snow

Incredible picture from Il Centro in Abruzzo!

Shelia likes snow -it was thawing at 15 degs!

Nest Boxes by Species - Hornet

Nest Boxes by Species - Hornet

In case you don't have enough Hornets a nest box can be bought for just £99!
I couldn't find a hornet so this is another strange insect.No idea what it is?

Low Point

There have been many highs and lows since we first bought the house but this year it looks as if things are going to be particularly difficult.

I have to put everything into context and to remind myself that I'm never at my best this time of the year.I hate cold weather.So perhaps my pessimism comes from the temperature outside(0 degs.)

The 2 trips out to Italy each on lasting a month are getting more and more costly and with the need to earning money here in the UK its not all that practical.We decided after Christmas to use a big chunk of our ever dwindling savings on trying to get the house finished this year.

Part of the budget included a very efficient and 'green' heating system, running on wood but with the option to add some solar thermal panels later.Before installing this system we'd need some preparation work in the hallway and kitchen.Once you need to co-ordinate tradespeople it all goes a bit pear-shaped in Italy due to the fact that no plumber,electrician or builder is capable of showing up at the date and time they'd agreed with you!


DIY skills are in great demand! I must have cleaned 100's of these bricks.

We got around this last year by asking a plasterer from Devon, Pete Mold, to come and stay for 10 days-with me collecting him from his accomodation each day we weren't going to have any problems! It worked out really well and we learnt a great deal about lime and earth plastering from Pete.

Things this year are a bit more complicated so its possible unless we finish the whole plastering job ourselves (another 5 years) that we'll need to find someone in Italy who can do it.

more soon

A Few of My Favourite Abruzzo Things - Noel McCarthy

Some very interesting accounts of living in Abruzzo from a variety of people.One thing that they all seem to agree on is the total lack of 'joined up thinking' when it comes to tourism and the promotion of in Abruzzo.A Few of My Favourite Abruzzo Things - Noel McCarthy

Often when I'm in the village buying bread or going to the Post Office I see people wandering about looking totally lost! Apart from the churches and famous Sanctuary of Volta Santo theres nothing else to explain the villages' history.

Local 'picnic sites' are left absolutely filthy after a bank holiday weekend with some very nice folks using the place as a toilet.I personally would run a mile rather than picnic at one of these places.On the other hand I now know of some beautiful sites and walks where you could easily spend many hours exploring and picnicing in peace.These places are not advertised or promoted to tourists at all.Mostly it's just by luck that the more adventerous vistors find them.

In order to help the busineess in Abruzzo the tourist board there really needs a massive shake-up!

ground cover

Exposed earth is a disaster waiting to happen. I really cannot understand why in Abruzzo so many farmrs chose to plough their olive groves even if they are on a steep slope. The soil is nerly always clay with lots of chalk and limestones and on the roads it creats ice rink conditions. A friend of mine lot control of her car last winter while driving over some wet clay that had been washed from the hillside.

Ground cover plants are the answer for most house owners.They can be ornamental,edible or both.Edible plants that spread quickly are strawberries,and some types of raspberries.Both are best planted in the autumn when the ground is moist.
Other good plants for cover are:

•Ajuga or Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) - Ajuga form a low, dense carpet of semi-evergreen foliage. Ajuga is tolerant of most conditions as long as drainage is good, but can be invasive.
•Liriope or Lilyturf (Liriope muscari, L. spicata) - Evergreen ground covers with grass-like leaves; adaptable to a wide range of conditions.
•Ornamental grasses - A large selection is available; most prefer full sun.
•Dwarf Japanese Garden Juniper (Juniperus procumbens 'Nana') - Forms low, spreading mounds of evergreen foliage. Does best in full sun.

Erosion in the landscape, Abruzzo

Paul Stamets on 6 ways mushrooms can save the world | Video on TED.com

Paul Stamets on 6 ways mushrooms can save the world | Video on TED.com

I got very excited when I saw the mushrooms growing out of the ants head!Very satisfying.

In Abruzzo we have just about every type of ant including the ones that climb our walls then disappear into a tiny hole then into a beam.

Termites are even more of a problem and I think theres somthing known as a Capricorn Beetle that is eating it's way through someones roof beams in the village unless they can halt it's progress!

So far we just have a few woodworm and ordinary ants but I'm open to anything 'green' that could kill the littel blighters.I dont want the house doused in lethal chemicals -especailly the way that some Italians use them!

Happy Solstice Day!

According to a google search 'Saturnalia' is celebrated on 17th December but its today that us pagans look forward to the slow return of the sun and long spring evenings.

During Saturnalia,which I believe went on for more than a day knowing the Italians,red and gold decorations along with food were hung in trees to please the gods and servants were waited on by their masters.The tree hangings remind me a bit of our wassailiing tradition of soaking toast or bread in cider and hanging in a tree.

This Saturday(16th December) the Wassail took place at Cotehele and apparently 100's of people turned up to watch.

A bit different from when I started it with Rob and Rosie Fierek in 1997 and only us and our children came along!We took it in turns with Lewis and Grace Eynon to host a special Wassail tea each year cooking apple cakes and scones and serving cider.Harry Juniper, a lovely man who ran Bideford Pottery made us a beautiful Wassail Jug and I'm really pleased that it's stil being used for the Cotehele Wassail.Even if the spirit of the Cotehel Wassail has changed some things remain the same