Blossom and Chimneys

Posting early today, so I can be free tonight to cook the bunch of wild asparagus we bought off Sr Zé in the Adega - he'd gathered them this morning. Had a lesson in how to cook them from the owner of the Land, apparently he is a good cook. He says not to parboil them, just chop finely and drop into sizzling olive oil, before adding whatever else you want, like eggs, garlic or mushrooms. He also says there's been progress on the Land, but as he talks mainly to Mike, and in a conspiratorial low voice and with a strong Alentejano accent, neither of is quite sure what he said - but seems something has moved...

It has been so cold today, colder than Manchester or Birmingham (!), and strong winds and some rain - everyone saying how it's not normal; now just seen the sun come out... Rather liked this double exposure of a tree out the back of our house and some of the typical Mourão chimneys - the middle one is where "our" storks nest; below the whiter one more to the left you can see our clothesline, and very small to the left of that, the head of Sultão, one of the priest's dogs.