Tuesday, August 07, 2012

Mr Blue Sky

Its a bit of a cliche that we Brits will always talk about the weather and you have to admit it is a good conversation opener. Given the UK summer,  and I use the term loosely, we get a bit nervous about telling you all how hot it is here and of course rain free! As UK residents we lived in the middle, the far end and the top of the country. We did undoubtedly have a lot more"weather" than we do here if you get my drift. Changeable is  the word for it I think. We saw the 76 drought in Cornwall, when we could walk on the dried out floor of the local reservoir and see the remains farmhouses and village. The winter that followed saw us snowed in. And who can forget the 87 gales and how badly wrong the met office got the forecast. So it seems there a lot to talk about when it comes to UK weather. What about Spain then? Is it always Mr. Blue Sky? Well its true we do get a lot of good weather here but the forecast is just as important and in some cases more so. The Weather in Spain brings its own problems as well as advantages. As with all hot countries we have to be aware of very high temperatures because of issues like fire risk and UV  levels. Aside from safety having an accurate forecast is very important with regards using and saving water. Although we use mostly grey water on our garden at the house we utilise the ancient irrigation system at our plot in Huerta. This means we contact the "water man" who will come along and flood the terraces for us. Its not only that we pay for the water we have, it also that it is an extremely precious resource. With  accurate up to date information on Spanish weather we will not water only to find it rains the next day. It also means that, for me at least, I can read the forecast and look forward to a nice overcast day! Well you don't want Mr. Blue Sky everyday do you?

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