Morning walk time !

It's my turn to be alone in the house while the font of all knowledge goes back to London for a few days. Being incapable of making anything more demanding than a bacon sandwich I can just about survive two nights on my own. Long ago it was discovered that I could turn even the most foolproof of recipes into a culinary disaster. Pasta takes on the consistency of soup, meat becomes leather and fish becomes simply unrecognizable. I was finally banished forever from the kitchen when my pork roast was incorrectly identified as well done beef. As a result of my severe culinary ineptitude a variety of dinners are cooked ahead of time and all I have to do is slip them into the oven to warm up. It would have worked perfectly last night had it not been for a phone call from an old friend in Chicago who rang two minutes after I put the tray in the oven. After chatting for the better part of an hour I belatedly remembered that there was only one thing I had to remember to do - take dinner out of the range after twenty minutes. Plus ca change...

Come five o'clock this morning the two boyz were raring to get started . In the absence of human company to complain about a lack of sartorial elegance I can throw on a sweat shirt and shorts and be out of the house and on the walk within two minutes. Today is just perfect, sunny but with the mildest and most refreshing of breezes. The porcupines have been snuffling around the house during the night so there were plenty of exciting scents for the two troubadors to follow. They have dutifully escorted me around the grounds ( clearly sharing the opinion that I can't be left unattended for long), watching as I watered the new olive trees and putting the sprinkler on the lavender beds. After three hours of constant activity they are played out and ready for a sleep . I'm ready for a long shower and a dip in the pool.

The mole scarer day 2.

Another of those perfect days - not a cloud in the sky and the view across the valley to Todi crystal clear. The solar powered mole scarers are installed and busy doing whatever they are supposed to do - so far this morning there are no signs of our little flippered friends. Late yesterday afternoon (having heard about our purchase on the super efficient village grapevine) the local farmer and his son came down to look at the new mole scaring apparatus - I think they were rather disappointed that the scarers look like solar garden lights rather than some state of the art sci-fi type contraption.

The boyz constantly amaze me with their enthusiasm for life - the second I finish my breakfast toast and coffee they are at the front door urging me to get my shoes on and making it clear that they want to get out and start the day without losing a second of exploration time.This morning they were off down the drive, turning round from time to time to make sure that I was keeping up. Wilf bounds ahead while Digby,with his sore hips,tends to lag a little as the walk progresses. I chat away to the two boyz on the morning walk - a character trait that further reinforces the locals view that I'm harmless but not quite right in the head - in short the sort of person who would invest in solar powered mole scarers.

At the bar in the village this morning the talk was of two motor cycle accidents that happened last night. One young chap wasn't looking where he was going and drove into a tractor that pulled out in front of him while in the second the rider lost control taking a corner at speed. Thankfully, both of them seem to have a few broken bones but are otherwise just fine. The number of accidents on the roads here continue to amaze and alarm me - it is as if there is a communal denial that there is a traffic problem. For a country where the family is the dominant social feature you would think that there would be pressure on the young folk to drive responsibly. But no - people drive while reading, while talking on the phone,and the weekend accident rate among the young is something any anglo-saxon would find terrifying and unacceptable. In northern Europe there is a sense of care and prevention when driving with speed limits and strict police traffic enforcement - here in the south people live with a concept of destiny - what will be, will be - so why obey the rules and why enforce them?.

Guilty

These rather fuzzy pictures were taken surreptitiously by me around nine thirty last night as the sun was setting. Not content with having hectares of fields to run around in, let alone a large garden, the boyz have secretly taken to playing by the narrow pool edge. This is just where the ground falls away sharply towards the valley below.They know its forbidden. But as all dog owners know - in the canine,as well as the human mind what's forbidden is undoubtedly the best fun.

Sorry

Sorry for not posting/replying to all the helpful advice on getting the two boyz to lose weight. We have had huge electrical storms which have somehow unsettled our satellite system and given it a mind of its own. It has made the loading and downloading of comments a hugely frustrating experience. Patience please - this after all is Italy.Continued diets tips greatfully received.

Another restless night

We were up again with Digby and his upset tummy in the early hours of the morning. The poor little thing was moaning away through the night and eventually scratched at the front door to be let out. Surprisingly, Wilf has shown no signs of discomfort or reaction to the shots at all. If I can only think of a way of missing the rabies shots next year while maintaining the pet passports.

The weather this morning is glorious, so the two boyz have had a morning walk and are now settling down under the pine trees for a morning of inactivity. It's eight thirty local time and already the mercury is showing 24 degrees. We have decided to use the good weather to touch up the paintwork on the house . It is now beginning to look a little battered and faded after a year of extreme temperatures. All the paint brushes seem to have disappeared so there was an early morning drive into town to the local hardware store with the requisite halt at the local bar to catch up on all the news. On our way back from the bar we were stopped twice. Firstly, by an old retired sea captain who has a house in the village. He gave us two kilos of gloriously red freshly picked cherries - they taste simply wonderful when they've just come off the tree. Then we were flagged down by the local farmers wife who had been collecting the eggs from her hens - we now have four fresh eggs to have for breakfast.

Polish Lowland Sheepdogs allergies - colitis

I'd like to say that we always use homeopathic remedies when treating the boyz allergies or illnesses. However , as far as I'm concerned the jury is still out as to whether they work. We have tried Sulfur Heel for the ear scratching but Zymox, which is decidedly non-homeopathic is the only thing that experience has shown is proven to work. Wilf suffers from stress and my recent trip away from home has brought on his stomach upset and colitis. Our marvellous vet has introduced us to a natural remedy that works and works quickly - Nux Vomica. Despite my initial scepticism 10 drops of this liquid put on his dinner cures the symptoms very quickly with no side effects. Highly recommended.

The back of the car - a health hazard?

Italians take great pride in keeping their cars spotless. The car wash in the local town is busy every day at all hours with proud (male) owners buffing their vehicles to a pristine shine. They even have machines for washing the rubber mats that fit in the foot wells. Then in stark contrast there is our car - the back of which can best be described as having been given over in its entirety to the boyz. It contains a dog bed covered by a variety of blankets and towels, soft toys, assorted balls and all those things that dog owners need when far from home. On a good day it's a nice dry environment and on a wet day it has more than a passing hint of wet dog and whatever odour is exuded by the wildlife or fauna the boyz might have discovered on their romps.

Digby clearly views the back of the car as his den and is forever stowing away goodies for a later date, these turn up whenever their bedding needs to be taken out and washed. Although two of the the rear seats have been taken out Digby loves to sit on the remaining central cushion from where he can see everything that is going on and lord it over his big brother.It's a bit like having a back seat driver looking over your shoulder. We have been thinking of buying a new dog car (the second, human only car even though it's a 4x4 is too fancy for the dogs to be allowed into) but are wondering whether we would be better off just driving this one into the ground. It will have done 100,000 kilometres in a couple of months time which seems a lot to me - especially as it's just over two years old. I also have to wonder if there is any industrial cleaning product strong enough to deal with two years of wear and tear from Wilf and Digby and their occasional canine friend.

Digby - The Polish Lowland Sheepdog arrives at the kitchen door.

Digby has been outside for the last hour - sniffing around the olive groves and generally doing farmyard things. He loves to be with the family but sometimes he takes himself off round the fields, flower by flower, tree by tree in his own sweet solitary journey of communion with nature. In the winter his feet are constantly covered in grass and other detritus that the long hair manages to trap as he sweeps through the fields alone with his thoughts. His big brother by contrast is not much given to reflection. He would much prefer to be chasing after a ball or tracking down a porcupine - anything as long as it involves the expenditure of inordinate amounts of energy and incessant scurrying too and fro accompanied by yelps of enthusiasm.

When I look at Polish Lowland Sheepdogs in books they always look like Kennel Club adverts - groomed to perfection, not a hair out of place, and with no hint of dirt or twigs poking out of their fur.Our boyz manage to maintain a groomed appearance for all of five minutes before they revert to their more usual feral look.

On a practical note even in the depth of winter when their coats are at their longest and least controllable we've found that it helps to trim their fringes so that they can see what is going on around them. Before we did this their hair was so long over their eyes that they would often be startled by sudden movements or the appearance of visitors . As a breed they can be quite suspicious of strangers, even if well socialized as puppies, and can be rather nervous in new situations. They make not look as cute as the textbook PON but the shorter facial hair certainly helps keep them calm and out of trouble.

The last sunset of 2008 with Wilf and Digby centre stage

Off to get ready from the Hogmanay in exile celebrations. Part of me misses Scotland on a night like this but then I look at the blue skies and crimson sunset.

A happy,prosperous,peaceful and above all healthy New Year to one and all when it comes.

Getting ready for the New Year

In Britain the weather is always a topic of conversation - largely because it is so changeable and unpredictable and perhaps even more so because it is entirely uncontroversial. In Italy food is the catchall conversational gambit. On today's Radio Subasio early morning breakfast phone-in caller after caller was spelling out in great detail exactly what they would be eating to welcome in the New Year and how exactly it would be prepared. Their descriptions were met with squeals of delight and approbation on the part of the studio presenters. With the possible exception of football nothing,but nothing excites the Italian imagination and verbal passion as much as food. All the local restaurants and hotels are open this evening with special menus priced in the region of E75 per head. There was an article in today's paper saying that more Italians are planning to celebrate at home this year because of the recession but in this part of Umbria everything is booked solid. We shall be entertaining at home having taken delivery of a batch of fresh langoustine from the fish market in Ancona.

Naps over...now it's time for a biscuit!

Got the ball. I'm happy.

Beautiful morning. Off to Orvieto to buy wine and look at the cathedral. Will post pictures on return. Boyz both exhausted after a run across the hills this morning.

Ball games in the snow ... heaven!

Shortly heading off to Foligno - an industrial town with an old centre that few tourists ever visit.Foligno is home to some very good restaurants and coffee bars. Will use the camera phone and blog about the trip later today. Blazing sunshine and the snow is beginning to melt.

Polish Lowland Sheepdogs enjoying the snow

Woke up to a version of Siberia with olive trees this morning . Having gone to bed with a cloudless sky found that overnight southern Umbria had been blanketed with snow. It's still snowing and the boyz are having the time of their lives - the scents thrown up by the sudden chill are keeping them outside exploring and doing other sheepdog type activities. Inside the floors are covered with blankets ready for their return for lunch - Polish Lowland Sheepdogs attract snow to their fur like iron to a magnet..

The winner of the truly indestructible dog toy award is ...

Over the years we must have spent a small fortune on toys for the boyz. Most of these have been a total waste of money as they are destroyed within five minutes by the incredible pressures exerted by a healthy Polish Lowland Sheepdogs back jaws. Toys can also be a real danger. In the space of two unsupervised minutes Wilf managed to chew a plastic toy hedgehog swallowing the pieces that he tore off and digesting the squeaker. As a result he developed severe colitis - a canine ailment that no dog owner ever wishes to face. Faced with a sick dog we have spent a considerable amount of time and effort tracking down toys that are safe,indestructible and fun. Both products that we've come across are available from the Harrods pet shop in the UK but are much more widely available at toy stores throughout the US. Sadly, as with the Zymox ear product there don't seem to be any mainland European retailers.

In the top picture Wilf is seen getting up close and personal with 'Real Mad Cow'. Produced by a company called FAT CAT. inc these toys are made out of really robust sail cloth and are excellent for tug of war games. They do have a slightly oriental aspect to their design which makes me think they must be produced by a labour force in the Pearl River Delta with no comprehension of the end use of their product. However, they are more than up to the job. We bought the first one two years ago and with the exception of some small holes where canine incisors have been working hard it has remained intact.

My favourite however is seen being modelled by Wilf in the second photo. This is a snow goose made by Best Friends Pet Products. These toys are smaller than the FAT CAT ones and are made of a soft, fluffy material. Their great advantage is that they fit perfectly in the mouth of a Polish Lowland and will be carried around all day by a heartily contented dog.The boyz love them and have played contentedly with the latest acquisition over Christmas with no sign of distress apart from a build up of saliva on the body of the toy !

The only design flaw, in both products, is that the squeaker on the inside quickly gets destroyed. From an owners perspective the absence of the irritating squeak may not be that much of a negative.

At the presepe Digby the Polish Lowland Sheepdog meets a camel - and doesn't like it.

The bitter alpine wind is still blowing but the sun is out and the air is crystal clear. Yesterday we went to the little town of Massa Martana to look at the Italian presepe exhibition. The whole of the centre is given over the displays of regional nativity scenes and there is a magical feel to the old medieval heart of the place with the music, the crowds and the bonfires. The presepe showing St.Peter's was the most impressive although some in our party were more impressed with the life sized nativity scene carved out of ice and shown in a refrigerated shop window.

At this time of the year the village of Marcellano is given over for a week to a presepe vivente or living enactment of the nativity. Many of the townsfolk take an active part in the affair ( a sense of community and civic pride is still alive and thriving in Italy ) dressing up in costumes, cooking at outside tables and shepherding the flocks of tourists who come to see the event. This is a big affair by Umbrian standards and realism is enhanced by the presence of a real ox, ass and camel. When not performing the camel is billeted on the local sports ground. This morning on our early morning ramble with the boyz we stopped off in Marcellano to see what it looks like the morning after. All was going well until we turned a corner and came face to face with the aforementioned camel wandering across the football field. Wilf was as usual oblivious to everything - but his little brother was petrified at the sight of this large hairy, fierce looking , and doubtless very smelly dromedary bearing down on him from between the goal posts . He became frozen to the spot and the stunned look on his face seemed to say 'yikes! they don't have dogs that big in Scotland - get me away from this place - now! '. No amount of coaxing would spur him on so in the face of fearful PON obstinacy we retreated to the safety of the car and home. What a brave dog!