One thing I really like about living in Catalonia is the concept of "The Village". It's certainly not a new concept, but it is one living arrangement that has stood the test of time. There are not many places I would classify as villages in North America. But, Wakefield, Quebec does come to mind. In the few years I have been living in Spain, I would define the Village as small, densely populated, surrounded by farmland, 100% walkable and with a central street containing the majority of businesses, which are for the most part, family owned and operated "Mom and Pop" type establishments. The main grocery store here in our village isn't referred to by its corporate name, but rather the name of the house where it has been for decades, Cal Salvador (equal I suppose to "Chez" Salvador, in French). The Village is, above all, community based, with an emphasis on publicly accessible squares, parks, sports locales and periodic fiestas!

This sense of community occurred to me poignantly the other day when I walked out of the house onto the narrow sidewalk separating us from the street. I heard one of the neighbours, a guy named Cairot (who is about 80 and has been living here for his whole life and loves to chat) mentioning to another man who was making some sort of inquiry, to "talk to that guy, he's the one"... meaning me of course. We started chatting and I soon realized that he was looking for work. But not just any work. Not work paid in cash. Work paid in fruits and vegetables.

You see, we have a slice of land in this old house that, much to my chagrin, I do not have time to maintain properly. I have managed to grow a few tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, brussel sprouts, scant types of beans and eggplant. The sense of accomplishment in growing your own food is unparalleled. But, I have been in a constant battle with the "malas hierbas" or "evil herbs", that is... weeds! This summer I put in an honest effort when I could, trimming and pulling weeds, hoeing and raking, fertilizing and even setting up a timed mini-irrigation system, but I just cannot keep those nasty weeds in check. Forget about herbicides (something a friend of mine here jokingly refers to as "inevitable chemical warfare"), it ain't gonna happen!

Anyway, so starting next week, Señor Julio will start working the land. He has plenty of tools, including even a rototiller so, I expect that together we will be able to start from a clean slate, weed-wise. I will keep you updated on the life of Me and Julio down in the backyard...

In our garden there is an orange tree (suitable only for marmalade or orange-ade due to the fact they are so sour). But the tree yields hundreds of fruit. Right now, as I look outside, they are still green. In a few months we shall start that harvest and begin bottling some marmalade. In the spring, the orange tree flowers and leaves a wonderful scent in the air, attracting a variety of pollen spreading insects. There are three other fruit bearing trees: the pomegranate, the persimmon and the palm tree. We haven't tried the dates from the palm tree yet. But the birds love them when they fall on our balcony, pecking them apart and leaving the seeds for us to sweep up. As far as the garden goes, there are still a few tomatoes left from the summer, but they don't ripen too fast now. The eggplant and peppers are still going strong though and the brussels sprouts (pictured) turned out nice and required little maintenance.
So, my main point of this blog is the sense of community that I feel here. The streets are small, so it's hard to pass someone you know without saying "hola", even if they are on the other side. The great thing about my new garden arrangement is that it's win-win. We will work the earth together and share the harvest. Stay tuned.

Peace,
Grant