A partial victory.

A partial victory over technology. After much effort the satellite link has been momentarily restored and we've managed to connect with Blogger . As if by magic (and some less than gentlemanly expletives while waiting for something to happen) one photograph of Wilf's smiling face has appeared . The other photos of Paris and of Digby that were posted at the same time have evaporated into the ether. The problem seems to be with the Italian satellite provider whose service alternates between the merely mediocre to downright awful - the uplink speed needed for posting has slowed to a sub-snail pace.
Paris was at its most beautiful. Sunny, warm, and the gentlest of breezes which made walking an absolute delight. This time I stayed,as I do when I'm not on business, at the Pavillon de la Reine on place des Vosges - without a doubt one of the most beautiful townscapes in Europe. When I got back home on Friday night the 'font' and I had a long discussion about which city we prefer - Paris or Rome. Paris is beautiful, stylish, chic and in the Haussmann planned arrondissements very,very formal. By contrast Rome is chaotic, unplanned, and its cultural jewels are scattered around with a casual disregard. The 'font' opted for Paris (could the shopping be something to do with it?) while I opted for Rome. The discussion as to whether French or Italian cuisine is the better is ongoing and unlikely to be resolved anytime soon.
Wilf and Digby are in fine fettle. Their welcome on Friday evening when I walked through the door was nothing short of ecstatic. A combined 45 kilo mass of fur, cold noses and pink tongues hurtled through the air at me as soon as they registered my presence.When the boyz get really excited their entire rear ends start to move independently of their front ends . The front legs move forwards but the back legs follow a strange trajectory that sweeps from side to side and up and down at one and the same time.After eight and a half years the 'font' and I still end up laughing out loud at their antics.
The move is now less than three weeks away. At breakfast this morning the 'font' handed me a sheet of paper and informed me that household effects can't be lumped together but need to be listed item by item for the removal company. What in heavens name are household effects? Who came up with that name? Anyway, there goes my Saturday morning.

Hunting lizards in the rosemary border.

Wilf did his triple barrel roll of delight on the grass when he saw me walking up to the gate.It was a swelteringly hot journey back from Rome but the roads were thankfully deserted and I made it back from the centro storico to the front door in an hour and a half. I'll blog about it all more tomorrow - suffice it to say that Rome is not an ideal August destination if you are having to wear a collar and tie. In the meantime here are some pictures of Wilf chasing lizards ( with a zero success rate ) in the rosemary border - we are all off for a long 'splosh' game down by the pool.

Home from London.

Just back from a hot and clammy London. The boyz are ready for an evenings ball throwing. Will post later after I've done my familial duty.

Zanzaras. You can take being 'native' too far.

It's all very well moving abroad to learn new ideas and develop fresh perspectives but you can take going 'native' too far. We are fortunate that we live on top of a hill and are far enough away from the flood plains of the Tiber to avoid being plagued by mosquitos. Last night was however an exception. It was unusually clammy and by nine in the evening we were being bothered by harvest flies and the tell tale buzzing of mosquitos - by the way the Italian for mosquito is zanzara a wonderfully onomatopoeiac word that sounds just like the saw tooth sound the little critters make. I am happy to douse myself in any anti-bug spray to keep them away- the more chemicals the better if it gives me peace and quiet. The 'font' however is on one of those spare the planet kicks at the moment so chemicals are a no-no. Instead of an aerosol of DDT we were treated to a rubdown with an evil concotion of garlic,lavender and rosemary oils. It was provided gratis by the local farmers wife who swears by it, having been tried and tested in her family for generations,her men folk (she says) go out into the fields by the river drenched in the stuff. Suffice it to say that the smell made me feel as though I was being prepared for roasting in the oven while the texture was so thick and rubbery that no mosquito would be able to get its probiscus through to the skin. I had a good long shower to get it off me and went to bed early. This is not a concoction that is going to find its way onto pharmacy shelves any time soon and I'm going back to spraying on Boots the Chemists finest agent orange preparation in future.

The boyz have had a fresh application of Frontline and new mosquito repellant collars to keep the bugs away from them. We are in an area where leishmaniasis is endemic so we try to keep them close to us at dawn and dusk when the insects are about. There is however no danger of them being bitten this morning - it's eight o'clock and already 28 degrees. They have settled down in the shade of the pine trees outside the house with a ball and are waiting patiently for the first visitor of the day to pester.

Manic paw licking.

For some reason Wilf has started to lick his back paws with what appears to be a manic determination. He does it every year at this time - so it must be some form of allergic reaction. Has anyone else come across this problem? I wash his paws in a saline solution twice a day but it has no effect whatsoever.

Up to the local bar this morning. At last the tourists have started to arrive much to everyones delight. The Dutch and the Danes seem to have returned to their annual routine of migrating en masse to southern europe. Not a moment too soon - the hotels and restaurants are decidedly empty. Even the very fancy hotel on the coast that is always full has sent us an e-mail offering 35% off a room for nights between now and mid-August. Last year we were only able to get in, after a cancellation, in mid-September.

Swine flu mania continues to sweep Italy. In the supermarket the aisles were full of large displays selling disinfectant, face masks,and medical hand gel.

The unhygienic toy.

I'm alone here while the 'font of all knowledge' is back in London seeing a back specialist. The two boyz proved to be excellent company yesterday making me chuckle away at their antics - they would follow me around in the certain knowledge that I'm quite incapable of looking after things. I'd have to say that they don't enjoy these really hot days. They both got a bit stir crazy being kept indoors out of the sun between noon and five and couldn't wait to get out onto the grass to chase lizards. Energetic sheepdogs penned up inside when its more than 100 degrees out is not a recipe for a quiet life.

Today, to make sure they sleep through the heat of the afternoon, I got the two of them up at four thirty ( as much of a surprise for me as it was for them ) and gave them a good walk in the cool pre-dawn air. Since then we've been playing with the disgusting soft ball they discovered on Sunday mornings walk. The stuffing is pouring out of it which makes it ten times as much fun as a clean, hygienic toy. They refuse to be separated from it - I'll quietly dispose of it while they are asleep.

We sat by the pool having breakfast and watching the flocks of swallows and house martins swooping down to within a fraction of an inch above the water to scoop up water. I read an amazing statistic:50% of American healthcare bills are incurred in the last 30 days of a persons life.

Ready for the new day

Another day, another set of adventures. Wilf and Digby greeted the new day with whoops of joy as they charged down the track to the village. I always used to think that a dogs repertoire of noises was restricted to barking. Not these two. Wilf who used to be the strong, silent type has belatedly joined his little brother in making all sorts of breathless squeaking noises when he gets excited.These vary in pitch and intensity depending on just how overwraught with delight he is. Discovery of a lizard occassions a mid level squeak, chasing a rabbit produces a combination of rumblings and squeaks, and greeting us on our return from a trip generates a cacophony of noises that make it sound as if he is being tortured with cattle prods. It goes without saying that Polish Lowland Sheepdogs don't make good hunting dogs - any prey can hear them coming a mile off.

I trimmed their hair again yesterday. Their ears were dragging in the water bowl when they drank so action was long overdue. We have now come to some form of human - canine agreement over grooming. In return for standing still for 2 minutes they will receive a hide chew - it seems to work well, even if it does mean that their grooming occurs 'little and often'.

Wilfs occasional musing : " To me, every hour of the day and night is an unspeakably perfect miracle"

Summer lazing - sheepdog style

It's been a relatively cool 32 degrees today which has meant that we have been able to work in the fields and the garden without burning up. The boyz have watched our activity with interest and every half an hour or so they will leave the shadow of the trees and come over to check that what we're doing doesn't involve food. Some of the new oak trees are having to be watered twice a day as they're definitely suffering from heat stress. Thankfully, the olives seem to be holding up pretty well after the scorching heat of the last three or four days. At this time of the year Wilfs allergies kick in - there must be something around, a pollen or particular type of dust, that causes him to bite his paws manically. The vet wants to give him a steroid injection but I'd prefer to treat it in a less aggressive way. We'll sit out under the stars until midnight tonight by which time the two troubadors will be so tired they'll sleep all the way through - allergies or not!

It's a hot one today.

Up and out at five this morning while it was still fresh. The grass seeds growing along the field boundaries are beginning to dry out and fall to the ground. Unfortunately, their sharp points get caught in the boyz fur when they go charging across the fields and can work their way painfully into the skin or ears. This is a reminder to us that we are now well and truly at that time of the year where the two boyz need a finger tip check after a walk to make sure they don't have any seeds that have got caught between their paws or behind their ears.The joys of long haired dogs.Thankfully, the sheep are grazing at the foot of the hill so ticks aren't much of a problem.

The temperature is set to rise to 36 today ( mid 90's) and we're still in May - what is August going to be like? Up in the local bar the hotel and guest house owners have woken up to the fact that their bookings from foreigners are way, way down from last years levels. One guest house has just added twenty new rooms and only has three reservations from overseas for mid July through mid August. Thankfully, the absence of foreigners is being compensated for by a rise in demand from Italians who are saving money by vacationing at home. The problem for the hotel owners is that locals are much more cost conscious , and prone to haggle, than the high margin Dutch and Brits.

Wilf out for a brief exploration in the sun

The day has been the scorcher that it promised to be on our morning walk. Faced with the heat the two boyz have sensibly spent much of the day asleep on the stone floors of the hallway. One of the big differences between Scotland and Italy is the internal furnishings of the house. In Scotland every room was carpeted, wallpapered and curtained. Here we have stone or terracotta floors, wooden shutters and painted or stone walls. The reason for the absence of all those trappings deemed essential in the north is of course the temperature - it would be a rare day in the Scottish summer when the mercury rose above twenty degrees. Here in Italy we've seen the thermometer register forty-two in the summer and it's usually in the mid to high teens at dawn. That's why the boyz activity sessions are restricted to before eleven in the morning and then after six at night - in other words they are allowed out when the sun is past its hottest.

Today we've used the tractor to cut a strip of grass around all the fences to keep snakes and porcupines from getting into the area round the house. As you'll see from the photo taken this afternoon everything in the valley is still beautifully lush and green after the heavy rainfall we had over the winter - in fact it looks more like Ireland than Italy. This emerald colouring won't last if the heat experienced today continues. Within a fortnight the fields will likely segue from green into the first yellows and ochres of the wheat harvest.

Wilf's morning thought:"The best way to cheer yourself up is to cheer someone else up".

Wilf's morning thought:"Whoever is happy will make others happy too".

Wilf's take on life :"The only way to have a friend is to be one".

Two decidedly unhappy boyz this morning. We set off for the morning walk at six, but had gone no more than three hundred metres when my ever observant partner noticed that the soft white sand along the farm track was covered in snake trails. There must be a large vipers nest somewhere in the long grass under the olives. This is the time of the year when the snakes are laying eggs or rearing their young and the sudden burst of warmth makes them decidedly feisty. For some reason it is impossible to buy the snake venom antidote in Italy - the two alternatives a dog owner here faces are either a trip to Switzerland where the antidote is still sold or a mad dash to the vet. We have a snake bite kit that requires you to pull out the poison using a vacuum plunger - I have zero faith that it would work. The boyz were quickly called back from their ramble and have been confined to the garden for their own safety. I've found some blogs like vetblog (http://www.tovet.blogspot.com/) and dogsdeservefreedom(http://www.dogsdeservefreedom.blogspot.com/) to be really helpful when faced with new and unexpected threats to our canine friends.

Wilf's occasional musing on life:"Each day comes bearing its own gifts.Untie the ribbons"

Wild lupins, strange plants, peace and quiet, and a slowly recovering Wilf.

The builders have gone with their tractors and forklift , the electricians make occasional and random brief appearances , and the long absent gardeners who went off for lunch a week ago never to return , tell us they will be back next week. In other words for the first time in months it is just us and the two boyz. Peace! Sweet, heavenly peace.

I've had a chance to look at the olives today. The wild lupins that we planted as a good eco crop to get nutrient back into the soil are now coming into bloom - I'm hoping that as they come into full flower we will have hectares of red underplanting to the olive groves within a week. It should look amazing and provide excellent feed for the local farmers cows come winter.

We've also started to notice some weird and wonderful blue and purple bulbs cropping up in strange places. I've never seen anything like them growing wild in Scotland. Thank you by the way to the highly intelligent reader who sent us the name of the white crocus like flowers - can you help us with these?.

Wilf is on the mend and will be having plain rice for dinner - hardly his favourite meal but after last nights antics probably the safest to calm his digestion. We are praying that everyhting is now calm, and that we will get a full nights sleep after being up and down with the problem tummy.

One Polish Lowland Sheepdog on the mend

Wilf's old tummy problem returns

After eight years of careful monitoring of what he eats we're still not sure what causes Wilfs bad stomach problems. He's always had a sensitive tummy but sometimes this translates into really bad attacks of colitis with what might politely be refered to as 'digestive disorders'. We were up at two this morning dealing with both ends of these disorders . Anyway, he's enjoyed a walk this morning , the echoing rumbling noises emanating from his stomach have calmed down and although a little green at the gills he appears to be improving.The problem seems to recur periodically about every three weeks.

Here in the village the local hotel owner is getting worried. He has added on twenty new rooms for the coming season and had a very succesful three days for the Italian May Day national holiday.Looking out for the coming summer the pre-bookings from foreigners simply haven't appeared. No Americans, no Dutch, no Belgians, no Brits and no Germans.I've tried to reassure him that people in the north are probably waiting until after mid-May to decide where they want to go and will be on the phone making reservations as soon as the warm weather reminds them its time to start planning their vacations . I hope I'm right.

Time to explore

Who in their right mind would have white long coated dogs? Leave the little darlings alone for two minutes and they reappear streaked,coated,matted and unkempt. It may have something to do with that deep rooted canine ability to find the muddiest part of the garden and choose that as their play spot of choice. For Wilf and Digby the arrival of the builders has opened up myriad new ways of having muddy dog fun. The tractors and fork lifts parked out in front of the house ( where they seem to have taken up permanent residence in the notable absence of the builders ) provide an excellent opportunity to find damp earth to roll in and dig. Today will be a major bath day in an attempt to redistribute some of the accreted mud that has formed on them over the last three weeks.

Here in Italy the top news story is the ongoing battle between the Prime Minister and his wife. Mrs.Berlsuconni has again written to the newspapers drawing attention to the upset caused to her peace of mind by her husbands wandering eye and penchant for promoting young ladies to his cabinet based on looks rather than experience.Anywhere else in Euope dirty washing of this kind would be a huge scandal - here it helps cement his popularity in the polls as a regular guy. All those killjoys who believe that the bureaucrats in Brussels will one day harmonize us all into pasteurised , standardized Europeans forget the cultural differences that exist in this little continent.

"While we are postponing,life speeds on" : -Seneca