Do You Know Where We're Heading.....

Looks like Autumn's on its way: thick, woolly cloud lying across the valley floor this morning at 08:00, when our newcomer, Harry, woke me with a yelp.  It took a few hours to dissipate, though the sun came out before then and the heat began its inexorable climb into the usual double-figure twenties.

We've had Grandsprog Hamish with us over the past week, so J has been out with him every day, taking in beaches, bars and swimming pool, swimming pool and......swimming pool. The latter, as you can probably guess, proved to be a particular hit, his preferred option on virtually a daily basis:

 Slowly gaining confidence, getting the hang of it!

He has returned to West Wales, as school term is about to restart. J is back in London for about 12 days or so, leaving me here with Jack, Charlie & Harry. 

Harry is a Spanish street dog, but unfortunately no millionaire!  He was living wild in the village, spending most of his time scrounging from visitors to a local bar, where he also over-nighted under tables on the terrace. Until, of course, we - daft, soft Brits - turned up and took pity on him. About 6 months old (we think) he is quite bright, a mongrel with obvious local hunting dog in there somewhere, odd partly blue eyes, a piercing yelp and a liking for chewing things - especially Jack's ears!  He was Frontlined immediately on arrival, wormed and now will have a visit to the Vet for all the normal vaccinations, and the Rabies stuff!  Jack seems to quite enjoy his company - so far!!!! - although Charlie still appears to have his doubts:

Harry having a nap at the bar

My, those ears sure are tasty!

Hamish named him 'Harry' and decided he would be his dog here in Spain. A suitable compromise because our daughter, LVP, had been thinking about getting him a puppy!  Hamish seems perfectly happy with the whole idea. And so are we!

On the hill above and skirting the village are a network of water channels for irrigation purposes. Known as Acequias, these are popular with less-strenuous walkers/hikers and make for a pleasant trek around the place with some passable views at times over the surrounding countryside. They are largely over-looked by numerous Chestnut trees, which also provide a source of food for the locals and must once have played an important part in the local diet, as it traditionally did in the French Cevannes:

Jack always enjoys a paddle!

And Harry looks interested too

But one grubby, wet dog is enough for one day!

En route for the beach, we passed this marvellous pair of over-loaded, working Mules:

Down at the coast, there was a fairly noticeable warm, wind blowing in from Africa, creating surf and even waves. Hamish was not too sure about going in, and there was a red flag aloft, but  he was game to try a paddle with J:

Driving home, Hamish insisted that we stop and take a piccy of this beautiful Bougainvillea for his mother, LVP:

This seems to grow like wild and in great profusion hereabouts. 'Tis very pretty. J is interested in getting some - maybe we should have tried  purloining a few cuttings, though who knows whether it would work that way - might be too precious for such common treatment! We shall see!

I'm glad to report that we again have a resident lizard, a small/medium-sized Gecko: perfect for getting rid of flies in an environmentally friendly way:

Gordon the Gecko - who else!

Odd to say, I'm becoming used to things here in Spain again. It was never a favourite of mine but in general things seem to have improved significantly. Everything from food to the availability of fresh milk etc., make life better than we expected.  And it's still significantly cheaper than Sweden (where is not?), France and the UK! 'Tis, however, a pity that their wine is pretty ropey stuff when compared with its Froggo cousin across the border to the North. Ah, well....at least the Gin is still plentiful and cheap!