Friday Smiles 2023: Week 21

Well we were promised a change of weather and we sure got one. But I am starting with a couple of photos taken at the end of last week when the sun was still shining and the sky was blue. (I thought last week's post was long enough so I saved these for this week).

I took a slow wander round the village as I wanted to get pictures of the entrance to our road, where the major make-over is now complete. A while ago I showed how they were making low walled 'garden' areas along the sides of the main road and slip road that pass along the front of the village, and they went on to make islands at several turn-off points, and covered them with artificial grass. Now all the work is complete, they have finished it off by placing knee-high lights on the central islands, and at the end of our road which is the main entrance to the village they have erected three flag poles. The green and white flag is the flag of Andalucía, the central one is of course the Spanish flag, and the purple one with three gold fleur de lis on it is the flag of Los Gallardos. They looked good all fluttering in the wind.

Then on a smaller island in front of these, there is a stone base to which has been attatched a metallic copy of Los Gallardos coat of arms. It has made it all look very smart, and made the traffic on our entrance much easier too.

As an added bonus the jacaranda trees were still in bloom, though you can see they are starting to drop their petals now. There is a line of them all along the slip road and they are so very pretty. I love their colour and the delicate way they bloom. Once the flowers are gone the trees break out in their lacy, delicate leaves and continue to look nice all summer.

I also saw some pomegranet bushes in flower. Their bright scarlett blooms really show up well against the dark green leaves.

Then everything changed. Starting on Sunday night, we had heavy rain, and it continued all through Monday and most of Tuesday. When we opened the front door on Monday morning to check non of our flower pots was under a water spout off the roof, we found this little lost soul on our door step.  She was dirty, soaked through, and shivering. I couldn't just leave her there so I took her in, sat her in a bowl of warm water and washed some of the dust and dirt off, and wrapped her up in a towel. I tried to get her to eat something but she refused both wet and dry food.

I knew she was 'snuffly' and probably not very well so I couldn't let her anywhere near my animals, but I phoned the vet and arranged to take her down there. She felt the little cat was older than I had first assumed and was just small and under-nourished. She said she would keep her overnight and do a blood test. The next day she rang to say that sadly the little one had tested positive for leukemia, and was unlikely to survive so we agreed to end her life straight away rather than make her suffer waiting to die naturally. It was sad, but I did all I could and at least we let her die with some dignity and feeling someone cared.

On Tuesday I had assumed there would not be much of a street market as everywhere was so wet, but when there was a break in the clouds, I went over just in case and I was able to buy some lovely fruit. I just love this time of year when all the summer fruits start appearing. I bought little apricots that ripen well in the fruit bowl, my first cherries of the year, and some of the squashed peaches called paraguyos. In the bowl at the back, and on the lower level of my fruit bowl,  I still have a few of the grapefruit that my friend at church gives me, plus some very late oranges, and some conference pears that are very hard and will probably need to be cooked. Delicious, all of them.

The rain and cooler days have continued all week but nothing like what we had a few days ago. Sadly some towns around us were hit much harder, with flooding, damage to property and cars, and even one death,  so we got off fairly lightly, and as I have said before, we really need that rain, though I'd rather it fell more gently. But we have plenty to keep us busy at home, and we know the sun will be out again soon, so we are not too upset by it.

And now it is time to link up wth Annie's Friday Smiles over on her blog. Do come over and join us there.

Friday Smiles 2023: Week 20

I bet you didn't expect to see this as my first photo of the week. It is not my picture, but one taken from our local news feed, and the place is Lorca, just a 20 minute drive down the motorway from us. It was taken on Sunday and it didn't actually snow on Sunday but they did have the mother of all hail storms which caused chaos on the main road.

Meanwhile, we did have a few heavy thunder storms and there was a grumbling in the hills all around us, but not too much rain, (and no hail stones!). Apparently there is a deep band of cold air sweeping through Europe and we are expecting weeks of cloudy days, intermittant storms, and much lower temperatures, maybe right through until mid-June. But we are not really complaining because in between the storms we get some lovely bursts of sunshine, and it certainly isn't cold - just colder than the insanely high temperatures we had last month. And for sure we really need the rain.

After a wet Friday night, Saturday dawned overcast and drizzly which was rather sad as it was the Fiesta for St Isidro, the patron saint of the agricultural workers and fishermen. But if Spain  is having a fiesta they are not daunted by the rain, so by mid-morning we heard the village band playing as they marched up the street to the church where there was a special mass.

Fortunately, by lunch time, the sun was out again and as folk came out of the church they formed a procession to walk up to the sports centre just across the rambla at the top of the village. This year the main cart, bearing a figurine of the Saint, was pulled by a very handsome matching pair of mules. Just look at those huge ears!

There were several more carts all prepared by families of local agricultural workers, and the parade ended with their lovely, and much loved horses, waiting outside the church for their turn to set off.

Chris and I drove up to the sports centre for see their arrival. We sat on the wall to wait for them and even managed a rare selfie of us both while we waited.

Eventually we saw them making their slow ramble down the steep road that crosses the rambla, through the tunnel under the main road, and out onto the final climb up to the centre. I found a spot to stand and take photos and here are some of the carts that came by.

Finally the last of the horses made it up the slope and were led to a shaded area to have a drink.

I do love to see the chidren all dressed up, and this little group were shown on the village Facebook page. Their families were obviously happy to have them posted on social media so I borrowed them to show on here.

Each family that had made a 'float', were given a box containing a ham, wine and cheese etc, presented by the mayor and his assistants.

Traditionally the general public bring a picnic and gather in family groups in the area provided for this, but this year they were discouraged from using the on-site barbecues because everywhere is so dry.

But as well as the food brought from home, there is a giant paella cooked during the morning and handed out in huge portions, free of charge, to anyone who chooses to join the queue. When we went up there the vat was filled with a mustardy yellow liquid in which mussels, octopus, tiny sausages and other such things were cooking. One man was adding lots of salt while another was continually stirring with a long ladle. It didn't look particularly appetising at this point.

On the table beside them there were five large boxes of rice to be added as soon the temperature was right.

We are not great fans of paella, though the San Isidro one, is one of the best ones I have tried, but on this occasion we decided not to wait for it to finish cooking, as the black clouds were again gathering and I had a long line of washing out that I knew would be dry, so we went home and had our own lunch once the washing was safely in. But here is  a picture from the news feed of the finished pan and they do make it look really nice. I am sure it was all eaten and enjoyed before the rains came again.

On Monday I felt the need to try and walk a little so I went over to the bank and the bread shop. As I took a short cut home across the muddy car park I saw a big puddle that hadn't yet drained away, and it was crowded with a great flock of house martins, easily recognised by their bright, white rumps. They were drinking, or gathering wet mud to build up their nests, but they all took off as I approached them. I waited for a while, but only one little soul was brave enough to return, and he didn't seem to mind me watching him at all.

Having sucessfully sorted out our corner fountain, Chris turned his attention to the water feature inside the fly-free porch. He got it cleaned out and working a bit, though both fountains need new pumps and we will look into getting them soon. I also went to the garden centre and bought a couple of plants to give the feature a bit of life. I bought a pink geranium, a green fern and a trailing succulent.

Here they are in place on the feature, with my bright red crown of thorns just at the side.

Yesterday I had an appointment at an office in Almeria, with an open time of 9.00-13.00. We decided to aim for the earliest we could to avoid too much waiting around so I set my alarm for 7.00 and was up just in time to catch this lovely sunrise.

As we drove along the motorway towards Almeria, the road was lined with broom bushes. It was everywhere and made a lovely sight with its bright colour.

In some areas it had spread right across the campo making a sea of gold. The photos are not too good as I took them through the car window, and on the motorway there is little chance to slow down to take photos.

It was a good trip. We barely had to wait at all, and once our business was completed we stopped at the large shopping mall where we park the car, and had a wander. Chris bought me a very nice summer dress and a smart Tee-shirt for himself. We looked around the supermarket which is at least four times larger than the largest one near us, and picked up a couple of treats that we wouldn't normally be able to buy, and we were home again by lunch time.

And that is about it for this week. So I will make sure this is ready to publish in the morning and link up with Annie's Friday Smiles.

Friday Smiles 2023; Week 19

Like many of you I suspect, my week started in front of the TV on Saturday to watch the coronation. I am not ususally in front of the TV during the daytime, but I didn't want to miss such a historic occasion. Leo took the opportunity to have a comfy resting place between my legs and he laid there for ages, watching the movement on the screen, though he did look at me when he heard me use my camera. Canyou see that he still likes his little teddy which is well chewed and sucked on now.

I do think UK does that kind of ceremony very well, and I enjoyed watching it. We also enjoyed the Sunday night concert from Windor. It was a varied, well-balanced programme and I enjoyed it much more than the one they put on for the Queen's jubilee.

Most of my photos this week are from the garden again, starting with this succulent 'shrub', which suddenly produced tiny pink flowers all over it. It has only done this once or twice before so the conditions must have been just right for it this year. It is another little surprise that pleased me. It pleased the bees and other insects too as they are busy around it all day.

And on the subject of surprises, last week I showed you the lovely cacti that is blooming all down the slope to the green zone at the back of our house. I mentioned its lovely peachy, yellow flowers, so imaging my surprise when the next day it was covered with  bright, deep red flowers! I have no idea why or how this happened. They still only lasted for a day, and the next day they were back to their original colour. Here are the two shots taken on consecutive days to show the difference. And it wasn't just these flowers;it was all the flowers on the whole trailing plant.

Our 'Bird of Pradise' tree is again in flower. We pruned this almost down to its bare trunk in the Autumn and it obviously did it good. I love the long stamens on these flowers.

Out in the back garden, the pelergonium I planted in the new corner garden last year, has flourished and it is looking beautiful right now.

And in the next planter we have a rose. I planted it there because it was quite small and slender so I thought it might cope with being in a confined tough. But it actually has surprisingly big, full flowers. The petals are smaller than on the tea roses out at the front, but there are a lot of them and it is very pretty.

Last Friday we went shopping and in Lidls they had a good dispaly of flowers and plants. I realised it was because Sunday was Mother's Day here. But just because we liked it, we bought this rather beautiful white hydrangea. Normally they are streaked with yellow or green, but this is a really pure white. We have put it in the front garden in a bigger pot and I am hoping it will keep its flowers for a while.

I thought this was quite interesting. We both love ginger, so I almost always have a couple of pieces of root ginger in the fridge. But if it gets too cold it can go wet in a plastic bag, and unwrapped it dries up and wrinkles, so this time I decided trying to store it in the fruit bowl. Well when I came to use some, I found it had started growing. That has never happened before, so I cut off the growing tuber and have planted it outside. I have no idea whether it will grow, but I will try to remember to check on it now and then.

Chris has cleaned out the little fountain so we can run it again, and replaced the missing pipe so it has four spouts at last. Lots of insects dip down for a quick drink, and this year there have been some little birds coming to it as well, which is what I hoped for. Obviously the cats are a threat to them, but they haven't bothered with them so far. Leo loves water and we have seen him trying to pat at the water in the pool though it is just out of his reach. I can see him falling in one day.

Leo is six months old tomorrow so I have had to start letting him go outside a bit, though I keep an eye on where he is, and make sure he is back inside before the sun goes down. He is very inquisitive and playful so nothing is safe!

The house next door, that overlooks our pool area, is empty for most of the year, though Dolores, who owns it, does come for a month in July most years. It is a two story house and just  under the roof there are a few of what we think are ventilation holes, and the little house sparrows come and nest in them each year, and we like to watch them coming and going to feed their babies, and then to see the fledgelings take their first shaky flights. Well maybe there was no room left this year, because one little bird started to build a nest on the windowsil of one of the bedrooms, behind the rejas (black railings). It started off as a small, untidy pile of dried grass and twigs, but they have worked on it all week and now it is a large, very untidy pile of dried grass and twigs! I have never seen such an untidy nest, but the birds visit frequently so hopefully there will be eggs and then babies very soon. It is a bit vunerable for the high winds we get some afternoons, and offers little protections should we get the storms that they are promising us for this weekend. And as it is so open, it is easy prey for the magpies and starlings who are known to steal eggs and baby chicks, but we are hoping this one will survive.

Although I said it was my last batch before the summer, I have sold all the picallili I made, so I decided to make one more lot. Last night I cut up all the vegetables and left them in salt over night, and today I cooked and bottled it. I usually put Leo out in the sitting room and porch when I am busy, but today I let him come in the kitchen and Tolly was in there. They 'play-wrestled' for ages. Leo is very brave and is not deterred by Tolly's greater size. He leapt onto him, and got his ears cuffed over and over again, but he just kept going back for more. It reminded me of how Tolly tormented Tango when he was little. In the end Tolly got a bit annoyed so I separated them, but it is the first time I have seen them interact like that. I was too busy stirring my pan to take many photos but I did catch this one.

And now I am ready to publish this and link to Annie's Friday Smiles.

Friday Smiles 2023: Week 18

And so Friday has come round again already, and I am left wondering where my week went! It has been a pleasant week, warm but a bit hazy, so it was nice to sit outside without feeling too hot, and I have sat outside to eat my lunch each day. Chris sits out for much longer than me but I have a long, long list of cards etc that I want to make before my trip to UK which according to my son Ben is only 13 weeks away now, and we all know haw fast those weeks can fly by.

I am considerably more mobile now, though I can't walk too far, and my shoulder is really only painful when I lie down at night. So I have been getting as much done as I can.

We had our church Annual general Meeting on Tuesday at the local camp site and it was a good meeting with some important roles filled and several new faces on the PCC. After the meeting most of us stayed and enjoyed lunch together which made a nice change.

The garden continues to bloom in the spring sunshine. I have shown you this before I know, but it is so beautiful. It is a type of cacti, commonly called 'Chumba' and this is an ornamental one which survived the ravages of the white fly that almost wiped out the more common varient a few years ago, and which is only just coming back.  But this one continues to thrive and it pours over the edge at the back of our neighbour's garden and tumbles into the green zone. For just a few weeks it is covered in beautiful flowers.They open yellow and gradually turn pink and end up quite a deep orangey pink as they die at the end of the day. The next day loads more open up so it is always smothered in flowers and the bees just love it. You can see one in the far left flower in my close-up picture. The buds are packed as tightly all over it as is possible.

On Wednesday we had a fun time at our sewing group as we had a sort of celebration for the coronation. Lots of us managed to wear red , white and blue in some form and there were several hats though these had mostly been discarded by the time the photos were taken. I don't do hats at all, but I did find a red ribbon bow to clip in my hair. And I am wearing a white top with a blue skirt. Here I am with my friend Ann. One of the ladies went around taking individual or small group photos and she caught us. 

I just took group photos of each table but with the big windows at the front of the hall, the colours are not too good. I managed to sell 30€ worth of picalilli, and you can see the last couple of jars in front of me on our table. They too were sold by the end of the morning.

This is Selina who has run the group with her sister Gloria eversince it started. She is such a clown and is always ready to dress up to make us laugh. 

Some of the ladies baked lovely cakes and cookies for us to eat with our coffee/tea, but we had all visited this table before the photo was taken. It made for something a bit different and we all had a good time.

It seems like a long time since we had a sunset worthy of merit, and already it is around 9.30 before the sun goes right down so I am settled inside by then and miss it. But last night we noticed the sky was a bit pink outside the sitting room window, This is the opposite direction from the sunset, so it is only reflected colour in the clouds, but I went out the back and managed to get a couple of pitures. It had passed its best but the lighting was soft and pretty.

And with that I will prepare this to link with Annie's Smiles and publish it in the morning.