We started the month with a short trip across the border to Mérida in search of vultures, Roman ruins and good Spanish food. We were not disappointed. We were hoping to have a few days away at the start of November too, again to cross the border but this time to travel north to watch La Vuelta; travel restrictions have put a stop to that. Portugal has returned to a State of Calamity and there is an air of grim resignation among the villagers about the months ahead.

The resident meteorologist tells me that it takes a longer time to go from spring to summer than it does to slip from summer to autumn. September can often be warmer than June but come October temperatures start to fall considerably. During the day it can be just lovely, really very warm, especially with clear skies and out of the wind, but come the evening it’s quite chilly and we have had the wood burning stove going at night for a while now. I suspect it won’t be long before the electric blanket gets taken out of the box…

The veg patch is waiting for the broad beans to be sown but in the meantime it is still giving us peppers, including the pimientos de Padrón, and tonight we are having some cavolo nero (an almost black curly kale). The yellow peppers have been great and the warm sunny days have meant that some of the fruiting trees are flowering again.

We’ve taken full advantage of the sun to eat out in restaurants more than usual, especially those that have outside access. This horseshoe whip snake found in the garden has also been basking in the sun (on the left 😉 ) .

We came home the other day to find some chillies left for us by a neighbour so there’s some chilli oil in the making to add some heat to our food. And for those who remembered that last year we made some prickly pear jam: we are eating it now and it is delicious. Almost like apricot, a beautiful ruby colour and perfect on home made toast.

On the chicken front Skittle, rather foolishly, has lost his tail. And we have a new set of frangos who have been enjoying the new sweet grass. Otherwise a quiet month, some of the many walnuts have been shelled, the pond cleared of its leaves and hedges pruned. A rather poor olive harvest has not encouraged us to pick them again this year; plus we still have the oil from two years ago!

Once again we have been appreciating the countryside and the ease we can get out and about so easily. Let’s hope things will improve for November.