WELL I'll BE LYNXED.



Some time ago, after very heavy rain and the river running for sometime.
I went out for a tramp in the receding waters, where, under an outcrop of
rocks, resembling lion king, l came upon the footprints of many animals,
in the mud at the base. lt was an area of about 1 metre sqare. lt appeared
as if a battle of some sort had gone on.

l sat and stared at the muddy impressions. There were many, large and
small. Some looked to me like badger, they had six toes and visible claws.
The others looked like cat. Five toes and no claws. Some where large,
some small. l decided to make some casts of them. They turned out well.

l also searched for any other signs. The cane growing around was very
dense, but it had pathways through it. Between the site of the muddy battle
and the outcrop was a pool of water, that could only be crossed by
swimming or leaping. A freshly dug toilet revealed its delivery. Above in
thick undergrowth was a small cave.

Lynx came to mind. The footprints were certainly a good size. I decided to
show the casts to the local vets. One said no they can't be because they are
not found in this part of Spain, but the other took one look at them and
pointed to a poster of a Lynx and said "Lynx".

I have heard many stories of sightings, especially at dawn and dusk.
Running across roads and crying in the night. The best story was of
two large cat like animals seen on a mountain road in the early hours.
They said that they were definatly Lynx because they could see their
 long tails !!!.

INTO THE WOODS

   Sometimes nature can be a bit rude!
   This is a stinkhorn.

HOTEL AZANA Tangers 2009.


  Never mind the smell,
   I think I will stay in this hotel.

  It's very cheap,
  this is where I am going to sleep.

  But as I opened up the door,
  something ran across the floor.

  I tried to ignore it,
   but I knew that I saw it.

  There was no sheet
  upon the bed.
  There was no pillow
  for my head.

  Then l pulled back the cover,
  only to discover,
  dreadfull a
  bedfull
  of
  cockroches.!

  It was quite appauling
  the whole place was crawling.

  lt really was not my imagination,
  it had to be an infestation.

  Honestly it was no hoax,
  there were a million more than one cockroach.

  I don't know how l stayed.
  But I had already paid.

  I slept the night,
  curled up tight
  and did not dare
  turn out the light.

  Whatever was l thinking!
  The whole place was stinking.

                         THINGS THAT GO BUM IN THE NIGHT.

   My sister came to stay with us in southern spain, with a view to buying an old property, had a glorious time untill her final night. She woke the household  yelling "l've been pierced by a red hot needle". Next a  centipede came pouring out from her sheets. This sent her into utter panic. She was running around the kitchen with my daughter throwing vinegar at the offended buttock. Poor sister she was howling like a Banshee! .  Eventually we got her to a different bed with warm words and vodka.

   The centipede  (oryza barbarica) is north african, like so many creatures around here. Centipede would suggest one hundred legs, but in fact they. have twenty pairs. The. first pair are adapted  for piercing and injecting venom. These two legs have been modified over time as poison claws. They are hollow and hold the venom which is made by the poison glands, to which they are connected .The body of this centipede is orange/yellow, each segment being black at the top. Indeed with.a dim eye they could be mistaken for a small serpent. Some reach sizes of up to 7 inches /18cms. l shudder!

   The body covering of centipedes is not waterproof, they easily dry up and die. Like the one in the photo below  which was swept out from under my bed. They are confined to humid surroundings such as compost heaps, under stones, behind sinks, in plug holes,bathroom floors, lurking in damp towels, and in your bed!

   They are hunters, hunting in the cool of the night. Few will hunt them. I have witnessed  a spider deftly tying a writhing one up in its web. In some parts of the world they are welcome visitors, eating flies, locusts and cockroaches, but also geckos and other noctural creatures. I once had a cecko who had taken up residence behind the door to my chicken house. Each morning l would carefully open up trying not to disturb it. l became rather fond of it. One day l found in its place a plump centipede.

  My sister did indeed buy a cortijo next to me and left a note. (Thank you for every thing-it has been great fun, except for !..........!?

   Then she left. On the way back through France she fell in a cesspit!.......

d

SEALS ON THE BEACH AT WINTERTON

There they were upon the sand,

not quite sea and not quite land.

A semi circle on the shore,
at least a hundred if not more.

Great furry fish,
streatching,
relaxing,
yawning and
scratching.

Sometimes singing a haunting song,
that ecoed the waves
of days long gone.

A salty smell upon the swell.
As they lay to pass the day.

Each and every single one,
a pebble dash hulk in the sun.

As we crept across the beach,
for they were within easy reach.

Some lumbered to the water,
where with fluid bodies,
in a liquid home,
either in groups or alone.
They stopped to stare,
dogs heads bobbing.
Or chased and played
were rollers sprayed.

so with fullfilled face,
we left that place.

For we were glad,
to see the sea.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE CHUMBERS!

   In the cool morning air the other year, our neigbours beckoned us over. He was whittling a piece of wood, she was lovingly peeling'chumber fruits', chumbers are the big juicy fruits of the most commonly seen true cactus (Opuntia ficus), the prickly pear or barbary fig. Once seen planted around the family  home acting as a convenience and rubbish tip, but it is also a valued source of food both for animals and humans.


   Having collected them using a long-handled pair of tongs, the greener fruits are the best, be careful, they are covered in little pricks and have to be rolled on the ground and washed to break them. Our neigbour gently picked one up on the end of a sharp knife, holding it carefully between finger and thumb she cut the tops and tails off, then slit them down one side and pulled back the fleshy skin to retrieve the hearts from within, succulent and full of large dark seeds. These were piled onto a plate and put into the fridge to cool.


   "Ah chumbers" they said. They are so good to eat, she could eat only one or two, they have a moving effect on the intestinal track, but he would eat ten to twenty in one sitting "Stong stomach" he said patting his pornch. A friend once said that maybe they have  other qualities,  after all they are cacti !?


   They then went on to tell me that pigs, goats, chickens etc all love to gorge themselves on them. Tha leaves or 'palletas' are also edible, baked or made into a soup. They told me that when the train used to run they would board it at Almanzora with a big bucket full and then walk up and down the carriages selling them for a few cents each, as a thirst quenching snack to fellow passengers. On arrival at Baza they would turn around and catch the next train home. "Very important those chumbers" they said. You could even get denounced to the Guardia for taking someone else's.


   It was the conquistadors who bought the 'opuntia 'from the 'New world' and with them came the cochineal  beetle. Well less of a beetle  more a plant sucking scale bug,closely related to aphids and cicadas. Some time ago I was up in Murcia and noticed that all the chumber/palletas were covered in a white mould, which was smuthering them and killing them. It turns out that this is caused by the cochineal bugs. They produce this  mould like web to stick themseleves to the cactus. Now it has arrived in our area and is turning a once spectacular plant into a mouldy mess.

The World Cock.

      Woke up the other morning , to the sound of a cock crowing. Then in the distance I heard another then beyond that another,  and so it went on and on. Wow I thought that morning crow must travel round and round the world!