Winter Fruit.....

We received an email from our neighbours in Sweden yesterday confirming that it was snowy but relatively mild and our house was in fine fettle. Monica has salvaged a Pomello tree we've had in a huge pot for over 30 years from the house and is keeping it safe in her farmhouse. This is a relief to J who had been worried that it would have inevitably died in the extreme cold of an empty house a few hundred miles from the Polar Circle, where the view will probably be like this from the front porch at this time of year:

But here in Spain it's still blue skies and sunshine although the temperatures must have dropped to below zero overnight because there was a ground-frost in the field behind the house this morning when I surfaced at just before 09:00, having been dragged from bed by Jack who wanted out for a Pee, followed by breakfast.

Yesterday we stoped at road-seller's fruit stall where he had Oranges, Avocados and these strange fruits: Chirimoyas, or Custard Apples, in English. He gave us one to try and we bought a couple. Luscious and interesting taste, bananaish in parts. Apparently they grow prolifically on the coast and are widely available from October through winter. They originate in Latin America, it seems.




Having bought these, and driving home from a shopping expedition in the lovely town of Salobrena, we atopped to collect some Almonds from a few bushes and then came home to watch a DVD of 'The Killing'. It was strange to listen to the Danish language; we understood a surprising amount!

J Almond picking in the hills above the Med:

And we found this lovely White Rabbit gambolling in a village garden, well fenced, not far from the house yesterday morning:

Although it was warm on the Costa Tropical, the high peak of Mulhacin is coated in snow, with more forecast over the next few days. This suits and pleases J who hopes to get some skiing in over at the resort of Pradollano, near Granada:

Salobrena is a delightful, hilltop town with an old Arabic castle at its top. It was the first time we'd done the tourist thing and it was truly lovely and worth the effort:

Today has been a day of progress, of sorts: Panda arrived at the door looking for food this morning and after I'd gone out and fed her and her mother, plus one other, followed me back to the house and into the Entrada/Hallway. She stayed in for about 15 minutes or so, prowling around, sniffing, rubbing her scent glands against bits and bobs and generally being quite friendly and curious. She even rubbed against me, head-banging my hand a couple of times. All unexpected but welcome. I only hope that Charlie is not upset by the scent when he returns later!:

Have a Great New Year.