My experiences of living as a seasoned immigrant in Cordova (Andalusia): humour, culture, history, illustrated. Also includes poetry, quotes, thoughts, and nature.
What I’ve been up to this week in my country abode of Posadas (Cordova)
Hi folks! Firstly, I hope this find you all in good health and spirits.
Secondly — what I’ve been up to. Well, I’ve had a bit of a busy week what with teaching, writing and doing some of my craftwork — as well as a) straightening out my vegetable patch after the wild boar broke in again, and b) preparing the olives for marinating that I am picking from our trees. And so I would just like to share with you some photos of my progress. Starting with a):-
Here he is, the ‘little’ blighter, sniffing around for acorns and roots! (Canva)
I had to straighten the pepper plants after ‘he’ had a go at them (but ‘he’ avoided the chilli peppers this time!)
That’s me hard at work with the roll of black string, tying up the tomato plants that have got taller than me. I tied them to the arched ribs that once used to support plastic sheeting when this used to be a greenhouse, but temperatures soared too high in the summer so I had to do away with it. Note the very blue Andalusian skies!Old olive trees grow all around. I will be picking some of these too for my marinated olives — the manzanilla and gordal variety for pickling
Our finca has a lot of very old olive trees…
they grow on the slopes…
overlooking the Guadalquivir Valley
The first step in preparing the olives is to cut each one of them (you can also lightly crush them, or not cut them at all but place them in caustic soda for a while. I have never yet tried these last two methods.) As you can see, I had a little bit of help…
Bag of small alberquina olives from a 2 and a 1/2 year old tree
Curious kitten wondering about the small alberquina olives from a 2 and a 1/2 year old tree
Curious kitten getting all anxious to lend a helping paw with the small alberquina olives from a 2 and a 1/2 year old tree
But I take command of the knife with which I make a sharp cut in the small alberquina olives from a 2 and a 1/2 year old tree! (And my fingers get oilier, greener and purply by the minute!)
The olives in the photos were picked from my son’s young olive grove…
This grove lies just by the old cattle track,Cañada Real Soriana that skirts the foothills of the Sierrezuela de Guadalbaida, and the Roman quarry, Cantera Honda. It stretches approx. 500 miles, originating in Soria, NE of Madrid, then across the Sierra Morena continuing west to Seville, passing close to the Guadalquivir River and the Puente Romano (Roman bridge) in Cordova on the way.
The Cañada Real Soriana cattle track is number 7 on the Wiki map. (You might need your magnifying glass to spot it!)
And now to the first theme: my craftwork. Well, I have just finished making my angels (or fairies, call them what you want!) — and they are available to the public. So here are the little‘uns:-
Well, that’s all for this week. Thank you for reading — comments and questions always welcome.
Hello! I was born in London but moved to Cordova (inland Andalusia) thirty-two years ago. Although I qualified as a geologist, I had to retrain, and I now teach English and work as a freelance translator, writer and artist (sort of!).
I have written and published two books: Edward’s Secret and the Enchanted Throne for young teens, available from Amazon, and also 'An English Lady in Cordova - the Alternative Guide' which tells of my experiences (both humorous and harrowing) of living in Cordoba and later on, in the countryside location of Posadas. I describe the culture, history, geography and emblematic sites of Cordova, Posadas, the neighbouring villages and local Sierra — (hence the ‘alternative guide’ bit!)
My blogs talk about my experiences here, my day-to-day life, and also include poetry, quotes, literature, art, photos, nature, and thoughts and reflections. (In other words, it’s a bit of a pot pourri, but unfortunately, I still haven’t learnt how to house these categories into the different pages that appear in the menu!)
I do hope you enjoy reading my blogs, and I welcome your comments and questions, as I love to interact with people.
Thank you for visiting — bye for now!
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5 comentarios sobre “What I’ve been up to this week in my country abode of Posadas (Cordova)”
My those skies look very beautiful. It is particularly dull and dank here in the UK. I’m sure you don’t miss it one little bit. I rather like your vegetable plot invader – though I imagine they are very annoying if they eat your produce. Are they quite friendly? Do you need to score the olives to allow the marinade to ‘get in’ them? We were in Catalonia this time last year and the olives were a total delight. The taste is so exquisite compared to the ones that we get in the shops here. I’m not sure why.
I love your angels and I’m sure they’ll go down well for Christmas decorations. I have gone down the route of opening an Etsy shop but am not really doing the intense marketing that seems to be needed alongside it.
Hi Lisa – thank you for your comments! The skies are really a brilliant blue, though the weather’s on the change, with rain forecast for tomorrow right through till Friday (but temperatures still around the 24 degree mark). The rain will stop play for the olive picking, and yes, the score in the olives is not only to let the marinade in, but to also let the bitterness out: I forgot to mention that the olives have to be left soaking in water for about 10 days to two weeks to their lose this bitterness. I will post photos of these stages and also what I will add to the marinade (thyme, fennel, chopped green pepper, garlic…). And as for the wild boar, no, for some reason he doesn’t eat the veg (must’ve learnt from eating the chillis last time!) but he does love to dig up the plants in his quest for roots, so all in all, he is a bit of a bother! (Notice I use the word ‘he’!!)
Thanks about my angels — I am also poor at the marketing side of things, but I have vowed to soon make myself a Twitter and Pinterest account too — let’s see if that becomes a reality…
An English Lady in Cordova 
My those skies look very beautiful. It is particularly dull and dank here in the UK. I’m sure you don’t miss it one little bit. I rather like your vegetable plot invader – though I imagine they are very annoying if they eat your produce. Are they quite friendly? Do you need to score the olives to allow the marinade to ‘get in’ them? We were in Catalonia this time last year and the olives were a total delight. The taste is so exquisite compared to the ones that we get in the shops here. I’m not sure why.
I love your angels and I’m sure they’ll go down well for Christmas decorations. I have gone down the route of opening an Etsy shop but am not really doing the intense marketing that seems to be needed alongside it.
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Hi Lisa – thank you for your comments! The skies are really a brilliant blue, though the weather’s on the change, with rain forecast for tomorrow right through till Friday (but temperatures still around the 24 degree mark). The rain will stop play for the olive picking, and yes, the score in the olives is not only to let the marinade in, but to also let the bitterness out: I forgot to mention that the olives have to be left soaking in water for about 10 days to two weeks to their lose this bitterness. I will post photos of these stages and also what I will add to the marinade (thyme, fennel, chopped green pepper, garlic…). And as for the wild boar, no, for some reason he doesn’t eat the veg (must’ve learnt from eating the chillis last time!) but he does love to dig up the plants in his quest for roots, so all in all, he is a bit of a bother! (Notice I use the word ‘he’!!)
Thanks about my angels — I am also poor at the marketing side of things, but I have vowed to soon make myself a Twitter and Pinterest account too — let’s see if that becomes a reality…
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