“To paraphrase John Muir: when one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it hitched to the rest of the world. Tug hard enough, and we risk the whole beautiful tapestry coming undone.”
– Cal Flyn from Islands of Abandonment: Life in the Post-Human Landscape
As I write these words, a cool breeze is blowing through the house. It is a welcome reprieve from the heat and smoke that punctuated too many days in August. Sixteen relentless days of temperatures above 39°C were followed by strong wind and two fires that grew day after day, not only travelling closer to the area in which we live, but also choking the sky with smoke, and layering my skin and Lily’s feet in a thin layer of soot. Other fires, further afield were also raging, turning the landscape an apocalyptic black.
While the interior burnt, photographs of the prime minister napping on a beach in the Algarve, stirred up the inevitable political storm that will have repercussions lingering long after the smoke has cleared.
A Special Memory or Moment of Joy:
One never knows what one will encounter on our little access road: watching the partridge mother running up the road with her ten, almost adult chicks, as they scrambled to exit the brambles to not get left behind; or a flock of sheep being moved to a different pasture.
Notes:
# As of 3 days ago, a million hectares of land in various EU countries had been devasted by wild fires this summer.
# The fire that started in Piódão in the Arganil municipality burned for 11 days before it could be contained, and is to date the largest area that was consumed by a single fire since records began. It is also one of the two fires that was responsible for the smoke and reduced air quality in our immediate area.
# I have finally been able to hold the first issue of my magazine project I started in January by teaching myself how to use Affinity Publisher. I am pleased with the end result and all the design choices I made, which means I can now proceed with confidence in creating the rest, as I will stick with these to give it a cohesive look. Of course, the start of this project was not without its challenges. When the printers asked for the pdf file to be sent to them in single pages, I came to the horrible realisation that my original file got corrupted along the way. The only way to fix the problem was to redo the whole magazine. All 148 pages of it. It took me a full 2 days, but because I had the layout in pdf form, and all the photos and writing arranged chronologically in files, it was a fairly straightforward task. I viewed it as an opportunity to reinforce everything I’ve learned about using the software, and even improved the end result by making slightly different design choices along the way.
# Because of the heat, August was an easy month to dry chillies, paprika, sechuan pepper, rosemary, thyme, and marigolds, and although not abundant, I could still regularly eat fresh eggplants, tomatoes, and red peppers from the garden.
# Lily and Midnight continued to find interesting places to nap during the heat of the day, instead of coming inside where it was cool. Midnight realised that cool air from the air-conditioner seeped out at the little cat hole they use to come and go when the sliding door is closed, which meant it became a favourite spot in the late afternoon.
Curiosities or Unknown Facts about Portugal:
Spain is well-known for its bullfighting, but it is perhaps less widely known as something that is also practiced in Portugal. Although it differs slightly from Spain in how it is practiced, it is no less cruel if animal cruelty weighs more as a personal value than adherence to cultural practices. The recent death of a 22-year old, has once again sparked some media coverage and debate as to what some call ‘national, cultural expression’, and others a practice that is ‘incompatible with contemporary standards of animal welfare and public safety’.
Written by: Jolandi
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My thoughts were with you when we kept hearing and seeing news of your fires. Australia all too well knows the terror of fires. Hope September is good to you.
Thanks Peggy. September has been so much better than August. – Jolandi
I’m sorry to hear that the smoke reached your quinta. It must have been frustrating to have that thin layer of soot because of it. On a more positive note, how cool that you were doing your magazine project! Where will it be available? Since I was little, I have always wanted to do my own magazine. Speaking of bullfighting, I wasn’t aware that Portugal also has its own version of this. But I do believe that there are centuries-old traditions that need to be re-evaluated.
Centuries-old traditions can be difficult to let go of by some. Personally I cannot believe that bullfighting is still being practised in both Spain and Portugal, Bama.
My magazine project is simply a way of collating our journey from the moment that we bought the quinta in magazine format, Bama. So more like a marriage of photo albums and blog/diary entries. I am using the blog as my springboard, but the moment I came to live on the quinta, so much happened that I didn’t always write about it, which means I now have to start working on some ‘articles’ from scratch to include them in later issues. The idea is simply for Michael and I to have something tangible to page through, as it isn’t the same as going through the archives on the website.
I think you should look into creating your own magazine. I suspect you will be really good at it. I use Affinity Publisher, and love the process. – Jolandi
It’s a bad look when our leaders do not step up to the plate. During one of our many severe bushfires, our then Prime Minister defended his decision to holiday in Hawaii by telling the journalist, “I don’t hold a hose, mate.” Meaning, he would be in the way of those who knew what they were doing, but of course it went over like a lead balloon. When he later toured some of the worst-hit areas, some of those firefighters (volunteers) refused to shake his hand.
I knew that Portugal still has bullfighting, with the difference being they don’t kill the bull? In the public arena, that is. It does seem to be a cultural practice that has had its day. Not that all will agree, of course.
Good to see your kitty-kats have their own way of coping. Might be you could learn something from them? 🙂
Take care. Your long hot summer is not yet finished. My sister is in Italy at the moment, and even she is finding it hot, notwithstanding that high 30s are not unusual for us.
Yip, the difference is that they don’t kill the bull publicly in the arena. I tend to agree with you on it being a cultural practice that has had its day, but like you say, it is certainly not seen in the same light by everyone. I hope your sister had a wonderful trip. – Jolandi
Beautiful photo of the butterfly, so glad to see things coming together and love how your garden is producing organic things to eat…,the cats are too too cute!!
Good luck with your magazine project, I’m sure it will be amazing.
Thanks, Sarah. I must admit that I am enjoying the project, and holding the first issue in my hands is a good motivator to keep going. I am convinced that Michael and I will experience a lot of joy paging through these pages to remind ourselves of the various phases of this dream we are living into a reality. – Jolandi
The cats have stolen the show once again! (And the sheep; I love both the animals and the light in that photo.) Although the smoke-tinged photos are eerily beautiful, the destruction behind those hues makes me sad. Hope fire season has come (or is coming) to an end very soon. Enjoy the breezes of late summer and early fall!
The end of fire season is always a celebration, Lexie. The cats always tend to steal the show. Honestly, I cannot imagine my life here on the quinta without them. – Jolandi
The fires are so very scary, just so relived to read that they did not reach you, but so sorry for those affected. We are well aware of the fire danger here, concerned for what is to come later this year. The cats have the right idea, find any place that is cool. I hope the weather cools for you and the days become less smoky, no soot, and gorgeous fall days.
I hope you will also be safe from any possible fires, Terri. It saddens me to think in how many places in the world it is a stark reality of life. September so far has been really pleasant, which is always a relief to me after the hellish summer heat. I hope you are well, and that fall is a blessed season for you too. – Jolandi
Sixteen days of 39+ is purely brutal. It must be such a relief to have cooler weather and less fire. Wildfire so close would also have been a source of constant worry for me. Congratulations on getting through all that, you and Midnight and Lily.
I can relate somewhat with the pain of losing all your work on the magazine, as I create these elaborate photobooks, and after working months on one for my time in Japan, my cat climbed onto the keyboard and somehow pressed the right combination of keys to destroy the hard drive. I lost everything. Then, recently, after I was nearly done creating a similar photobook of Italy and Slovenia (only about 1/3 the size of the Japan one), I saved what I thought was my work, then erased the hard drive as part of a cleanup project. Then realized I had saved a LINK to my work, not the work itself. Gah!! In both cases, I began again from scratch, and that’s why I think I can understand some of what you felt. I’m glad you used it as a way to reinforce your new skills and to make new design decisions! I have not heard about your magazine project, can you tell us more?
I love your photo of the migrating sheep.
Oh my word, Crystal, I felt nauseous just reading about your examples of losing your work. It is always an unpleasant experience, but I guess like anything unpleasant in life, it is how one can reframe it or the speed one can get through or over something and move on, right? I’m forever popping my head over the wall when I hear sheep being moved past the house. It never fails to enthrall me. – Jolandi
How beautifully you captured the sheep marching down the lane! I also admire that your cats love being outdoors despite the challenges of heat and rough air quality. Wishing you safe from the onrush of fires cropping up.
Thanks, Atreyee. The cats and I love being outside at every opportunity, but they definitely tolerate adverse weather than I do. 😆
Sorry to hear about the fire and high temps… these are the moments in life that are always a bit of a struggle, but also seems to give your writing a bit of spirit: capturing not just the facts, but the emotional texture of your place. Also they make you relish in the small victories: a welcome breeze, seeing wildlife along your road, and then the big ones such as finally holding your magazine in your hands. 😊 Very cool, Jolandi, congratulations. Your ability to adapt, viewing even a technical mishap as an opportunity to learn and improve, is inspiring. Wishing you a more hopeful autumn with cooler days, and more peaceful moments with nature (and Lily and Midnight)!
That is so true, Randall. Life would be boring if everything goes smoothly. I definitely appreciate the small victories so much more when they are hard won. I love holding that magazine in my hands. I think Michael and I are going to often page through it, and having seen the final product, I am inspired to continue with my project of transforming our journey in a series of magazines for us. – Jolandi