Mad Max

Well, at last, we seem to have some good news regarding Max. I have studied the internet a lot, and I am quite certain that he had the right diagnosis (not that I am a vet!). Apparently these types of abcesses are very difficult to treat. Now, at last, he has finished with his anti-biotics, and is just taking a course of osteoporosis tablets. As you can see from the video, he is no longer lethargic, and Paddy has got his playmate back again.

Pretty Almonds

Well, the poor almond trees that John hacked to within an inch of their lives, have tried to flower again! The one's that got a really good cut, have only got a few new growths, but those he did first (more cautiously) have still got a lot of branches on, and so are full of flowers. As there are so many branches missing, they are fuller than last year. They look really wonderful. Next year, those that got the sharper cuts will look good too. I am hoping that we will go for a ride into the mountains in the next few days, to see the almond groves. They were truly spectacular last year, but I didn't have my camera with me. I will be more organised this time!

Poor Max - again

Max still hasn't recovered from his abcess. This week, we have had to take him back to the vet's again. She checked very carefully, and the abcess is behind his right eye. This time, she gave him a very big dose of a much stronger anitbiotic, and we have to continue with the tablets for a longer period too. We have to take him back in 10 days, so she can see how he had improved. Poor thing. He gets well for a few days, then goes downhill again. This morning, Ed put his tablets in his food as usual. He is very good at just eating them, along with his dinner, as they are fed a mixture of hard 'biscuit type' food, as well as soft tinned food. However, for some reason today, Paddy decided to eat Max's breakfast! Oh no. Max's tablets. Ed chased Paddy off Max's breakfast, and found that Paddy had found Max's 3 tablets in his dinner, and had simply spat them back out, at the edge of his bowl! Ed mixed them back in, and gave it to Max, who simply ate the whole lot as normal! Very Funny!

Windy

The terrible winds throughout France and Spain reached us too, but not in such great strength, thankfully. Near Benidorm, there was a huge fire, started when 3 big pylons collapsed. 14,000 people had to be evacuated. Much nearer to us, one of the people from my night classes had a tree fall into his garden, and (worse) 3 of his trees fell onto a neighbouring property. Thankfully, the damage to that house was just superficial.

We have used this opportunity to get rid of some of the pine trees in our front garden. A quick count yesterday, put the figure at 65! Although there are some big ones, many of them are still quite small. They are very bedraggled, as the light is not getting to them properly. Technically, we are supposed to get permission to take pine trees down, as there is very little forestry in Spain. However, I don't think anyone will notice of only 10 of them go missing! Ed is so efficient, it is just 1/2 hour, from growing, to being stacked on the log pile.

FIRE

There have been terrible winds throughout north Spain and France for the last few days. So far, we have not been affected very badly. We have had a small pine tree blown over and had to chase around the garden for the patio furniture, but nothing drastic. Tonight, on the way home from the supermarket, I spotted a mountain fire, about 5 miles from us, to the east. The photo is not very good, but this was taken from our balcony. You will have to click on it, to see it properly. The fire appeared to be in 2 places, and Ed suspected that it had been caused by an electricity cable coming down. Very unnerving for the people that live on that side of town.Thankfully for us, the wind was blowing in the right direction for it not to worry us.

Canals Bonfire

On the way back from Xativa, we called in at Canals, to see the bonfire. There were still building it as we arrived and many of the locals were very enthusiastic about the contruction. It is very different to in the UK. Building a bonfire in England usually entails a level of secrecy, so that it isn't torched early, or critisism levelled at the contruction! Here, everyone was happily watching, in anticipation of the main event. I asked when the fire was actually due to be lit, but it was on the Friday, and Tim had to return on the Wednesday. Although classed as the 'biggest bonfire in the world', this was a title from many years ago. However, Tim was quite amused by just how close the fire was to the houses and church.

Xativa Castle with Tim

We strolled up there on Tuesday afternoon, and discovered that after 2pm, on a Tuesday, there is no entry fee. Bless him, he was suprisingly enthusiastic for a petrol-head and certainly seemed to enjoy himself. Sadly, he was only with us for 2 1/2 days, but hopefully it won't be too long before he comes out again.