On guard duty

We've had to put some effort into repelling the borders this week. The shepherd, otherwise know as 'Pastor', has been a little relaxed in respect of keeping his flock penned in. He has a large black goat with a handsomely long beard who takes no truck from anyone. Each night, after the shepherd has put the flock into the coral, this particular one waits until he has been left alone then stealthily climbs out of the pen. One or two of the braver young goats follow and they spend the night roaming or sleeping where they will. This inevitable means the odd excursion onto our land and into the garden. So far they have done no real harm but unless I keep up the guard it is only a matter of time. Ella is of little use depsite her agility. Today, for example, when Robert threw a stone to scare off the goats she thought it was a game and ran off to retreive it, totally ignoring the four goats who were snacking on the echinacae.

It's been a full house again this week. In la Corona we have had a couple from Holland, Marion and John, and in El Lujar there has been Helen and John. Both couple have departed today, leaving the place feeling a little quiet for a short while. Helen and John, who know Spain very well, have been enchanted by the area, John by the bird life and Helen by the tranquility and beauty of the garden. On leaving they were kind enough to write the following in our guest book:

Without wishing to be repetitive, we echo the sentiments of the previous guests regarding the quality of accommodation and service at Cortijo Opazo. And instead of feeling like one more in a queue of tourists we have felt more like welcome house guests. You would have to be pretty world-weary and cynical for Cortijo Opazo not to work its magic on you. So much beauty of place. The serenity of the cortijo, together with Robert and William's industrious efforts to always improve the amenities make it very special in the world of 'holiday lets'.

We, too, thoroughly enjoyed a home produced four course meal, served with "esmero" and humour and would recommend all future visitors to include a dinner at Opazo - well worth it.

One can take as much or as little from a holiday as you wish. But even if you take the minimum of what's on offer at Cortijo Opazo you will be the richer for it than any of the hordes down on the coast. ¡Que viva Opazo! Thank you R and W.

Helen and John, London - staying ten nights in El Lujar June 2009.

Marion and John were also very enamoured of the whole set up here and were clearly reluctant to leave. They wrote us a little play in our guest book, but this blog would become too long if I copied it out.

Today the weather has been perfect, a fresh 25 degrees with a light breeze and dazzlingly blue skies. I feel strangely energetic, which is not at all like me during the summer months. Due to heat up a bit in the week ahead. Better keep my eye on those goats, looking for a shady flower bed to take a siesta in.

Yours, from the look-out tower,

Fergus

What's in a father?

21st of June is significant for two reasons this year, it is the summer solstice, i.e. the longest day of the year, and in the UK it is Fathers' Day. The summer solstice is always June 21st but Fathers' Day in the UK and many other countries is the third Sunday in June. Here in Spain, however, it is celebrated on the day of San José, March the 19th, which is pretty damn close to the equinox of March 21st. Are celebrations of the father linked to the significant phases of the sun (son)?

As for me, I have no idea of who my father is I have never met him. I imagine he is some sort of dachshund stud who lives near the village of Beachamwell in Norfolk, the place of my birth. For dogs it is not such a big thing since fathers have very little to do with their offspring, unless it is to donate a fine profile, well distributed markings or a perfect pedigree build. For the tall ones fathers are much more important and continue to offer love, guidance and support as long as they live. Above you can see the parents of one of my tall companions - the father is the one with the beard, I am told. I recognise him, he's been out here a few times and makes himself useful enough, although I have to keep an eye on the work he does. He calls me 'Fergus the forman' but I see myself more as a freelance consultant. Last trip out he painted most of the woodwork of the house with a mixture of linseed oil and a tint called Betun de Judea. Looks pretty good, even to this day, so yes, I guess fathers are quite useful; if I knew mine perhaps I could get him to re-stuff my bed, which is desperately thin on padding these days.

Yours, from under the family tree,

Fergus

Hot Dog!

Dachshund hot dog


Garden projects in process


Hemrocalis in flower


As we approach the weekend that heralds, in Spain at least, the start of summer the weather feels more like August than June. Sunday will be be the summer solstice, but for Spaniards it is the first day of summer - and they should know since they do have a lot of it. Temperatures have already reached 32 degrees in the shade with us, thus are already hotter than last year's maximum. But curiously enough we awoke to light rain on Monday morning. The world has gone higgeldy piggeldy and this dog is hot. The two tall ones sloped off to the beach on Saturday and we have all started taking our siestas in the room downstairs, which is cooler.

In the garden work continues apace on the new seating area, despite the heat, and it looks as though it should be finished within the next couple of weeks - watch this space! Flowers come and go, at the moment we are enjoying a splendid display of hemrocalis and lilies, and the penstemens are coming into their own.

In the vegetable garden we have harvested and frozen the last of the broad beans and broccoli, but have started picking peas and, best of all, early potatoes. Raspberries will soon be taking the place of strawberries at the breakfast table. What delicacies can we culitvate for more canine tastes I wonder?

We said good to to Mark and Helen today, but look forward to their return visit. Ella has made right nuisance of herself by chasing after stones; she can't work out why she keeps finding herself all frothy with exhaustion. It's because of the heat, slow down you silly thing. Helen and John have joined us from the UK and are looking forward to enjoying shady corners of the garden. Also keeping us company once more this week has been our rather vocal frog who lives in the pond.

With summer, then, just around the corner this dachshund has hung up his walking boots until the autumn.

Yours, stretched on the cool lawn,

Fergus

Celebration at Cortijo Opazo

After the honeymooners of last week this week we have been celebrating an important landmark in the life of one of our guests, a significant birthday. Mark and Helen returned to us for their second holiday at Cortijo Opazo by way of distinguishing Mark's 40th birthday. In order to make the occasion truly special they ordered one of William's banquet meals which was served stylishly on their terrrace by Robert. Here is the menu they enjoyed:

Aperitif of a glass of chilled fino along with a tapas plate of mixed cold meats including the famous Jamon Serrano.

Starter of homemade chicken liver paté with toasted hazel nut and rosemary bread, also from the oven of Cortijo Opazo.

Maincourse of lion of pork served with a Pedro Ximenez sauce; potatoes a la pobre - (the kind Chris Stewart likes), fresh green beans and carrots cooked in butter and sesame seeds.

Dessert of homemade lemon ice cream served on a base of crushed meringue with chopped strawberries from the garden, topped with a mulberry coolie and strawberries dipped in chocolate.

To finish with, a pot of Yorkshire tea.

The meal was accompanied by a bottle of chilled sparkling cava wine.

I'm sure this helped make the occasion and the holiday special. For me, it was tinned dog food as usual but I was given a few left over potatoes as a treat, for which I am, of course, very grateful.

Yours, from under the table,

Fergus

Strange goings on

Kite surfers on the Valdevaqueros beach, Tarifa


Robert, pretending to be a bear!


We've been left on our own this week. Well, not entirely on our own, but the two tall ones who usually look after us were missing. Instead Alan, our friend who takes us out walking, came to stay and carried out the usual dog related chores. Fortunately for me he wasn't aware that William normally supervises us at meal times to make sure Ella eats all her food. It wasn't hard to distract the silly creature by pretending there was a feather adrift on the road outside. She became frantic to go out and chase it, leaving me free to finish off her dinner. The tall ones accused me of putting on weight when they returned, but how much weight can a dachshund acquire in just two days - quite a lot, thank you Ella?

If I did gain any extras I consider it as fair wage for the increase in my work load. With the owners of the house away I had full responsibility for looking after our guests, Ruth and Zubran, who were here on their honeymoon. I think I can safely say their trip was a memorable one, so I deserve a little bonus.

The reason for the absence of the two tall ones was that Robert had some acting work to do in Algeciras. He tells me that he and two others, Haidé and Cristo, have formed a small theatre company and have been touring with a play about a bear who is searching for his true identity. Strange business indeed, a bear is a bear, a dog is a dog and a human is, well, there to feed us all. Looking at the picture above he seems to think he can fool the audience just by putting an old flower pot on his nose, no wonder he was confused about his identity. William was there to take photos, so at least somebody was doing something useful. After that they took the chance of spending a night in Tarifa, which, I am told, is a place well worth a visit since the coastline is extraordinarily beautiful with some of the most golden sand I have seen - in photos only, of course, although they have promised to take Ella and I there on a camping trip in September.

I wonder what the sleeping arrangements will be in a tent.

Yours, from the airbed,

Fergus.

Small world

Working as I do in the hospitality industry I get to meet plenty of folk from all over the world. This week I very much enjoyed the company of Rosemary and Chris who visited us all the way from Ontario in Canada. Here is what they said about their stay:

May 25th to June 1st 2009

We loved everything about Cortijo Opazo. The location and scenery, the accommodation and the garden, Ella and Fergus, the walks and relaxing, and last but not least, Robert and William. Thank you for making our escape from a long Canada winter so memorable. We enjoyed many of the walks recommended by Robert and William - easy to follow but not always so easy to climb. The villages are so pretty with a profusion of flowers and we took many photographs while exploring the area. The Alhambra was awesome but one day enough among the crowds, it was great to be back to the tranquility of the Cortijo. So, thanks again, and your meals are delicious.

Rosemary and Chris, Ontario, Canada.

How kind, I hope they weren't arrested on their return to Canada for smuggling one of Ella's precious stones, particularly since they promised to send me some pictures to add to my album.

Now, a little note about the meals. It is true, they are delicious, I am lucky enough to live with two good cooks. I have to wonder, though, why it is that I am fed entirely on dog meat and biscuits. It is of no surprise that Ella and I take the ocassional skirmish to the barns below us in search of real food - ham bones!

Yours, incognito,

Fergus

Neighbours

Neighbours, tricky things really, especially when you know you are the top dog. In front of our rather comfortable Cortijo there is a somewhat basic barn that belongs to the local shepherd where he keeps his sheep. There to guard the sheep are three or four dogs. Most of the time they lie around the place looking forendly enough. When they go out for the day with the shepherd then Ella and I have a chance to check out their territory and see if there are any tasty morsels left unwanted. Many are the large ham bones we bring back from such raids. But neighbours can often be on the look out for what they can grab that is yours.

When it comes to guests at Cortijo Opaze, well, it is my job primarily, and Ella's in a secondary capacity, to see they are having a good time. Ella does the cute bit such as asking them to throw sticks and rolling her eyes whilst I keep them happy with stimulating conversation. Our recent guests, however, seem to have looked elsewhere for their canine capers. Barbara and Roger, here for the second time, have been know to sneak down to the shepherd's barn by the cover of dusk and talk to the shepherd's dogs. They have even been seen having their photos taken with them. The main culprit seems to be a certain Tula, featured in the photograph. Admittetdly, she is pleasnt enough and hasn't a malicious whisker on her but I can't help feeling she is undermining us in some way. I will have to keep up my guard and double my efforts to appear the centre of affection for future guests.

Barbara and Roger, though, had a good week here and they are certainly very kind people. I guess they may have enough kindness to go around for all of us canines here at Cortijo Opazo. I look forward to chatting with them again next year.

Yours, over looking the sheep shed,

Fergus.