The Summer House

More work in the studio or as I call it “the shed”

Spring is just around the corner

Tutti fruiti!

Sunday morning

Butter wouldn’t melt…… when your border terrier looks like a

“Game on” … here we go for “support team” (aka knackered mum!” ) for our first session making their pre-orders of theirfabulous hedgerow Christmas wreaths.

Nuts about local walnuts!

“Food in the field” It’s a very special time in the season when the town of Carrazedo de Montenegro in Northern Portugal celebrate the chestnut harvest. There are miles of trees bearing the most fantastic looking spiky globes bursting with shiny castenhas. This is a particularly cold area high in the mountains that’s famous for their chestnut harvest . It is also the season of wild mushrooms. Agriculture is one of the main sources of income amongst the locals so when the crop is ready there is lots of picking to be done. How beautiful are these ?

When you pop out to your local restaurant for lunch and his delivery arrives ……. Land of the pig 🐷

Small and perfectly formed - homegrown - simple - delicious & just lovely

Produce isn’t just “sold” stacked high in volume - grow with passion then display carefully curated and much loved herbs, fruit & vegetables at the market every week in Chaves. Beautiful- thank you 🙏 🇵🇹

One of the onion sellers at the market in Chaves 🇵🇹

Despite the rain this little beauty came out to play today! Gorgeous, delicate dahlia 😍

Enjoying the moody hues of my favourite aeonium in a very old planter that used to be an animal feed trough.

Enjoyed my lovely treat box from

Loved the last dry days of autumn before the rain came. Golden dahlia blooms & cuddly crocheted blankets complete a perfect spot for a bit of reading in my comfy garden chairs from .

Well what a surprise when my late sunflowers bloomed & they were red!

Market day - love this grower of organic produce. Restocked my luffas too! Did you know they are a plant and grow a bit like a cucumber , they are air dried outside on the vine, fascinating don’t you think?

When the street art matches the sky! Art & crafts dominate the vibrant city of Porto. From historical gems of traditional tiles & hard concrete vibrant street art to autumnal shades of yarn for sale. Magnificence throughout the streets & through so many doors. 🇵🇹

Progress update “ As happy as pigs in s**t!” Here to witness small steps every day - the passion, dedication and bloody hard work of two brilliant young people who have their work cut out taking the “sleeping site” of a disused nursery back to life once more. In a challenging world of financial crisis, uncertainty, pressure, unavoidably being part of “online life” like the rest of society! A ginger plant geek and crazy pig wrestling partner in crime have their work cut out on their 7 acre site in the Wharfe Valley. Planting , propagating, nurturing and clearing tons of soil . Building not just the foundation of their business but away of life they’ve chosen to live. They aren’t hippies or tree huggers but could possibly be guilty of anarchy against the digital revolution of our “modern world!” Their “Royle Porcine Family” are helping to both clear the site and provide the much needed nutrients and “organic matter” to the soil. What a journey that’s underway and they thought the Three Peaks were tough! Keep up the good work glad to hear you didn’t have a burst appendix or a another life threatening stomach problem - just fermenting yourself drinking tens of litres of raw apple juice while pressing last week 😂😂

Desperately trying to fight off this dreaded lurgy that’s been with me for 9 weeks now! No amount of super food, sunshine & sleep will kick this pesky critter in to touch. Determined to keep up the fight - no taste or appetite but loading my plates with tasty goodness. Breakfast - kefir followed later in the day by lunch - homemade pickled vege, gherkins, tuna, tons of beetroot (just because I love it so much) organic hummus and a tiny sprinkle of toasted pine nuts.

Another fabulous day at the market this week. Amazing produce in Chaves. The North really has a lot to offer.

By far the best Pastel de Natas in Northern Portugal from Maria’s Pastelaria 🇵🇹

Forest walking

Two years ago today I made my first visit to Portugal 🇵🇹 with & winners 2020 . I fell in love with the beautiful country, lovely people & amazing food. Thank you for opening my eyes to what you have on offer. Today I’ve been harvesting our chillis, pimentos, onion & garlic in our kitchen garden at our house in Northern Portugal. Our region champions home grown fruit & vegetables but also the valley of the pig