|
April mumbles in the mountain 3 With Jenny Rhodes 3 Friday 9th April Things were not that good yesterday as Lilli escaped yet again and I was caught off guard in my PJ’s so it was Mike who shot off on the trail of the errant dog. I quickly grabbed clothes and did not realise how cold it was and hurtled down the garden in my cardi. As I had triple wired the gate shut I headed for the wall and leapt like a commando [with knickers] over the stone wall. In my haste I had not realised that it had snowed lightly in the night and then frozen. Hence my posterior skidded across the stones at a heck of a rate of knots. Trying to retain some dignity in front of some rather stunned guests I proceeded down the fields to look for Lil. Mike of course had found her but not caught her and if it hadn’t been so foul it would have been funny. Lil was prancing round a huge overwinter manure pile, Mike was trying to catch her and failing miserably. She was by this time covered in pooh.We were then joined by our grandson Jordan who managed to grab her collar as she shot past like a rocket. The stench was awful and Lil was quickly passed to Grandpa who was not at all amused and grumbled all the way home. Jordan and I bringing up the rear chuckling at the sight of this very handsome pedigree dog looking like a walking muck spreader. The end of the season is in sight and the village is emptying which for us is lovely. We get the best of both worlds ,empty slopes and fresh snow if there is an overnight flurry. The piste bashers work tirelessly over the night to keep the slopes in shape for the skiers, they do an amazing job and nobody ever sees them or acknowledges the work they do. I’d love to have a little go at driving one of those big beasts. Maybe I’ll qualify as a basher for next year. Interesting thought. At the minute I am having a little break from painting, I thought it was a good idea to change the colour of the front room and now I’m not so sure. When sitting over the winter things tend to look boring and so with one sniff of the sun out came the paintbrush. But of course one coat isn’t enough and I get fed up with idea of a second coat, maybe if I smile nicely Mike will do that bit for me. Although he didn’t think it needed doing in the first place so I maybe on a losing wicket. Bex and I went to Prades market on Tuesday. As always we stopped for a coffee[I actually don’t drink coffee but it is what you say isn’t it] we sat in the café with the cut off trees and hippies. People watching is brilliant, you see the same people every time you go. There is an older hippy who has a wonderful face and was wearing an enormous red hat. The men with their scruffy clothes and long beards drinking wine at ten in the morning and of course the motley collection of dogs scrounging round the tables for something to eat. Much more entertaining than the café across the square where the Brits go. Nothing much to look at there then. So it’s back to the paintbrush and back to the colour I’m not too sure about but I won’t admit that to Mike. So if you see him around, don’t tell him. And no….he doesn’t read my Mumbles. He thinks I mumble enough on a daily basis. Take care until next time. Monday 12th April Yesterday was so beautiful we walked down by the lake with Lil and a flask of coffee. The air was warm and fresh and we even ate our lunch outside, then today we need waterproof over trousers and two fleece jackets. Even our yearly Kestrels are quiet. They have been zooming round for about ten days in a frenzy of mating and nesting so I hope the snow doesn’t have an adverse effect on them. It’s had an adverse effect of me and I may just go to bed for the rest of the day. |
