Crikey... time to wake up to the blogging after summer recess....!   All change... big cliché - as usual the direction and the vision of the place is pretty constant, but the social situation and the personnel is apparently completely random!

Cue introducing you to the people here now at Várzea da Gonçala....

There is Jim, who is in charge of the vegetable garden, experienced yoga teacher,  highly eclectic thinker - and pretty good at chess...

Dan, long-time resident of Bardsea Island off the western coast of North Wales, staying in his bus in the now-dry river bed - at least until rain, multi-talented and one of the most no-nonsense people I have met...
- and Damon and Karen, here for not so much longer, sadly.

Here is Karen, right,  with Silvia....

..... in the newly landscaped area outside the "pit". 

It's been too long since the last blog, and pretty unusual the summer has been.

July - what happened in July??, August good, many people, change, and not so easy to get focussed - so time to take it easy - well, a bit....  We've been to the beach quite a lot, and went to the boat at Sagres and saw so many dolphins...

Megan's lost her fear of the waves and discovered bodyboarding.   Summer guests staying - too many to give all a mention, but recently Carrie and Chris with twins Jake and Isaac, who were great friends with Megan.

The river's dry at the Várzea but just up a bit and the "nibble-fish pool" is still full and beautiful...

.... these pictures courtesy of Carrie... and we had Peter here for 3 weeks - 78 years and fitter than most at 30... 

Meanwhile,the hens have started laying again..

and the garden is in good flow and much drying has been happening...

Planning now for the autumn, with maybe first little rain in the next day or two - it's the time of the year when we wait for the grass to start shooting agian and our little river Cerca to run again along the Varzea.  

I could go on but time to publish... Next blog mid-September!

All the best to all - the postive is the purity!