“We must strive to become intellectual nomads, keep moving, keep learning, resist confining ourselves in any cultural or mental ghetto, and spend more time not in select centres but at the margins, which is where real change always comes from.”
– Elif Shafak
July’s heat has weighed heavily on my soul. Chores were centred around the vegetable garden in the early morning hours, and although I still noticed birds of prey riding thermals, or swallows and bee eaters twirling over the olive grove, I spent most of my time indoors in an attempt not just to hide from the heat, but the world. I’ve always loved summer, but this year it feels suffocating and oppressing.
It was only in the lingering light of the twilight hour that I again ventured outside to sit with my thoughts, listening to the bark of geckos splitting the tepid air, or watching Lily taking up one of her favourite spots close to a stone wall staring intently at the cracks between the rocks, waiting for a flicker of movement.
The state of the world and the role I play in it all often pushes to the forefront of my thoughts. Perhaps it is the weather, perhaps it is my age, but as I contemplate life in general and mine in particular, I wonder what it really means to live a good life. A life in line with values that are good for the individual, but also for others and the planet. And the more I think, or read, or listen to others, the more I realise just how complicated it all is, and how we all look at it from a slightly different angle, which means we will struggle to agree on most issues, but that also doesn’t mean that as individuals we should underestimate the role we have to play, or are playing regardless through the myriad choices we make on a daily basis. Even small actions have a cumulative effect.
On my Plate and in the Garden
The garden is struggling in the heat, with new growth often crumbling between my fingertips. Yet, I have started harvesting some eggplants, peppers de Padron, and chillies, all of which hold a promise of a good crop. Although I’ve eaten some zucchinis, they are not doing so well this year. Some tomatoes have just started to ripen, and I hope I will have a good enough yield to preserve some. It is so hot this year that the oregano I harvested one morning was dry by the evening. Convenient, but definitely not ideal in the bigger scheme of things.
I made a bold decision to move eleven strawberry plants to individual pots, to make way for some edible flowers, as I’m not convinced strawberries are worth the amount of space they take up in my too small current vegetable garden. Perhaps not the smartest thing to do in this heat, but it was either that or the compost heap, and so far they are surviving.
I am grateful I don’t have to depend for my survival on the things I grow. With this extreme weather I find it difficult to settle on the right watering regime and a couple of trees are showing signs of stress – in all likelihood from overwatering, as I have a tendency to do that, although it could also just be that they are just planted in the wrong place, or any of so many other things that can go wrong. It does make me feel a bit helpless when I cannot figure out what I’m doing wrong, but that is part and parcel of the learning curve of living closer to the land, and one I will just have to take in my stride. And hopefully, as I’m observing and learning, I will get better at growing things with the passage of time.
Weathering the Weather
I am currently obsessed with tables and graphs of weather patterns, and entering data from a nearby weather station into Excel spread sheets for record keeping. In 2021 July had 5 days in which the temperature reached 38°C and higher, with the highest temperature at 39.5°C and another 8 days with temperatures between 35 and 38°C. The coolest day was 23.8°C.
This year was a different story: 18 days was 38°C (9 of which exceeded 40°C in a row), with the highest temperature at 42.8°C, and another 7 days with temperatures between 35 and 38°C. The coolest day was 32.9°C.
Rain in the UAE is usually a big deal, and a time to celebrate and play in it. When Michael sent me videos of chocolate brown rivers flowing where usually dry ‘riverbeds’ bake in the heat, it felt special that he was in that specific area for work on Wednesday to witness it. Usually, a large amount of rain over a short period of time creates a flash flood that quickly disappears, and if one is not at the right place at the right time, it is missed entirely. But when between 22h30 on 25 July and 9h18 on 28 July, 234.9mm of rain was recorded at Fujairah Port, in a country where the annual rainfall is only about 100mm, and infrastructure, especially in towns and cities aren’t built to deal with rain, except for vital infrastructure in areas where flash floods occur, torrential rain can quickly become a big problem. Which is exactly what happened on the east coast.
Officialdom
After eight months and roughly eight hundred euros, the title deed to the land has finally been amended to include the house on it. This means that we can finally legally live on our land.
My official Portuguese Course has, after 6 months also came to an end. I only wish I could magically remember everything I’ve learned and be able to use it. But as I know I am a slow learner, I will simply have to persevere with my studies until it no longer freaks me out to speak Portuguese. I am already understanding much more than I used to, and as an introvert my way into a new language is usually in the form of books first, and not social interactions.
Midnight & Lily
I always feel sleep deprived in summer here in Portugal, so I was not overly pleased when Lily decided to wake me up with a little gift one night. To be honest, I never quite enjoy these little parcels of fur she brings, but when this particular gift made a scramble for the couch to hide under, chaos erupted, with Lily haughtily observing my desperate attempts to chase it out of its hiding place. I eventually gave up and went to bed, and to this day do not know what happened to it. It most probably made a scramble for the open door the moment it had a chance. At least I haven’t found any evidence otherwise, so that is the thought I’m sticking with.
Perhaps because of the heat, Midnight and Lily get into some sort of fight at least once a day, and sometimes in the middle of the night, disturbing not just the peace on the land, but also my sleep. They’ve never been the best of friends, but I would have liked to believe that they got on well enough, and that their relationship has improved here on the quinta.
Visitors
Even though I hardly ever spot them, it is lovely to know that there are deer around, but when one recently decided to nibble on the bark of one of our peach trees, I was slightly less thrilled. I recently also spotted a family of mongoose on my neighbour’s land, while there are a couple of grouse frequently making their appearance close to the house.
Michael’s visit at the beginning of the month was (for a change) filled with many moments of relaxation. The only projects that got done were smaller than usual and essential, like a roller blind to keep the late afternoon sun off a window, and sorting out a blocked filter in the toilet. We even managed to go for a swim in a rock pool nearby, and indulged in leisurely lunches and siestas.
Then & Now
The first time we set foot on the land was in July 2017. It is when I look back at photographs from that first trip that I get a true sense of how far we’ve come since then.
To Listen to & Read
# Threshold Podcast – Season 4 (Time to 1.5) is an excellent in-depth look at climate change, which I highly recommend everyone listens to. The reporting is well-researched, balanced and thought-provoking.
Portuguese Words
Here is another Portuguese song to listen to:
Se Eu – Fernando Daniel featuring Melim
| Se eu pudesse parar O tempo agora E sermos só nós A falar por horas Eu pegava na tua mão Para lembrar o passado Quando não sabia Que te queria do meu lado E se eu disser Que as canções todas que fiz Falam sobre ti E então? Somos dois a querer, sim ou não? Há tanto por dizer Entendo que o tempo que nos afastou Acabou por nos juntar aqui E se você quiser Pensar no futuro Trocar a distância Por um lugar seguro Tu pegava minha mão Com novos planos Começarmos do zero Depois de tantos anos E se eu disser Que as canções todas que eu fiz Falam sobre ti E então? Somos dois a querer, sim ou não? Há tanto por dizer Entendo que o tempo que nos afastou Acabou nos juntando aqui E se eu disser Que as canções todas que fiz Falam sobre ti E então? Somos dois a querer, sim ou não? Há tanto por dizer Entendo que o tempo que nos afastou Acabou por nos juntar aqui (x2) | If I could stop the time now and be just us talking for hours I took your hand to remember the past when I didn’t know that I wanted you by my side And if I say That all the songs I made talk about you And then? Are we two wanting, yes or no? there is so much to say I understand that the time that took us apart Just joined us here And if you want Think in the future change the distance for a safe place you took my hand With new plans we start from scratch after so many years And if I say That all the songs I made talk about you And then? Are we two wanting, yes or no? there is so much to say I understand that the time that took us apart ended up joining us here And if I say That all the songs I made talk about you And then? Are we two wanting, yes or no? there is so much to say I understand that the time that took us apart Ended up joining us here (x2) |
Written by: Jolandi
So glad you can now live legally. I wonder what gift Lily brought you?
I think she brought me a little shrew, Peggy, as aparently they don’t kill and eat them. If it was a mouse or a vole I think it would have been dead. Needless to say, I was wide awake afterwards. 😆
I have learned to count these hard earned blessings as major achievements. It feels like a big step forward. – Jolandi
What you’ve been contemplating about — what it means to live a good life — is something I’ve been thinking more and more often these days. I absolutely agree with you about what we do as individuals will still have an impact. Sometimes I feel helpless when I read about the state of our planet. But I always remind myself that doing nothing is not an option either.
The floods in Fujairah looks pretty bad. Just earlier today I learned about the floods in Doha at a time when it’s supposed to be sunny and dry. And here on Java, parts of the highlands are covered in thin ice. Planet Earth has been trying to tell us that things are not okay.
Yay to the amendment of the title deed! That must have been a relief!
Look how much has changed to your quinta in five years! I always love then vs now photos like this. I hope the worst of summer heat will be over soon in your part of the world, Jolandi.
I would love to think that cooler weather (these days I would consider anything below 35C as cooler!) is on the horizon, Bama, but August is usually the hottest month, so I’m not holding my breath.
Like you say, the climate is upside-down everywhere. In South Africa where my dad and brothers live night time temperatures are supposed to drop below 0C in winter, but that is not happening, and they are getting rain now, in a summer rainfall area. My dad, who turned 89 a week ago, for the first time in his life had rain on his birthday. Talking about the planet wanting to get our attention! You should listen to season 4 of the Threshold podcast I recommended at the end of the post. I suspect you would find it very interesting. And it is not all doom and gloom. And it touches on many different aspects of a very complicated issue, I’ve never considered before.
Good luck with your own grappling of what it means to live a good life. – Jolandi
I love seeing the Then & Now photos!
Sometimes it feels like the whole world is boiling – temperatures, conflicts, and seemingly unreconcilable differences bubbling over everywhere one looks. I think we are all suffocating to some extent, not that this makes your own uneasiness any better. I guess I just want to commiserate. Hope Michael’s next visit is as relaxing as the last one and restorative as well.
I should do more of those Then & Now photos, as I often marvel at how some parts of the land has changed since we’ve bought it.
You are definitely right in that we are all suffocating to some extent at the moment, Lexie. It always makes me feel better knowing that my own struggles aren’t very unique, but part of being human. Life is so messy and complicated, but knowing that makes me even more determined to find a way for me to live a good life both despite and amidst this chaos. – Jolandi
So happy to see your latest blog posts. What a stunning and peaceful view you had with a glass of wine. Life must be calm. As for the garden, it is all life lessons, but sounds like the fruits of your labor are good at least with the severe heat.
I think as we get older, we contemplate life more, how much time we have left and the best way to live our best life. Which is the opposite of what I use to think. I always thought when our son was on his own and living a happy life and retirement came, life would be calm and settled. It has been just the opposite. But I keep my head up and find small ways I can help the planet and live my best life.
Like you, with a little present delivered in the night, I don’t think sleep would have come easy with not finding the little treasure. Hang in there, take a deep breath, and enjoy every moment. From where I look at life in the city, yours definitely is appealing.
Take care of yourself,
Terri
That is so true, Terri. I also find that the way I look at life now is so different from when I was younger. If only I knew then what I know now. . . but I guess that is how we learn – through living. And we really never stop until the day we die. Just the thought of living in a city again gives me the shivers. I definitely prefer the quiet, calmer life here on the quinta, even when it has its own busy-ness and anxieties. One thing Michael keeps saying every time he is here is how quiet it is. And it is that quiet without the hum of the city that I love the most. Well, that AND the absence of people. 😆 I hope you are surviving your own challenges with the heat, as from what I gather, it is an issue in most places this year. Big hug. – Jolandi
Congratulations on your official land and house paperwork! Woohoo, you’re legal 😉
Sound like July was a good month, overall. It seems the world is experiencing extreme weather. Thailand’s no exception. It feels hotter than usual, so it’s times like these I’m glad we live in our “cave” apartment.
Have you ever thought of finding an online language learning partner? Some sites offer these kinds of language exchanges. Anyway, on to August! xo
Well, I’m glad to hear that you have a ‘cave’ apartment where you can hide from the brutal onslaught of the heat. It does seem to be a huge problem everywhere this year.
Mmmmm, I haven’t considered an online language learning partner. Something to think about.
Hope August is good to you and that everything went well with Eric’s operation.
Big hug. – Jolandi
Dear Jolandi,
I can also relate to your thoughts and feelings about the state of the world and our role in it, and find it challenging not to give in to despair. But there are still many joyful and hopeful signs and in a way it’s human nature to hope for the best.
You and Michael have wrought amazing and beautiful changes to your property since 2017. You must be thrilled to finally have the correct paperwork that makes your living situation official.
I hope there is a way for us to make changes to our lifestyle so next July won’t show even higher temperatures. I hope your heat will abate soon.
All the best,
Tanja
How lovely to hear from you, Tanya. Yes, I guess you are right in that it is in our nature to hope for the best, and like you, I do hope we can all make some changes to prevent a worsening of the situation. I’m not sure I would like to live with increasingly hot weather like this, as it takes the joy out of summer completely for me. I hope your summer isn’t too hot, and that you can find many joys in this season. – Jolandi
I wondered how you were going in the extreme heat we have been reading about, but had no idea of the UAE flood.
I also did not consider that Midnight and Lily were rivals! So Lily is bringing you special treats to prove how much she thinks of you. And you are proving hard to get by turning your nose up at her offerings. How harsh for Lily 🙂 I feel for her.
I found the enunciation in the song so clear it was easy to follow along with the lyrics. I had never even seen yes and no in Portugese before.
And congratulations on finally getting legal land occupation. One less thing to occupy your mind. Glad also that this visit with Michael was more relaxing. Given the weather, it might have been too stressful to attempt any of the usual projects.
I quite like listening to Portuguese music, and the enunciation is often really good, which means that I can actually grasp the meaning of songs, or for the most part at least recognise some words. It is also a fun way for me to slowly improve my Portuguese. 🤩
Yip, it is rather rude of me to scoff at Lily’s gifts. You should feel for the little princess. 😂 Luckily Midnight doesn’t have such a generous nature. She keeps what she catches for herself.
The flooding in both the UAE and Oman is quite severe. Not what one expects in that part of the world. Although that said, in the Dhofar region of Oman (around Salalah) you find cool weather and a green landscape in some of the summer months, as the weather systems that bring monsoon rains to India also impact on that part of the country. There they call it the Khareef, and it has been something that has been on my bucket list, and although we’ve lived so close to it, never made it there.
Hope winter in Australia is not too bad this year. – Jolandi
Gardening is a combination of patience and learning from nature, though admittedly, when you’re growing for the kitchen, the trial-and-error part isn’t especially fun. It’s why I gave up vegetable growing this year: I thought I was an experienced gardener, but with the 100-degree heat waves we’ve been getting here in California, I’m at a loss at what to do with all the brown, droopy plants. It doesn’t help that I tend to leave town for several weeks every summer and leave my garden to the mercy of a neighbor who quickly showers the plants with water before running home to her air-conditioned apartment. (I don’t blame her, but seeing a little dahlia I had planted from seed all black and withered was heartbreaking.) I hope your garden recovers from the heat when things finally cool down! though I’ve grumbled/joked that when it does cool down, it’ll be fall and everything will start turning brown again anyway.
My feeling about cats is that in spite of all the adorable photos of them cuddled up against each other, they really don’t like each other much. Sunny chases off the feral cats from “her” territory whenever she can, and she once tore apart a neighbor’s cat after the silly thing tried to beg for food from me. Lily and Midnight are lucky they have all that land to run around on, but I imagine sharing a house isn’t easy for either of them. I know how you feel about the interrupted sleep, though!
You are quite right that the trial and error part of gardening isn’t especially fun, Hangaku, although I guess that it is simply an unavoidable part of it, which one has to accept. And like you point out, even when one has a fair amount of knowledge, extreme heat can really add a layer one has no idea how to deal with. It will take me a long time to learn what is best for the things I am trying to grow, but luckily I have a very relaxed attitude towards it, as I do not rely on my abitility to garden for my survival. 😅 I do tend to fret a bit more when it comes to the fruit trees, though, as I feel like a murderer when it looks like I’m busy killing one with my ineptitude. 😂
Yip, like you say, cats tend to not like one another much in general. It is more of an exception when they do get on with one another rather than the rule. – Jolandi
Hello dear friend,
Many congratulations that the paperwork for your beautiful land has come through!
You have waited (and waited) so patiently for this, so what a relief it must be to get one (very significant) task out of the way! I am so happy for you, and continue to keep fingers crossed that the remaining paperwork will come through, slowly but surely. It is great to hear how Michael’s latest visit was relaxing for both of you. Moments like these make all the headaches worth it, I truly believe so.
I cannot agree with you more about this oppressive heat wave. It is affecting all areas of the world, and it really makes me wonder even more about “my” place in this life and what meaning is there. Like you, I try do my part, but sometimes I wonder if it is even worth it. (My apologies if I sound negative…the heat has been unbearable here – even though my country is infamous for hot and humid summers, this is on a different level…)
Continuing to follow your amazing journey and reflecting on how much progress you have made – it provides some much-needed perspective and also hope that there are many things to look forward in this life. Once again, I wish there was an opportunity to chat over tea or a meal – I feel we have much in common and much to talk about – despite how we were born a world apart 🙂
I sincerely hope that by the time you read this, the heat will have abated a bit and that August weather will be more bearable for all of us.
Warmly,
Takami
There has been some reprieve from the extreme heat, Takami. Well, that is if you consider 36C as cooler. 😆 We are lucky in that this is dry heat, compared to the humid heat you have. Humidity adds another layer of discomfort that I consider to be much worse. Also, the older I get, the less I seem to be able to enjoy the heat or cope with it. I hope for you too there is some reprieve in the near future, as it is hard to be optimistic about the future when it is so hot. I often plunge into moments of despair, and understand exactly what you are saying.
I also wish we could share a meal or a cup of tea . . . well, I still dream of doing some walking in Japan one day, so who knows, we may even be lucky and get to share a meal. Well, one can dream. 💚 – Jolandi
All your attention to weather and climatology reminds me of my meteorologist days. The comparison from last year to this is worrying, especially in light of climate change, just remember to be a scientist and don’t frighten yourself. Weather from one year to the next or within a decade, historically cannot be used to predict a trend. Due to climate change, it probably is reflecting a trend, but let’s hope the annual change does not continue as drastic. That video was astonishing! I can hardly believe Michael was there to witness it. More than twice the annual rainfall in a single storm; it must have been devastating to the residents and city managers.
Your comments about Portuguese remind me of my experience. After seven months of Spanish, I hit a wall and just quit! ha ha. I met with my professor and explained: I’m drinking Spanish from a firehose and not learning anymore. I need some time to practice and absorb. I will re-enroll and repeat my last class this winter term. In the meantime, I downloaded Rocket Languages app and I’ll practice speaking, since that is my weakest area. I can relate to your description of learning slowly and learning first from books.
Having been separated from Pedro more than I like since Springtime (both of us in school), I’m more aware of what a difference it makes when we ARE together for long enough to just relax and enjoy each other, and aware of how unsatisfactory it is when the only time we see each other is to rush to some appointment or to work together on an overdue task. So I am very, so very happy, to see that you and Michael had some serious down time together. Hugs and best wishes for cool mornings and evenings and more peaceful cats. <3
Oh my goodness, I’ve only just realised that I haven’t replied to your comments yet, Crystal. My apologies. I like the image your words “I’m drinking Spanish from a firehose” evokes. You nailed that one so well. One definitely needs to sometimes back down and take a couple of steps back. It is still moving forward! Your comments always bring joy to my heart, because they are so generous in sharing your thoughts and life. I hope we get to meet in person one day. – Jolandi
This makes me happy. Yes, I have always wanted to visit Portugal, and now I have an extra reason to go. I hope we can meet someday too.