mushrooms

Ordis Cats

~ Kate Wilson ~ 3 Comments

It was a sunny afternoon so I prised myself off the sofa where I was quite happy with wine and the newspaper, and walked to Ordis. It is the nearest village and could be described as peaceful, or quiet, or even dead!  I saw noone all the time we wandered around  the streets. the church clock struck one quarter, then two, then three and not a curtain twitched or a door creaked open.
But the best bit of Ordis is the abandonned house where the cats live

There were kittens too

They do seem well and healthy and there were the usual plastic containers lying around showing that someone feeds them all regularly

I am in love with this kitten

If only we could!  I tried to imagine it living in Granollers, with a cat tray on the terrace and a flap in the door leading outside. But what about when we go to the UK?  Who would look after her?  I don’t think I could manage driving up through France with a dog and a cat on leads in the camper van.
I must wait till we live somewhere proper, in the countryside with neighbours who can come in and stroke and feed cats.
On the way home I met another mushroom hunter

That’s the word for it here in the Girona region. People go to caçar bolets.  We had a very long chat in Catalan. If I am honest she did most of the talking and clearly thought I was fluent. I smiled and frowned at all the right places and did understand about 50% but the other half was totally lost on me. She was a lovely woman and lives in Ordis. I was able to ask her about the cats house. Unfortunately I didn’t really understand the answer.
A lovely sky as we got close to home.

Back on the sofa now with wine and the newspaper!

Walking in the woods

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments

It is Friday morning in Sant Nicolau. I took Bonnie for a walk down the lane.
First we met Bob, a great dog who was lost then found his new home here

As we walked further we were joined by Lucy

More and more she reminds me of Blue – her spotty nose and paws, her solid and comforting presence. She and Bonnie have sometimes been a bit suspicious of each other but slowly, given time, they have become, if not yet friends, pleasant companions.
We met a man with a huge basket filled to the brim with mushrooms and then another – same story!

At these moments it is a joy to be able to speak Catalan and have a friendly chat.
Mushroom hunters seem a little like wood workers – friendly quiet spiritual sort of people.
Then we were joined by Paddy and Trixie who bounded out of the woods to find us

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home across the field, smelling the wild rosemary and the thyme

One of the best things about walks in Catalunya – the magnificence of herbs growing along the paths

 

Back home and Bob was waiting for us


La Molina

~ Kate Wilson ~ 1 Comment

We took the train from Canovelles Granollers Nord on Saturday, risking snow and freezing temperatures to go to the mountains to look for mushrooms.
Ah the mushroom hunt!  It always takes place in wooded areas and you can’t walk along the main pathes but must bend and twist under branches and through thickets.
All very slowly!
For me it is an act of love to go along as I want to walk fast and forward, especially when it is so cold.  I don’t think I am a natural mushroom hunter and I am not crazy about eating them either.
But the colours were lovely

 The area around La Molina where we got off the train was almost deserted

 Except for fierce looking cows with large horns which would appear as if from nowhere to scare us

 The town itself is hardly a village and almost all the houses were shuttered up as it’s not skiiing season yet. I suppose this is what a resort looks like in the low/dead season

 There were three lonely cafes open and when we went into the one by the station we were the only customers.  When we came back to catch the train home the temperature had dropped radically and the station was as totally empty as the town. For about 20 minutes I considered the prospect of being marooned there – freezing to death without even a hotel or a taxi to save us.  But the train arrived and we were warm at last and Bonnie slept all the way back.
Bonnie had a lovely day and we found many mushrooms, some of which we ate on getting back home…..and survived.

And there was a Dolmen -always a nice reminder of Cornwall.   Next post will be more on the mushroom theme but here are some crocus I found on the way – such a surprise!