravel walkway. The idea is to for this path to follow along the future retaining wall all the way to the oven roof on the left.
Left: more clearing of the soil and rocks along the oven wall. Right: the Golden Hour – sunrise on the newly expanded top terrace.
Fall is here again on Ilha Terceira. Rainy, cool days are disrupted only occasionally by little bursts of sunshine (often with simultaneous mist). And let me tell you about the wind! It gusts through our little gully like a wind-tunnel, howling through the rafters in our attic and rattling the reed grass that grows along the stream. One upshot to the cool wet weather is that the landscape has become incredibly green again.
Kitchen Update, Part 2
Having modernized our stovetop from gas to electric, we decided to do the same for our old, rusty gas oven. The vent fan rattled loudly and, for some reason, the burner was not able to regulate its temperature (it was just ‘on’). So Raymond and I shopped around a few appliance stores and found a Black Friday deal on a nice convection oven. We baked a delicious apple crisp today it works like a dream!
Out and About
One particularly sunny day, Raymond and I took the opportunity to visit a forest park near our house that we had driven by dozens of times. The trail wasn’t very long, but it did reveal the tallest tree fern we had ever seen (note me standing next to it). Another day with especially big surf we visited the swimming area in nearby Biscoitos to see and hear the waves crashing on the dramatic black lava field. The last three photos are snapshots taken from the car – just some local scenery on the way to get groceries!
A Day in Angra do Heroísmo
As is so often the case, our cloudy, misty side of the island is juxtaposed with the sunny, bright south side. On a recent trip to Angra we got a dose of sunshine and visited a fabric store we know to check out material for curtains. Back at home I sewed the fabric into three handsome curtains: one for the main bedroom (see below), one for the living room, and the remnants fit precisely in the guest bedroom window.
Garden Projects
The fava bean garden bed in the back yard is doing well – great germination rates and lots of leaves from the chestnut trees for mulch. The black plastic was to cover and help compost the yard and garden waste we had filled alongside the logs (it also helped to kill weeds and opportunistic tomato sprouts).
In the terraced garden near the house we are still harvesting beets and carrots (and occasionally black-eyed peas from a grouping that seems to have found its second wind). We replanted more beets, along with lettuce, in the near half of the lower terrace and dug up and transplanted an araçal tree to make way for an expanded planting of carrots in the far half. In the middle terrace the potatoes are doing well and the leeks are ever-so-slowly reaching maturity (I need to start replanting there as well to replenish what we’ve harvested).
The upper terrace, once full of yellow pear tomatoes, is now entirely covered by sweet potato vines! They are growing remarkably well despite the cooler weather and less sun. As I understand it, the plants require a soil temperature of 70+ degrees to produce sweet potatoes, but I’m hoping that by establishing themselves so well now they will be primed for producing by Spring.
Azores RLLZ 