Sometimes nice things happen and I don’t take a photo – either I don’t have the camera with me or the battery is dead or perhaps it just feels awkward to pull it out and start clicking.
Tonight we went down to the river to take Duna for her walk. On the way we passed by the little vegetable patches and the rough fenced in wasteland that houses chickens and geese and the two dogs that I always visit as I go by.
Do you remember? The border collie who is normally tied up inside the enclosure and who barks as you go past but wags her tail at the same time. I used to shout ‘Hola Guapo’ before finding out he was a she and on heat.
Tonight she and her terrier friend were running freely around the chicken plot. Her owner was there relaxing on an old plastic chair. We all got talking – actually I mostly smiled and listened as it was all too fast and in spanish. But I learned that her name is Lolita. That her owner is passionately against cruelty to animals. He is Andaluz and comes from Huelva north of Cadiz . He feels it is more important to live simply and take care of the planet than to work all hours just to pay for things you don’t need. He had three baby ducks who were being mothered by a large speckled hen. I don’t know what happened to the mother duck – you miss those sort of details when you can’t keep up with the language. Lolita put up her nose to nuzzle the ducklings soft yellow fluffy coat. Border collies are like that – protective rather than menacing.
Lolita obviously loves him and the chickens and the ducklings and her little terrier friend. So, sigh of relief, she is a happy dog!
And all around the swifts were swooping and swirling and screaming and streaming
You will be pleased to know that the swifts finally arrived in Penzance about a week ago. A joy to hear them squealing overhead.
So glad she’s happy…..and that he is so caring of the animals!
The swifts finally arrived in Penzance about a week ago!
I like your line drawings very much.
Kate you catched the general meaning! I can help a little with the translation of the details of the talk with Tomás, the owner of Lolita.
– he said that is enough to work 3 hours/day for buying your necessary thinks. But people works more to pay the “hipoteca” for the house, and spending money buying unnecessary goods: new cars, etc
We can live eating 2 eggs and “migas” and some fruits every day…
– he likes this demostrations in the 15 mai organized by normal people, without political groups, for a “Democràcia real, ja!”. Now there are still millards of people camping in the central squares of Barcelona, Madrid and the others big cities of the Spanish State. He will never votes in PP! They are all corrupts and fascist! We are all brothers, no diferences about races, countries, colours
– The baby ducks, weren’t! They were baby geese!! He didn’t say why the geese didn’t incovate the eggs…
– He spoke in the typical close castellano from andalucia, about a lot of thinks. I have no time to splain all here!!
XXXX
Gosh, I wish I could be in Penzance and see the swifts…! How long will you be there?
Your drawings remind me of Thurber. Lovely. xx Penelope
thank you all! Thank you for enjoying the pictures – they are spontaneous and unplanned and I like how they are impossible to make too complicated because it is my fat finger on a small screen with only 4 possible colours!
I thought he said Anacs – isn’t that duck? No it must be goose. I thought they were quite large for ducklings!!
Yes the demonstrations are exciting – sorry we couldn’t go because it was also my birthday and I wanted to be by the sea. Next time – we’ll be there! K xx
Kate, just as I was going to read your post I noticed that you had left a comment on mine! The stitches are easy to learn too!!! We have a border collie too and once our neighbors chickens got in our yard and Tia (our dog) just put her nose in their neck feathers. I thought it was odd, but now I see your neighbors Border Collie did exactly the same thing!
HAPPY endings to animal stories are far too rare so thanks for sharing one of the happy endings one. I am loving your drawings that accompany your posts. Line drawings are harder to do than they look. I will not be present and accounted for for Virtual Vermut this week as I am hitting the road with my son to visit my sister for a few days and will likely be without internet access. But I will be sure to drink a glass or two on Friday in your honor!
Please can we have more drawings? And surely Borders are working dogs…? How about Corgis and QE2 in Ireland?