Animals

Dogs and cats and all other four legged creatures feature here

Wild Flowers of the Congost

~ Kate Wilson ~ 3 Comments

Here are some pictures of the walk I took with Bonnie last week.
We went all the way from home to the Vienna Cafe and back.
Past the church at Palou. It strikes every quarter hour and reminds you of the Catalan way of telling the time – un quart, dos quarts, tres quarts meaning quarter past, half past and quarter to. In the days before clocks and watches people always knew the time by hearing how often the bell rang.
Of course it helped if you had a vague idea of which hour it was too.

The whole walk was about 11 km, most of it along the side of the River Congost.
The flowers are incredible at the moment.
I wish I knew their names – I know the little blue one is Borage of course!

After four hours of walking we were very relaxed and began to see pictures and patterns in everything around us. I love that state of mind. It’s the first stirrings of creativity I’ve had for months.

Dog Listener

~ Kate Wilson ~ 4 Comments

Today a vet is coming round to try and help us with the problem between Bonnie and Duna.
It’s not been good recently and it’s now impossible to let them be in the same room unless Duna is tied up.

On Thursday night we returned from a peaceful supper with family (in itself a miracle) and as we unlocked the front door Duna somehow got out of the patio and attacked Bonnie who was in the living room.
Blood.  Mostly Duna’s but she doesn’t mind losing, she just wants to fight.
Yesterday I took Bonnie for a long walk – 11 km – to relax her constant anxiety a little. And mine.
We came home, walked through the front door and Duna like a hound from hell launched herself at Bonnie with ferocious teeth and raving eyes.
I then went bonkers!  I can’t cope with it. I feel so powerless and so desperate for peace.

So the vet is coming.  I am not really hopeful but am interested to see what she says. All I hear from friends and on the internet is that it is one of the hardest things to resolve and probably one of them must go.

It won’t be Bonnie – unless I go with her.

On a happier note, for those of you who know something of my life here, I want to whisper that there is a girl upstairs in bed with the Resident Adolescent.   Today is also Day 1 of our new family-together-all-the-time life. By this I mean that his mother has gone back to Brazil and he is living with us permanently.

Is this something hopeful?  Perhaps showering will commence?

Catalan Week

~ Kate Wilson ~ 1 Comment

In which I try to speak Catalan all day for seven days

Day 3

The Vet
Today was good in general and I have managed to speak Catalan almost all the time, allowing for a few lapses when I found that English words were slipping out without me really knowing it!
I took Bonnie to see a new vet and as well as discussing her strange nipple wound, we had a very lengthy discussion about Leishmaniosis and I was able to not just follow it but ask semi-intelligent questions. It is a complicated subject and knowing what is the best method of protection is far from obvious.

Leishmaniosis is one of the worrying diseases that Mediterranean dogs can get. It is a blood parasite spread in the saliva of a biting insect, the sandfly. Sandflies are active at dawn and dusk which makes walking in the cooler times of the day rather scary.

He gave me some written information and apologised for it being in Castellano which I thought was nice.  Bonnie was very good as well, sitting when I said ‘Seu’ and relaxing when he told her she was ‘guapa’.

The Vet is happily named Dr Om – do you remember this?
 
Life Under Franco

Just found this film interview of a woman who grew up in Barcelona in Franco times, talking about her education and the general cultural atmosphere of the 50’s and 60’s.It really shows you how recent it was that the Catalan language and identity was under pressure.

Bats
The other thing that made me feel good was that I read an article in Catalan in El Nou about a new book on Bats in Catalunya.  It has been published by the Museum in Granollers, a place I promise myself to visit one day.  I didn’t read the whole article but was able to skim through for information and I noticed it partly because of the Bat Hospital in Penzance and because I love watching them at night from our balcony.

Bats, by the way, in Catalan are Rat penats which I’m sure doesn’t help people love them!

Listening to Catalan too

Then I went for a walk with my phone playing Radio Granollers instead of my normal tango and suddenly there was an interview with the author of the bat book. In spite of it being a radio interview which usually are hard to understand because of how fast they speak, I seemed to tune in and follow it all.
So I think this is a sign that the more you listen and read and keep surrounding yourself with the language, the easier it gets.

 

Growing Wild

~ Kate Wilson ~ 1 Comment

I’ve been learning Photoshop – doing a skills exchange with Nuria who is a fantastic illustrator and a very patient teacher. She certainly needs patience with me as I slowly advance in tiny steps and then forget everything by the next week.  But little by little, poc a poc, something sticks.

And here are some more, as yet untouched, photos of our walk in the park today.
I thought the flowers had been sown by a creative and inspired person at the Ajuntament but was told that probably they are just growing wild after the soil was turned over when they made the new park, our Parc Nou by the river.

I’ve also been rediscovering Louise Hay and affirmations. Nothing like a good bout of affirmation when you are feeling beaten down by dogs and houses and stepsons and two extra languages!
Here are some I’ve been trying.

Life is Simple and Easy

I am surrounded by Beauty and Peace

I live in a beautiful place where I am loved and respected

I express myself with ease

All is well in my world



GR92 near Orrius

~ Kate Wilson ~ 4 Comments

Yesterday Bonnie and I met Oreneta and Chuck for a walk along part of the GR92. This is the Catalan name for a long walking trail that goes from the Pyrenees to the south of Catalunya.  It stretches further south into Andalucia and north into France but the Catalan part was so named to mark its completion in 1992 the year of the Barcelona Olympics.
It was a perfect walking day, sunny but not too hot, and we were mainly going along a very well maintained rough track on the top of the ridge. The mountains here are called The Corredor  – on one side is the Valles Oriental and Granollers and on the other, The Maresma and the Mediterranean Sea.
We met at Sant Bartomeu chapel. I didn’t know who this saint was but it seems he was also one of the apostles. When first he heard of Jesus he said  ” Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

We walked to the mineral spring the Font of Sant Mateu. He was the disciple that was a tax collector of whom Jesus said “I came not to call the righteous but the sinners”. Interesting!
Isn’t it amazing that here the rivers are either low or barely more than a dribble but all around the mountains there are fresh supplies of wonderful clear drinking water?

There and back was about 14 km and of course there were little breaks for snacks!
Who can resist these two beautiful friends?  Chuck was a perfect gentleman and chased off cars and wild dogs to protect Bonnie who was incredibly happy share her sandwiches with him.