January has arrived and it is turning out to be the coldest month so far. Christmas and the New Year celebrations seem a distant memory although looking at the photo of my husband sitting in the terrace on Christmas Eve in his shorts enjoying 25C + temperatures was definitely a picture worth taking.

My January diary note tells me it is time to get the fruit trees , so off I went to see Jesus. On arrival at his warehouse, I am met with an array of fruit trees. I spied the ones I wanted over in the far corner and headed straight for them. ‘Quiero arboles de cereza por favor’ and pointed to a deep burgundy variety. ‘Non’ came his reply (not again I thought) he then explained (in Spanish) that I need to have 2 different varieties for the pollination. In the end we decided on the 2 varieties that would work well together and eventually produce sweet cherries to eat. As well as the cherry trees we also added some apple and pear trees.  After much negotiation, he then agreed to deliver them for me ‘gratis’.

Next job is to stake out where the trees will live (all 17 of them), find the spades and start digging! Hopefully they will be in the ground and secure before the snow arrives soon according to my Farmers Almanac- Manolo in the village. I look forward to seeing a vision of Cherry blossom lining the track and eventually enjoying the ‘fruits’ of our labours in the years to come.