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.

Strawberries and cream

It's been a hot week here in the Alpujarras, with temperatures in the shade reaching 28 degrees centigrade and more. It feels more like July or August than May, but the extended forcast suggests temperatures are to lower again next week to a more seasonal norm. In order to keep on top of work here the household has moved into 'summer mode' which means that we are all up and out working by 7.30am, but retreat at about 2.00pm to enjoy a leisurely lunch and the finest of all Spanish traditions, the siesta!

Of course, as a dog, I get to siesta quite a bit, winter, spring, summer and autumn, but I want to declare here and now that where work is concerned I am there with the tall ones, cheek by jowl, offering advice, inspecting the work and ensuring that we are all progressing in the right direction and that nobody is taking his or her eye off the bone.

Then there is the well being of our guests to think of. I try to pass by for a chat at least once a day to make sure they have all they need and that Ella isn't bothering them too much. Recently we have had the pleasure of the company of Jim, Sophie and their new baby, who is, unbelievably to me, called Ella. I'm sure that had their baby been a boy he would surely have been called Fergus. I must say she seemed delightful with a beautifully happy looking face and I hope that the family had a relaxing time here. These comments were to be found in the visitors book on their departure:

May 24th 2009 Our third stay at Cortijo Opazo and the first with our five month old daughter. Another lovely holiday thanks to the beautiful scenery and Robert and William's great hospitality. All our worries about holidaying with babies soon disappeared with such a warm welcome. Looking forward to our next visit. thank you Robert and William for once again being the perfect hosts! You're stars! We'll be looking at that availability calendar when we get home. Sopie, Jim and Ella.

And from the garden this week, the bounty has commenced. Along with lettuce and rhubarb we are picking broad beans, chard, broccoli and strawberries - see picture above.

Yours, with cream in my whiskers,

Fergus

Up 'The Dog's Bottom'

Strange title for a blog but that is where I have been today, or as it is known in Spanish, the 'Culo de Perro'. This is one of the main river valleys of the area and today we chose to walk the section that leads up from Trevelez, the highest town in Spain, into one of the deep gorges of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Now, as you know if you have read previous entries of this dogblog, I am a great walker, possibly one of the great dachshund walkers of my time, but I am not partial to exercise in the heat. Today, being sunny and summery, looked like it might make me struggle, but as soon as we were off I realised that whilst the skies were a startlingly clear blue, there was going to be a light but refreshing breeze. This put me in good stead, and it was best paw forward all the way round - a walk of some 5 hours or about 15 kms.

The water was tremendous. At all times of year - and I have done this walk at all times of year, believe me - there is enough water in the valley to wet your paws and keep you cool. Today, however, with the heavy snow fall of winter well on its way to melting, there was a raging torrent throughout the valley. Ella nearly got herself swept away by its force - well, what do you expect from a mut with such spindly legs. I was fine with my low centre of gravity, but I noticed that the tall ones kept their feet well out of the main flow whenever possible.

Tonight, as I watch the sun set across the garden here at Cortijo Opazo, I realise that for a dog going on 11 years I'm in pretty good shape, there aren't so many around here who could comfortably tackle the 'Dog's Bottom'.

As a type of footnote I must refer to the fact that I seem to have the beginnings of a fan club. Discussions have been had about me from bookshops in Sussex, England, and suggestions made for my leisure time reading, anything by Virginia Woof or Edith Sitwell - this I will pass on to Ella. My thanks for these suggestions, if only I had leisure time enough in which to pursue them. If anyone else wants to send me a suggestion or two but has trouble commenting directly on this blog, then my persoanl secretary will be happy to pass them on from: info@cortijoopazo.com

Yours, from the recliner,

Fergus