No photos today – sorry but it’s been a day of doing last minute things and I’m only writing here to let you know we are setting off for Catalunya tomorrow and although I am very nervous (about what? not sure really but just General Fears) I am also ready to go.
I’m hoping for time to write a little on the way down – Blue is going to do some guest posts about her first trip ‘abroad’.
The van is packed, the tickets bought and the first dog friendly hotel is booked.
The weather is awful – all day it has teased us with sunshine and then soaked us as we trudged across the field carrying last things up to the cabin.
I have moved in with my lovely neighbours who have helped and supported me in so many ways throughout this process. My own empty and echoing house was beginning to feel very weird – for me but also for the dogs who wandered from room to room looking forlorn before sinking down in sad heaps on the cold concrete floors. So we moved out and have been sleeping better and breathing in normality with my friends.
Today there were a stream of visitors to say goodbye – to Blue! After 15 years in Lamorna she has many friends both human and canine. Many of her old dog companions have died and she is one of the last of her generation. People came bearing gifts for the journey – homemade treats, biscuits, marrowbone markies. Last photos were taken. Hugs and kisses accepted with a regal sigh. Blue cares deeply about those she loves but she doesn’t like to be fussed over.
Time to sleep now and tomorrow off we go on a great adventure – vuelvo al sur!
Vuelo al Sur
como se vuelve siempre al amor
vuelvo a vos
con mi deseo. con mi temor
goodbye
Goodbye
Today is a very sad day. My old cat – a beautiful ginger angel called Dandelion – died. It was sudden, or rather it wasn’t expected. He was over 17 but a gentle giant with a huge heart and still totally in charge of the house and gardens. Only last week he saw off a neighbours cat with fierce yowls and a commanding presence. He died today after only 24 hours of seeming poorly. He had rarely been off the land, always protecting his family and his patch and perhaps twice taking the trip to Penzance to the vet where he behaved with impeccable manners as always. He was the sort of cat who would open his mouth for pills if they were deemed necessary. He never used a litter tray in his life preferring to go outside whatever the weather and however he might be feeling.
He arrived here 15 years ago on a stormy night in November. Blue was a puppy and she sounded the alarm – CAT IN DISTRESS!!! Outside high in the branches of a hawthorn tree was perched a ginger cat meowing for help. Once inside the house he quickly settled down to eat and sleep and never left again.
Many people have known and loved him, seen him for the special soul that he was and come to pay homage. One friend named him the Dalai De Mandolin. Like all beloved creatures he had many secret names, whispered into his soft red fur as he purred his pleasure and gave back love.
He never scratched or hurt a human. He could attack an invading dog or cat but when two new kittens joined the household 12 years ago he allowed himself one soft growl and then took them under his wing. He had always been a rabbit hunter and with two more mouths to feed and young ones to initiate, his daily kills trebled in number. We had to fit new doors to the porch to avoid waking every morning to more gory gifts.
Today he lay in peaceful calm and took his last journey asking only for our companionship. He didn’t need help – he knew what to do and a couple of hours after padding into a dark and cool clothes cupboard, he was gone.
A writer called Derek Tangye used to live near my house in Cornwall and he once told me that when big changes are happening in your life, sometimes your animals chose not to come with you along the new road. He believed that they know when is the time to arrive and when to leave. and if we trust them and don’t get in their way, they will follow their instincts quite naturally.
So here I am, in my empty zen house, preparing to move my life south to Catalunya, and saying goodbye and thank you to a great lion of a cat whose spirit is now roaming free. Who knows where he will turn up next or who he will be? Dandelion – I will be looking out for you.