All Things Wild

I was recently reminded about our feathered friends, and the time we first moved here.  I had started to dig out two small tree roots to lay the foundations of our home when I was assisted by a robin and great tit. We named them  The Clerk of Works – the robin –  the Forman – the great tit. It was wonderful to see how tame they seemed, they did not appear to be frightened of me and gave us many a laugh as the robin would inspect the hole as I was digging and I often had to stop or I would have hurt it as he would get under where I was working with the pickaxe. If I stopped, then the great tit would come and shout. The funniest thing was when my wife brought a cup of coffee out wearing her slippers, the tit hopped over doing his usual shouting then decided to galvanise us by began pecking at the slippers. These two birds gave us such a wonderful insight to our new world.

Then there is the `singing tree’.  This is an old almond tree which can be seen from our bedroom window and is used by the birds to teach their fledglings how to fend for themselves and we watch the goings on with interest. The males also use this tree in the mating season to strut their stuff, singing and bobbing up and down to attract a female.  There is also a bird of prey nesting in the trees at the edge of the lower field every morning we can hear the young screeching out to be fed I am hopeful of getting a picture or two when I can work out where it is.

Not everything is sweet and gentle, the wild boar can be so noisy at times. Take last night for instance, I am flying to the UK today so I needed to get some sleep, but there I was 2am listening to the pigs squealing away; what ever they were doing they seemed to be enjoying themselves. But at least they are back, we used to sit at night and watch some of them as they wandered round our land but at the beginning of the year a large cat arrived, again, we think it is a lynx any way it has departed because the goats are back on the maser and the pigs are being noisy.

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Joys of Living in the Country

 

I had to go to Tarragona today to get my new tyres. Living in the forest makes it difficult for them to survive for long so I decided to to get 50/50 ones for both country roads and main ones, needless to say I am now minus 2 legs & 1 arm, still it had to be done.

Yesterday we had our water delivered and Manel bless him managed to partly demolish a corner of our cisterna so some rendering is called for will keep `the wife´busy ha ha,  but these things happen. 

While we were in Tarragona we sat at a cafe opposite the covered in market when `the wife´spotted someone dressed as a witch, pink dress pointy black hat and broomstick and beard which reminds me wonder how the mother in law is… 

This afternoon we did something we haven’t done for a while, we walked along the track in the forest where we found wild jasmin and honeysuckle growing in a small recess in the rock, much to my wifes delight.

The abundance of florna and flora here is surprising, you never quite know what you will be discovering.  I have taken photos of the jasmin.

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All Things Nasty

It is a sad fact that in every paradise there are the serpents. In this case its insects.  I will also point out that football was on the tv and the events that follow were the result of a mad dash at half time without due care and attention to my normal routine.

Last friday evening I was watering the apple trees and got bitten on my leg. I had been watching football on tv and when the half time arrived I made a dash to water the apple trees in shorts not long trousers. At the time I had not noticed anything on my leg but after a while it started itching so as usual I turned to my wife for treatment. As she was cleaning the bite she noticed something in it so out came tweezers, needle and something that looked like a splinter.  Then the drawing cream was applied with dressing so we expected it to clear up and be ok.

However, three days later I have a small crater in my leg which has yielded two more splinters and the wound is now very angry and scarlet in colour.  So after much nagging it was off to the doctors (I hate going to doctors) who looked at my leg shook his head when told I could not feel the actuall area round the bite and prescribed more cream.  But this stuff is certainly doing its job, the wound (yes wound) is getting better with the crater now becoming a small hole and healing nicely.

It appears I was the victim of the dreaded tick, which had attached it’s self whilst I was watering the apples, and I obviously knocked it off my leg without realising it.  Moral of story if you must live in a forest and water your fruit trees at this time of year and football is on the tv, do it before the football starts and  WEAR LONG TROUSERS!!!

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Fiestas And All Things Wonderfull

Well this has certainly been a weekend of mixed events, we had intended to go to the Mora Morisca on Saturday but as is normal things went a little differently.

It started with the inverter going kaput and with the World Cup Final on Sunday we really had to go into Reus to get a replacement. Priorities rule and football being a must my wife did not pick up her camera football!! So about 5pm we set off going round the town as the streets were blocked off for the fiesta.  After purchasing the replacement, we drove back to town and parked the car walking to the old part which was decorated with banners flags and various coulorful awnings. There were stalls selling various cheeses, dried sausages, herbs and sweets with displays of craft work smithies, glass blowing metal and woodworkers. At the top of the town were the birds of prey falcons, owls, an eagle and one or two I do not know. 

Walking down to the main square we found people dressed in medieval clothes both Spanish and Moorish with plenty of bars open. We had been invited to join some friends in their house overlooking the square and spent a very pleasant hour in good company. Whilst there the owner of the bar outside the house asked if he could run a large screen off their electrics to show the football, this all arranged we decided to leave as we needed to eat.  We did not go down town to watch the match it was too hot for us but we saw it on tv and heard the celebrations the flashes of the fireworks could be seen from over the hills.

Then this morning about 7am I heard a noise outside the bedroom and found to my delight a small eagle. It had flown into the  small gazebo outside the sitting room window but was thankfully unhurt, life can be full of wonderful sights at times.

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