dogs

The Dog Walking Group

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments

A few months ago a fellow dog walker in the New Park (Park Lledoner is its real name) told me about a group that goes walking with dogs once a month in Sant Pere de Vilamajor.    The walks are organised by the Associacio Vilanimal, an organisation that rescues, cares for and, where possible, rehomes animals around Cardedeu.

I joined the Facebook group and every day am tempted by the faces of lost and abandonned dogs and cats, kittens and puppies. The group is run by dedicated volunteers and they now have a shop in the centre of Cardedeu although they rely on foster carers to look after the animals at home.

Today we went on our first walk.  Everyone met at a car park in Sant Pere de Vilamajor and about 50 people and 30 dogs went for a stroll in the hills in the evening sunshine

One of my favourites was Bruc, a Catalan shepherd dog, who reminded me very much of a bearded collie that I know.  He was full of fresh energy.  He raced up and down the pack, barking wildly and occasionally setting off little battles of wills. We walked for two hours to the sound of his owners voices calling “Bruc Bruc!  Come back here Bruc”

But the only one who could control him was a beautiful Golden Retriever who had taken on the role of Group Marshall and when she snapped at Bruc he would stop his antics, for a few minutes

There was a moment of worry when a small brown dog accompanying a couple with a baby in a sling got overcome with the excitement and the evening heat.  She went into a fit of panting and shaking and had to be carried part of the way home. But in the end she recovered totally and was able to walk to her car

Bonnie was a bit overwhelmed by the crowds and her favourite part was when we stopped by a stream to drink and have a pee and the rest of the group disappeared over the hill. Her tail started to wag and the bounce returned to her step.

She seemed to be saying ‘ thank God we’ve lost that lot…. now we can enjoy our walk’

But I think it did her good in the end as everyone, dogs and people, were friendly and sociable and it is what she needs to help her overcome her recent fears.  And as always she was very popular with everyone she met.     We went for tapas afterwards in Sant Antoni de Vilamajor……………

Potatoes in Catalunya

~ Kate Wilson ~ 4 Comments

Yes!  They are ready!
It was very exciting to go to the hort on Monday, armed with a new fork with red prongs, and start exploring around the now very bushy plants.
Suddenly there were potatoes – lots of them!  Both varieties did very well – Charlotte and Pentland. Of course I forgot to label which rows were which (is anyone that organised?) but I am pretty sure the Charlottes are on the left and the Pentlands on the right.

Is there anything more satisfying than digging up your own potatoes?
Yes there is – eating them!

Lightly boiled, slathered in salty butter and garnished with mint from the terrace.
We had salmon and broad beans and a bottle of wine to accompany them
In the sunshine on the terrace – bliss.

 And in case you are missing Bonnie here she is today – a seasoned traveller now on the trains. We went to Cardedeu for our Spanish conversation hour and she was please to find another dog further down the carriage – that’s why she looks so concentrated.

It’s Friday – time for Virtual Vermut!

~ Kate Wilson ~ 1 Comment

It is Friday evening and I am wondering how to catch up with all that has happened in the last three weeks, for it has been a strange and busy time. Apart from the potato update I think I left you floating in paradise, at Sant Nicolau, in mid April.
Since then the weather has changed – several times – and I have flown to Scotland and back and both Bonnie and I have been ill. There have been festivals – Sant Jordi and May Day and now it is Ascencio.
What about a Vermut while I tell you some stories?

I flew to Glasgow for a Scottish wedding and had a wonderful time seeing family, at last having something to celebrate after the last sad year since my brother died.
I love Glasgow Central station

 Bonnie stayed here in Granollers and it was lovely to return from my trip and have her meet me at the station. But I noticed almost immediately there was something wrong with her. She was too hot, a bit subdued, off her food.  The week before she had been attacked by several ticks. Probably picked up after we walked the same path as some sheep – or it could have been the goats – who knows – they are hard to avoid here

 I took her to the vet and was shocked to find her blood tests showed extremely low platelets and aenemia.  Erlichiosis – a tick borne parasitic infection of the blood.
She had to stay in hospital overnight – she was too tired and weak to protest. Very scary but so good to have the wonderful Lauro Vets so close to home. It is 24 hour with an animal hospital and vets who speak English!  I know I can communicate in Catalan but in an emergency – it was so good.

 The antibiotics started to work very quickly and late the next day she was able to come home

 I decided to change her onto a raw meat diet and since then have been scouring the shops for cheap meaty chunks that she can gnaw through like a wolf. And liver and tripe and other strange things.

I had come home to sunshine in Granollers and the day that Bonnie went to hospital was Sant Jordi – the Catalan patron saint of lovers. The streets were filled with stalls selling books

 or roses – here’s my lovely friend Azucena helping out on a stall.

Normally I love this festival but this one was rather over shadowed for me.
I just wanted Bonnie home and safe.
Somehow living here in a strange land makes us even more close- she is always there for me

 Friends arrived from France, seeking sunshine and warmth.  No sooner had they settled in than the skies darkened and the rain started.  And I came down with flu. Fever and chills and body pains and weakness. Bonnie and I stayed at home together, resting and recovering.
Finally we all felt strong enough to go to the beach

 It was cold and windy but the Ona restaurant at Premia del Mar never lets you down. Lovely food and they are always so welcoming to dogs.  We sat inside of course!  Then had a refreshing walk.

Suddenly it was May 1st

 here mainly celebrated as the day of the workers but for me always a pagan celebration of spring.
But it was still raining!

Finally the weather changed in time for our boat trip to watch seabirds. We went from Badalona on the Quetx they have bought and restored and now use for sailing lessons

 We didn’t see too many birds, not compared to trips on the Scillonian, but it was peaceful to be out there on the sea on a calm and sunny day.
And now it is almost time for my birthday – it looks like it will be raining again from the forecast but I got used to that when I was young – Scottish bulls aren’t bothered by a bit of weather!


Back in Sant Nicolau

~ Kate Wilson ~ 3 Comments

I am back in Sant Nicolau.
It’s a wonderful feeling to drive up the AP7 and see the mountains in the distance, getting closer, until at last you see Mare de Deu del Mont and seemingly beside it, but actually much farther away, the peaks of Canigo, covered in snow even though it is April.

Then the drive down the bumpy sandy lane, through the woods until the sanctuary of Sant Nicolau comes into view.  Getting out of the van there is a smell of pine and herbs and a cuckoo is calling.
Dogs come out to greet you first. Bob is a deeply satisfying mountain of a dog with gentle eyes and large strong paws which he folds one over the other when he is lying down. Lucy is steady and solid and calm. And at the moment there is another guardian of the house – Nero is waiting to be rehomed in Germany and is having the best time of his life so far, chasing balls in the garden here.
Bonnie made an instant friend. They have a shared love of chasing balls

We arrived and settled in and just as I felt myself start to relax completely, Bonnie got sick. She’d been off her food and slightly peaky for days but that first night she began vomiting and was getting very thirsty and troubled.
So off to the vet the next day who diagnosed gastroenteritis – an inflammation of the whole digestive system. We went to the Canis vets in Figueres who were wonderful and calming for my anxious nerves. I hate it when an animal is sick and with Bonnie I am especially good at worrying and catastrophising. It is almost a year since Blue died here and I want to believe that Bonnie is still  young and strong but she will be 11 in June!
Several injections and a few pills later she began to perk up and we drove to the sea to cook up some white rice and chicken for her invalid lunch in the van. She was very hungry – it had been three days since she had a proper meal.
We stopped at Roses, parked beside a little sandy beach and went for a walk along the rocks

It was lovely but oh dear, look at that hill covered in houses and flats. They are so tightly packed in together that you feel dizzy looking at them. However often I see the  coast-line developments here, I can’t stop myself asking “How could they do that to such a beautiful place?”  I actually feel it was criminal. Money and greed must have been the motivation and the extreme beauty of the beach and the sea only makes the ugliness of the buildings more painful.
However, it was a great day. The sun was shining and Bonnie got stronger and happier by the minute.
The sea was a little too cold even for me to swim in but the sun is shining and the birds are singing lustily at the Mas.   Cuckoo  cuckoo cuckoo cuckoo cuck!

Virtual Vermut

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments

I’ve needed a few actual vermuts this week.

It was the sort of week you dread in advance and then when it’s taken step by step – poc a poc – it isn’t so bad.  But I was feeling a bit on the edge – easily irritable – could it be the Spring?  That seems to be the explanation for most things at the moment.

We got our potatoes in at last.

For the first time I have planted some in sacks on the terrace and the rest of them are in four rows in a large allotment in Llica D’Amunt.

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee
And live alone in the bee loud glade

Marc, the owner, has lots of vegetables growing there down by the river Tenis, with a chicken run and cherry blossom trees. Bonnie had to be stopped from digging holes – she seems to have forgotten how to behave on a vegetable patch or perhaps she was just over-excited

In 90 days we should be eating our own Charlottes and Pentland Javelins.

Early one morning Bonnie was unusually restless and something in her little plaintive whines made me decide to get up and actually take her out rather than just open the door to the terrace.  It was 6am. She led me rapidly through the empty streets, down to the New Park

A dog with a mission. Once there she found some grass and began to munch. It was fascinating how she chose which bits to eat and which to reject. Pure instinct

If we were sitting down now to share a drink I might tell you stories about the family party we had at the weekend. We had planned a barbecue on the terrace and even though it was cloudy and threatening rain, we went ahead. It wasn’t cold – just a little breezy. But so lovely to be outside. Somewhere along the line we had forgotten that not everyone likes to sit outside on a cloudy day in early Spring. There were lots of complaints. And I drank lots more vermuts to keep myself smiling!
These are calçots!

The celebration?  Funnily enough this year both father and son have significant birthdays.
The resident adolescent is now officially an adult.
We are watching closely for signs of the change.
I made three cakes – two of them were disasters as the sponges rose very high in the oven and promptly collapsed on coming out. For the third I gave up the idea of cake and instead made chocolate brownies at the last minute.  In the fridge were chocolate candles given to the boy by a friend – one 1 and one 8. Unfortunately by the day of the party he had nibbled off half of the 8 and so we had a cake for a 13year old!

The birds are beginning to pair up.  I’m looking out for swallows.
People are starting to talk about Spring!  And when they say “La Primavera” they say it with a twinkle in the eye. It means much more here than sprouting potatoes and budding trees

Bonnie met her friend Azlan in the park -it’s good to see her so happy.

There is certainly something in the air. something explosive and strong. For me it meant having to hold my tongue on several occasions when I felt frustrated.  I need to be out of the city – somewhere  I can ‘live in the bee loud glade’. Perhaps not alone but certainly away from the constant presence of computers games and crisp packets, disinterested shop assistants, piles of rubbish on the ground and shops full of bored unfriendly people buying more clothes.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings
There midnight’s all a glimmer and noon a purple glow
And evening’s full of the linnets wings