Here we are in our Spanish September already, how did that happen?!
Tempus Fugit indeed, it seems more so since we made our life changing move to the mountains of the Alpujarra, our home with a backyard view of the Sierra Nevada mountains and the coastline of Africa out front. It ain’t bad…
Makes a nice change from the Royal Gwent hospital and the disused steelworks of Newport!
Our view. photo David Johnston
Another school term about to begin, the last minute dash for books and notepads, pens and calculators, shoes and nit repellent…at least there will be more structure to the days, early rising and work done quickly without the background noise of kids at war.
No more wet pool towels to trip over, or sixteen washes a day of just- tried -and- flung clothes…
No less than THREE new jobs for me, feeling smug that not all my eggs are in one basket anymore, we may be in recessionary times but there is work out there if you are prepared to find it, and perhaps take a little less per word than you want. Although, working from home is not always easier, the pyjamas are a bonus, but the constant interruptions aren’t.
Photo Carol Byrne
So, busy days ahead, cooler evenings perfect for walking the stiff sitting-down-all-day joints. The views will appear, the Summer haze dissipated.
The tapas in the local bar will morph from salad to stews of pigs innards, the callos made spicy with pimienton. We’ll swap the usual order of cold Tubo of beer for big glasses of wine, Antonio and his massive measures ever ready to test the longevity of my long suffering liver. It is an evil organ, and must be punished.
Local wine
Grapes will need to be collected with our vecino, we readily accept the proffered wine, so must do time on the vine.
Almonds knocked off, figs turned to jam, olives will be brined. Mushrooms – Saffron Milkcaps – foraged slowly and devoured greedily.
The slow cooker will be dragged out and installed on the worktop, tasty things added, a good glug of the aforementioned vino, a pinch of this and that.
Then the firewood collected, soon blue-gray curls will spiral from these Alpujarras chimneys and the house and the village will smell of woodsmoke and Winter…another season in Spain.
Photo by David Johnston
Carol M. Byrne 
I love the transition from summer to autumn – it’s always been my favourite time of year! Lovely post, Carol – Mr Johnston takes a good photo 🙂
Mine too, even in the cold depths of Winter, cursing the fact we always have to gather firewood at the last minute, this time of year and later on is just so much clearer than the heat of the Summer. And, yes, he’s not bad, my old man!
http://photosalpujarras.weebly.com/collection-one.html more of the same Sue
Damn – is that summer over already?
Thanks for pointing out that there are indeed some benefits to moving into autumn. You had me at food.
Elle x
Oh Elle, you know Iḿ always gonna mention the food!
Great rundown of a time of year – it seems so much easier to be seasonally aware in rural or semi-rural Spain than it was back home in the city.
Thanks Robin, yes, it’s simpler here, and that’s a kind of beauty too. Food and nature are our calendar now. I have managed to ditch a lot of the stuff I used to harbour, once a seasonal change meant a new wardrobe, now it’s just the worry of whether I can get into last years jeans! Which are actually the jeans from the year before, and the…
It’s a delightful time of year, isn’t it?
And yes, a very different life from back in the UK 🙂 Bring it on!
It is Marianne, there’s something beautiful in every season in Spain