A miracle (blog)
Life has been busy, and somewhat tumultuous of late. My dearest friend came to stay for two weeks shortly after I moved in. We had a marvelous time visiting local castles and historic sites, and generally chilling out. It was a holiday for me, as well, after the frenzied activity of buying the house in a week, moving and sorting out a long list of unexpected issues. In my local area (the north east of Portugal), there are the most amazing castles and historic sites, in the most extraordinary locations, freely available to all. You drive right up to them, there are no official car parks, and nothing to pay. Just as it should be, as these places are our heritage. Everywhere we went, we were the only visitors. As my friend has a direct line of communication to other dimensions, we had fun tuning into the guardians of these sites, the energy, lay lines and more. We were also given amazing information about the region, and the Templar history here. Fascinating!
In between her visit and the next friend, more work was done on the house. As a result of an infestation of ants (on the surfaces in the kitchen, the walls, the floor and on me), all the cracks in interior and exterior walls were filled to block their entry and exit points. Then came a flash flood which revealed problems in the roof, when water poured through the ceiling in two rooms. I also had a significant (size and expense) water filtration system installed, after discovering the local water contains 8 times the safe limit of manganese and well above the safe limit of iron.
After the second friend left, there was a gap to begin scouting the local countryside in search of land for the Earth Collective project. As there is almost nothing advertised online, I decided on a personal marketing strategy, driving around, dropping leaflets into local cafes, petrol stations and community centres, to alert the locals as to what I was looking for. There is plenty of land for sale, it’s just not on the internet. This is because many of the older generation (the majority of land owners) are not literate, a result of zero public education during the dictatorship years. Quite a shocking discovery. My sister arrived for a week, after that and we had a lovely time walking, swimming, exploring and catching up on life and times. So much social activity is unusual for me (in fact, any at all is unusual). I live in solitude and splendid isolation most of the time. But sharing my new abode with others was a joy, and helped me to feel at home.
Since I moved, the weather has been hot (up to 40 degrees at times, but typically around the mid 30s). Thankfully, the heat is dry and much easier to cope with than the humid north, where I was living previously. Also, as the house is traditional, it has massively thick walls and shutters on the windows, which helps to keep things cool – ish! Even so, I caved into a special request from one of my guests, and purchased a couple of large fans for the hottest days. Actually, I like the heat. I like the certainly of wearing shorts and a vest every day, the feeling of the sun on my skin, not to mention sitting topless on the patio eating breakfast before it gets too hot!
Amidst all of this pleasantness, however, disaster struck. Between the second and third visitor, I lost my beloved feline companion, Nina.
”I have news”, I wrote to a friend. “Sad news. Nina is no longer with me. The dogs took her. A week ago, late at night, I heard frenzied barking in the field behind the house. Several dogs were hunting in a pack. I went out and chased them away. The next morning, Nina wasn't anywhere to be seen. She hadn't been in to eat, or slept in her chair. Then the penny dropped. My heart sank when I realised what must have happened. I searched for her in the searing heat all day but I knew she had gone. After three days of mourning, I did a ceremony to honour her life and our special relationship.
The dogs belong to the local shepherd. I felt compelled to write to her about Nina’s fate. Such a beautiful and intelligent cat, athletic and young. I felt sick to my core at the thought of her life ending that way, and simply couldn’t let her passing be in vain. Just before it happened, she had followed me to the sunset seat for the first time, and we watched the sun go down together. Once she got over the stress of moving, she was in her element here - an intrepid warrior queen and an avid hunter. That’s how I will remember her. She slept during the day and went out at night. Sadly, neither of us understood the risk posed by the roaming village dogs. This part of Portugal is remote and traditional, and different to anywhere I have been before. I am learning.
I’m OK now. But the silence is deafening. I am sending you the letter I wrote to the shepherd (in Portuguese).”……….
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Footnotes:
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