Sharon´s huerta, or garden, is busy these days. The orange trees are in bloom with their blossom attracting lots of attention from the bees. The branches will be heavy with oranges later in the year and Sharon will be busy, we hope, with marmalade making.
Marmalade is easy to make and particularly delicious when you use oranges that you have grown yourself. Plenty of stirring is required as the mixture thickens in the big pot on the stove, so that should provide lots of exercise for her.
She continues to plug away at her walking. Yesterday, she did two trips up to the tree along the track, without a crutch but holding on tightly to me with her good arm. The first trip was an out and back circuit of 290 steps, with a rest at the half way point under the tree where Sam the Labrador enjoyed a good brushing. Sharon says: “He knows perfectly well when we are going. He seems to know when we are getting ready to set off and definitely gets excited. He knows he´s going to have a good brush. He obviously loves a good scratch session.” In the evening, she did another stretch, just up to the tree this time with the luxury of a wheelchair return.
Oranges were brought to Spain from the Middle East by the Arabs who ruled most of the country for centuries. Oranges are very popular in China, where the Mandarin Orange originated. At the Lunar New Year pots of miniature orange trees are as essential to celebrations as Christmas trees in the West. Sharon says: “I´ve got a mandarin tree in my huerta, although nothing seems to be happening this year which is disappointing after last year´s great crop.” On the Island of Corfu you will find a small distillery producing an excellent orange liqueur. It is thought that oranges originated in the tropical parts of Asia, particularly around Malaysia and Indonesia. They were probably brought from there to India, Africa and the Middle East by Arab traders.
Orange trees produce steadily for 50 to 80 years but some trees are hundreds of years old and still going strong.
The trees in Sharon´s huerta are decades old and this year it looks as if they are really going to produce a bumper crop.
***
c. Phillip Bruce 2009.
Marmalade is easy to make and particularly delicious when you use oranges that you have grown yourself. Plenty of stirring is required as the mixture thickens in the big pot on the stove, so that should provide lots of exercise for her.
She continues to plug away at her walking. Yesterday, she did two trips up to the tree along the track, without a crutch but holding on tightly to me with her good arm. The first trip was an out and back circuit of 290 steps, with a rest at the half way point under the tree where Sam the Labrador enjoyed a good brushing. Sharon says: “He knows perfectly well when we are going. He seems to know when we are getting ready to set off and definitely gets excited. He knows he´s going to have a good brush. He obviously loves a good scratch session.” In the evening, she did another stretch, just up to the tree this time with the luxury of a wheelchair return.
Oranges were brought to Spain from the Middle East by the Arabs who ruled most of the country for centuries. Oranges are very popular in China, where the Mandarin Orange originated. At the Lunar New Year pots of miniature orange trees are as essential to celebrations as Christmas trees in the West. Sharon says: “I´ve got a mandarin tree in my huerta, although nothing seems to be happening this year which is disappointing after last year´s great crop.” On the Island of Corfu you will find a small distillery producing an excellent orange liqueur. It is thought that oranges originated in the tropical parts of Asia, particularly around Malaysia and Indonesia. They were probably brought from there to India, Africa and the Middle East by Arab traders.
Orange trees produce steadily for 50 to 80 years but some trees are hundreds of years old and still going strong.
The trees in Sharon´s huerta are decades old and this year it looks as if they are really going to produce a bumper crop.
***
c. Phillip Bruce 2009.
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