Journal

  • All
  • olives
  • spring
  • winter
  • walks
  • garden
  • examples
  • renewables
  • building
  • renewables main
  • solar hotwater
  • solar pumping
  • solar PV
  • autumn
  • cuisine
  • summer
  • vineyard
  • bees
  • projects
  • maule
  • visit
  • loncomilla
spring pruning 150 150 vidacycle

spring pruning

Spring is here once again, the grass is green and the olive trees have started sending out new shoots. We are doing some basic pruning to tailor the growth upwards…

read more
mud castles 150 150 vidacycle

mud castles

The river is home to some form of crayfish or freshwater lobster-like creature, known locally as camarones. These camarones build little mud castles near the river, possibly for shelter, or maybe…

read more
distant Andes 150 150 vidacycle

distant Andes

The hike up nearby Tabontinaja is a great early morning wake up, a quick slightly steep meander into the coastal hills surrounding Fundo Meza. At one point you turn a…

read more
eucalyptus greens 150 150 vidacycle

eucalyptus greens
quince 150 150 vidacycle

quince

Quince are one of the last fruits of the season to become ripe – a real delicacy when cooked down into dulce de membrillo and eaten with Manchego cheese.

read more
young trees 150 150 vidacycle

young trees

Trees spread their seed far and wide in hope that some of the seedlings will find the perfect spot with all the right conditions so that their progeny survives. This…

read more
unrelenting zucchini 150 150 vidacycle

unrelenting zucchini

The zucchini plants have provided fresh vegetables since early spring and they are still coming. The plant seems to be very well adapted to providing its crop for as long…

read more
solar hotwater – Fundo Meza 150 150 vidacycle

solar hotwater – Fundo Meza

All of our hot water generation comes from combined solar hotwater systems. We always aim to have the hotwater panel installation blend in with its surroundings, for minimal visual impact,…

read more
sheets of fog 150 150 vidacycle

sheets of fog

Where we are positioned is in quite a high valley not too far from the coast, so there is often an early morning fog sitting over us after the chill…

read more
store room 150 150 vidacycle

store room

The greenhouse has taken on a new role in the autumn/early winter months. It is a dry, sealed room and therefore perfect for storing many of the vegetables that can…

read more
fluffy bush 150 150 vidacycle

fluffy bush

On our autumnal wanderings we came across this bush bursting into fluffy delights. A few strong gusts of wind will ensure that its seeds are spread across the whole valley…

read more
solar pumping – Fundo Meza 150 150 vidacycle

solar pumping – Fundo Meza

Our solar pumping systems use a combination of solar PV panels, Dankoff SlowPumps, and gravity (storage tanks higher up) to provide all our water needs. We also now use a…

read more
early light 150 150 vidacycle

early light

The sun creeps over the hills much later in Autumn. When it does peak over, it slowly fills the whole valley with a warmth and brightness that was unimaginable just…

read more
solar hotwater 150 150 vidacycle

solar hotwater

We provide passive solar hotwater systems – they do not have any pumps – which allows a simple, almost maintenance free hotwater system. These panels will provide hotwater needs 80%…

read more
solar pumping 150 150 vidacycle

solar pumping

We offer the full range of Dankoff Solar Pumps to be used in a wide variety of applications. All installations incorporate solar panels, a solar pump and a controller with other…

read more
solar PV 150 150 vidacycle

solar PV

We provide both on-grid and off-grid solar PV solutions. Off-grid solutions are aimed at locations where users are independent of the grid – they involve solar PV panels with batteries…

read more
autumn colours 150 150 vidacycle

autumn colours

As Autumn flows into full swing we are treated to a visual bonanza. The richness of colours  is subtly exaggerated by the surrounding sea of evergreens. The sun – ever-lower in…

read more
la vendemia 150 150 vidacycle

la vendemia

Two weeks ago it was finally time for the wine harvest, the vines gave in to the suns rays and absorbed that golden hue. The grapes, all now a deep…

read more
solar cooker 150 150 vidacycle

solar cooker

A special solar cooker we designed that is made from the lower third of an old wine barrel and some shiny insulation.

read more
tree-bush 150 150 vidacycle

tree-bush

Fir trees seem to sprout up all over the place on the hillsides. The fir tree saplings do particularly well in shelter of other bushes/shrubs –  but as the firs…

read more
easter bunnies 150 150 vidacycle

easter bunnies

These baby bunnies have made their new home below the rose bush…they are so small we are just going to let them stay there until they get a bit bigger…

read more
corn & pie 150 150 vidacycle

corn & pie

About a month ago the first few corn husks were ready to be eaten, so sweet and fresh – unbeatable! We ate them complete with plum pie, after Isobel &…

read more
green grape pressing 150 150 vidacycle

green grape pressing

After the harvest it was time to make the juice. Using some simple traditional grape pressing and crushing machinery we were able to make about 150L of verjus. The pressing…

read more
circular rainbow 150 150 vidacycle

circular rainbow

A few weeks ago we were drenched with yet more summer downpours, unheard of in past years but a phenomenon that seems to be on the rise. As the rain…

read more
verjus harvest 150 150 vidacycle

verjus harvest

We all got up extra early and wandered dazed over to the far vineyards. The grapes were just right to harvest for verjus. We had been watching them closely for…

read more
new homes 150 150 vidacycle

new homes

Each hive is gradually being transferred from the traditional bee boxes, to this slightly more radical structure adapted from a Barefoot Beekeeper design. There is much discussion around the world…

read more
nectarines 150 150 vidacycle

nectarines

We harvested the nectarines yesterday – they are so fragrant and tasty. There were lots of fruits on the tree so we are going to have to make lots of…

read more
wonder hikes 150 150 vidacycle

wonder hikes

We recently did the one day hike, Cascada del Arcoiris, offered by Frank of Costa y Cumbre Tours. It was a wonderful day following a cowboy trail through the vast…

read more
marmelada 150 150 vidacycle

marmelada

Thanks Joy and Katrina for making this delicious mirabelle plum and ginger jam. We get all sorts of fruit trees flourishing during the summer months in random locations and suddenly…

read more
winemaker 150 150 vidacycle

winemaker

Andres Sanchez, the winemaker at Gillmore winery – our neighbours in the Loncomilla Valley, gave us the ultimate wine-tasting. We popped by just as he was in the laboratory determining…

read more
Enter your
text here

    We respect your privacy and will not share your email address.