Herman, and the other trees

Once upon a time, there was a very friendly man, our uncle Herman. An uncle that asked endless questions about what was interesting you, about your goals in life, your talents at work, your possibilities. An uncle that never stopped complimenting you in every way he could. Together with our aunt he traveled the world. He brought back so many stories, souvenirs, pictures and experiences. He did not like it when we told him we were starting this project. Now that he was unable to travel very far himself at this age, he would have liked us to be close. But we kept him informed about our project and he appreciated our enthusiasm and information. He kept asking questions. We hoped he might be sitting here one day, enjoying the landscape. Unfortunately this was not te be. Luckily our aunt has visited us, and we were able to show her where Herman will be…

Uncle Herman gave us some money and told us to buy something for our new house. This was not an easy choice, we had to think it through. We decided to find a beautiful olive tree. A tree that symbolizes eternal life, the good, and peace. A tree that remembers us of him. This tree was chosen, and we asked the tree if he would be our new Herman. The tree said yes, and so they brought him this week! We gave him a new home and hopefully another long life!

The orchard

The gardener is really busy this week. Apart from the olive tree he planted quite a number of different fruit trees in the rural part of our plot. And our dear neighbors also brought us two special trees, that they already grew for us in their own yard! They are now still super small, but hey, some patience and a lot of TLC will do wonders in the coming years.

Next, the fence posts were put in the ground. Now that we have seen a badger, and footprints of a fox, found goats and sheep roaming our plot and nibbling away, it is time to close up shop for them. It was quite a thing to decide where exactly the wooden poles should come. Some of the trees we seem to share with the neighbor owner. Whom we do not know. However, we will not do the land grab thing and keep to the official rules. We’ll have to do some maintenance on the other side of our fence to keep these trees free from vines and ivy.

Meanwhile

Inside the house, the painters are working hard! Some rooms are nearly finished. In a few weeks the definite upper floor can be installed. The missing cork has arrived. The pool guys were here for more preparations. Garden soil was delivered for the other side of the garden (where we’ll hang up laundry, play soccer or jeu de boules, make a herb garden, grow tomatoes? I don’t know yet, to be decided later).

The carpenter nearly finished the kitchen components and the bathroom cabinets. The special ceiling plates for the verandas (outside!) have arrived and await installation. The old fences and their concrete feet were collected and have to be taken out by the earlier contractor. I keep collecting cigarette butts and pieces of plastic before they disappear in the air or under new layers of ground. The new coffee machine broke down. We chose a few huge rocks and a lot of smaller ones to pimp the borders in de garden parts. Oleander and lavender, they arrive and are planted in designated areas.

The days become a little lengthier, the sun is creeping in the right direction. But still there is no rain. The new buds are growing out of the stems. The birds practice their seductive tweets. Spring is about to arrive. We’ll be busy for a while…