Purnam

02/07/2026

It's going up to 39C for the next few days and the fire risk with eucalyptus trees; particularly those still on the ground since the January storms, is very high. As required by law, my neighbour had the weeds (mostly ferns) strimmed but as is usual in Portugal, they are then left to become tinder-dry in the sun increasing the fire risk.

So I am not "Making hay while the sun shines" but pulling it away from the walls of my house to reduce the risk of it burning down.

I'm lucky as I have my shady place by the river which is always cool as the water comes from the mountains and its deep enough to swim in.

11/06/2026

Really warm here now and the yoga platform by the river is cool and a beautiful place to sit and meditate or do yoga or massage.

02/04/2026

The trees from the storm at the end of January are still lying around as there are millions of them. As they dry in the warm sun they are becoming a big fire risk.

My mains electricity never came back so after repairing my solar panels, I bought some more and am now off-grid. The problem with solar is that you have most electricity when you least need it; in the middle of a sunny day. Panels are cheap and batteries are still expensive. So lots of hot baths! For any solar geeks, I have some bifacial panels aligned North-South some that are able to pivot to face the sun.

03/02/2026

Storm Kirstin took off some solar panels but the house is still here warm and dry.

After a week with no mains electricity and almost no internet I don't mind sitting by candlelight or even the lack of easy internet access. The hardest part is the days of endless rain and damp air as the house is in a valley by a river which is flooding. The earth is saturated. Everywhere except the living room and my bedroom with a woodstove is cold and very wet. At least the risk of forest fires is zero!!!

15/08/2025

Smoke is visible on the ridge beyond Castanheira de Pera from the fires there. There is no immediate danger to Purnam; but the planet is burning. Global warming from CO2 production was first suggested in 1856 and there were letters in the newspapers by 1905 about it. 😦

07/08/2025

Abundance....if these all ripen I will have so many juicy, black grapes in a few weeks. Vines are amazing with little or no watering they still produce all of this.

28/07/2025

Back from an inspiring three weeks at Tamera Community in Southern Portugal. They celebrated their 30th anniversary of the community in Portugal. Nearly 200 people live there now and it started in Germany nearly 50 years ago. Some of the original founders are still there giving a beautiful sense of the continuity of the search for peace and connection to all of Nature and to each other.

We work for a global system change: from war to peace, from exploitation to cooperation and from fear to trust. Our vision is to birth Terra Nova – a world beyond war – by building Healing Biotopes. Study online or visit us, and join the movement to create a nonviolent human culture.

20/05/2025

At last the river has gone down enough to put the yoga/massage platform down with the help of Phil and Merlin 🙏

05/05/2025

There has been so much rain that the river is still too high to put down my platform. However perhaps the rain has helped the wisteria flower and, for the first time, my fig tree has lots of figs on.

16/04/2025

At last the land by the river has more than small trees thanks to tireless work by Mat. Looking forward to crops from the new raised beds there and by the house.

In a couple of weeks I hope to re-lay the platform by the river to sit on and enjoy the river and the dragonflies. Also for meditation, massage, siestas and more! Sunny weather must start soon 🌞🙏.