Author: Kate Wilson

If I keep a green bough in my heart then the singing bird will come

~ Kate Wilson ~ 4 Comments

Sometimes I long for green.
One of the walks near here with grass and trees is at Mil Pins.
You have to drive there but it’s only 5 minutes away.

It’s like a park on the edge of the countryside.
Pep remembers camping there with his family when he was young

There are now lots of houses on one side and it’s easy to park right by the entrance

That may sound like a boring fact but believe me in Granollers it is a miracle

The dogs met some new friends.
I love the shape of the black one – the women sitting at the fountain said it was a podenco ibicenco which is a breed from Ibiza. But I can’t see any that are black. I had to stop reading because of the many sites describing how many are found in animal shelters after bad treatment.  This one at least was happy and playful and had a wonderful open space to exercise her grace and agility and intelligence.

All was peaceful barring a few growls and snaps

Breast feeding

~ Kate Wilson ~ 4 Comments

We saw this sign on the coast path near St Feliu de Guixols on the Costa Brava.
There was a tunnel with various viewpoints looking out at the bays

The Mirador is named for wet nurses – Dides in Catalan

A Dida was a woman who breast-fed someone else’s child. Perhaps because the mother was ill or incapable of feeding her baby.  Many women died in childbirth so the Dida was also needed to help those babies survive. Or perhaps the mother was from a social class that could afford to pay someone to take over a task which she didn’t want to do. In the days before reliable contraception it would have freed some women from an unending cycle of reproduction and feeding.
For centuries wet nursing was common all over the world and only went into decline with the advent of artificial baby milk.
Here in Catalunya some wealthy people had a Dida who lived in the house for years, feeding the babies as they arrived.  I hadn’t really thought about wet nursing before but although nowadays it seems strange or even distasteful, I can see how practical it was and perhaps a better idea than feeding babies something created in a factory. Apparently you don’t have to keep having your own babies to produce milk – if you keep feeding, the milk can be produced for years. I suppose this also protected some of the women who worked in this way from unwanted pregnancies.
I wonder why this bay was so named?

Creepy Crawlies

~ Kate Wilson ~ 4 Comments

I am feeling like a total idiot after reading this article on processionary caterpillars.

At the weekend I walked up to the Mirador with my friend, accompanied by Duna and Bonnie.
We were fascinated to see the long lines of caterpillars walking across the path nose to tail and we stopped for some time filming and taking photographs. The dogs were milling around as usual.
It is only now that I realise these are the dreaded pine tree caterpillars which can cause terrible reactions in humans and sometimes shock and death in dogs. They also damage the pine trees and move on when they have eaten their fill and it is time to look for a place to burrow underground and complete the next part of their life cycle. If you or your dog come into contact with the fine hairs which cover their bodies they can cause reactions varying from mild irritation to anyphalactic shock. These hairs fall off their bodies as they process so may be spread around the ground for the dogs to walk across.

Well, I suppose it is a good signal that you can be so close to danger without even knowing about it and sometimes nothing bad happens. As a compulsive worrier I will take heart from this

But I think it will put me off going up to the Miranda until the caterpillar season is over.
Let’s see if this video works – Bonnie is whining because she is bored – not stung!

Two Dream Homes

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments

It was such a beautiful day that we went straight to the coast and decided to leave balnearis for another day!  We did stop off in Caldes de Malavella and found out that one of the huge hotel spas didn’t really cater for day trippers while the other – Hotel Vichy Catalan – offers lots of different packages for a reasonable price.
But….leave the dogs in the van while we relaxed in mineral bathes?  Not possible.
So we went to a beach called St Pol near Sant Feliu de Guixols, had a slow walk around the coast path and then a long and even slower lunch in El Racó de St Pol.
There are some lovely seaside houses on this part of the coast – places to dream about and imagine how it would be to go down for early morning swims in the green blue sea.

Blue had been given the homoeopathic remedy Thuja in the morning and was bouncing up and down the steps along the way. I’ve not seen her so happy and lively and pain free for years.

Flexible Friends

~ Kate Wilson ~ 1 Comment

Today we didn’t go to the mineral baths after all.
The timings weren’t quite right and it would have meant racing to get ready, a rapid journey and squeezed in dog walks so we just decided not to do it.
I love being able to change plans and no-one minds.
For me it was just perfect being with my friend and doing my ordinary things with someone to keep me company. She is the first person to come and stay who hasn’t wanted to go to Barcelona.
Obviously I understand that is important for many people but it often leaves little time for wandering round the shops in Granollers, or walking the dogs, or lying in bed in the morning chatting about life, or baking a cake, or sitting for hours over lunch while finishing off a bottle of cava.
We did all those things today and it was another lovely day.
Tomorrow…..perhaps…..we will go to the mineral baths!

And Blue had one of her best days yet. She was smiling and grinning, hopping and dancing, wagging and wiggling, sniffing and snuffling, snoozing and snoring. She likes having familiar visitors too.