Crafty in the Med

I am here to enjoy meeting other bloggers and to share my love of craft ,mostly crochet, my thoughts and my daily happenings here in Alicante,Spain, my adopted country. I belong to a local choir because singing and music makes me happy. Flea markets and book shops are two of my favourite places to be. I read lots......sci´fi/fantasy,buried treasure, and off world adventures. I have a passion for history! I walk and walk and walk for about 10 months per year during the hot months I swim.

Friday 4 September 2020

A little adventure!

  

 

The temperature has finally dropped from the broiling, suffocating thirty to thirty-four celsius  to 27ºc-28ºc here in this area of Spain so I went for my first decent (as in 2 hrs) walk yesterday with daughter Nº 1. She lives in a small dormitory rural town called Torrellan, very near to Alicante city, in fact about 10 minutes away by car from our place.  Torrellano at first glance is just one long dusty road and buildings dotted around that one road. 

 

 

They say this little town sprung up there due to the Roman crossroads.  In the past it was mainly an agricultural town; many of the farms and outbuildings have been converted into villas,small holdings and small business.   At the beginning of the 90s a very large international industrial estate and the IFA International Trade Fairs Institute were built a few kilometers from this town.Torrellano became the most obvious place to open up hotels, restaurants and other services for a constant influx of international business visitors;it grew and has become quite a bustling little town.  

However and getting back to our walk, the numerous country roads and tracks are still there around Torrellano.  As well as an old right of way footpath and some of the ancient droveways (via Pecuaria)that go around the town stretching out and linking up to the Arenales beaches. 

Fortunately my daughter lives right beside the start of one of these tracks and she frequently walks there in the mornings.  

She said she was taking me to see the three horses.  

 It was nice and cool when we started out but nevertheless I knew Lorenzo (they call the sun Lorenzo in this part of Spain...no idea why...and I have asked!!) was going to be beaming down on us full blast before we finished the walk so I took my bottle of water and and a sunhat for protection.                                 



         This selfie was taken accidentally in lieu of an olive tree that I thought I was photographing. 

 


 This is the original targeted olive tree. 

 

 Please remember this is the Mediterranean you do not get brilliant green, lush vegetation like at home in the UK, as you can see in the numerous wonderful images of the British countryside on the I live,I love,I craft ,I am me blog ......here you get dry,dusty terracotta and olive green vegetation which has its own beauty!!

 

Just walking and chatting ...catching up, it was tremendously relaxing!! 

There were a few other people about walking their dogs or cycling;someone's dog came up to us. A beautiful big girl! I'd say possibly a cross between a Mastiff and a Labrador, pretty big and oldish she graciously ambled up to us to say hello and accepted a pat but we were mostly on our own throughout.    My daughter's first objective was to find a blackberry bush she said she had sighted the last time she was there.  I was keen to see that bush too as you do not often see blackberries in these parts. Images of yummy blackberry crumble were coming to mind as we concentrated on our search for the well hidden blackberry bush. We did not find it but we also had fun trying to identify the different plants and trees. 

Why is it our children think we their mother or father are literally the Oracle...the Fountain of Universal knowledge????   

 


 My daughter was asking me what was this plant ...that tree was and so on....on!!!!  .......blimey do I have botanist written all over me!!                   I actually recognized a few like the fig tree,the Carob,olive,rosemary bushes but there were lots more I didn't know!!  I have told her to take snapshots next time and we can google them to find out.                                 

 


 We went past fields of red peppers and on to the olive groves.

 

 It was getting hotter so we started to hug the shade where possible.                                                         Crops are watered either via drip irrigation,spray,sprinkler or the old narrow distribution canals that carry the water to the fields at certain times each day.   I could hear running water so I knew there was a canal nearby and the gates had been opened. I was hoping it would be an open part of the canal and we could dip our feet in! 

 


 

 Unfortunately not...the cool cool water was totally out of our reach!!! 

 

 

We got to the horses that my daughter wanted to show me which was good because I was keen to turn back as it was getting very hot and there was very little shade! The trek was worth it though as there were three beautiful white horses grazing in an orchard. They all came up to the railings and I tried to give them a horsey hello but the railings were too narrow to put my hand through. I was about to take a photo of them when surprisingly our doggie friend from earlier on distracted me as she came up to us again. We couldn't see anyone around but thinking she probably belonged to one of the villas further on and after another couple of pats we carried on and turned back down the track.  Our doggie friend followed us and for quite some way. 

 


We could see she was lagging,panting and was thirsty so I tried to give her some water but it didn't work well because she wouldn't take it , she steered away from me so I tried to wet around her head a bit but she didn't like that much either. We continued on our way back and she continued to follow us!! We were beginning to get a little worried for her then because there was a main road to cross over and then after that the train crossing too. She had a collar so she wasn't a stray so we imagined she had escaped from her home or just decide to go out for a jaunt. We continued and she continued on beside us ....a man walked by we asked him but no she wasn't his!!  We stopped in the shade she stopped in the shade!  We crossed over the main road holding on to her collar but at her own pace. My daughter looking out for the traffic. We finally decided to contact someone and my daughter phoned the police who indicated we had to contact the Generalitat Valenciana Animal Rescue. Mid-conversation on the mobile with Animal Rescue another man came walking past and told us two lads were looking for a dog on the outskirts of the town near the railway station. With a big sigh of relief we set out again hoping the two lads would catch up with us and take the old girl home.  This didn't happen as the Animal Rescue van caught up with us before that as they had also been contact by the dog's owner and they were going to take Timba (we now knew her name) home.                                                                                                                                                              Timba was not at all keen on going with the two AR rescuers and she "bless her" lent on my daughter,tucked her head under her arm as if to say " don't want to go" .  They had to drag her into the van between the two of them and push her in but she didn't growl or whimper or snap at all she just made it as difficult as possible...a mastiff dead weight is very awkward to get into a small van....clever old girl !!       

You know I have the feeling she wasn't lost and that she knew her way home she had just gone out for a walkabout.

"Every dog must have his day"      J.Swift

 

 

 

As a delightful extra my daughter Nº1 had baked croissants earlier that morning so we sat down for tea and croissants at her place and chatted some more about our morning adventure.

 

                          🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶

 

About Crochet and Raocks  :

Another sun catcher which I made towards the end of June. Another Raock but I am sending it by post to the person I wish to give it too. 

I shall not be leaving this on a park bench for someone to pick up!




 

 

Next post:  Revamp Nº 2



Enjoy your weekend

 

Keep well 

Amanda :-)


 

 

 

 

 


 




29 comments:

  1. Could you send a bit of your sunshine over to the UK please! Lovely to have a walk and chat with your daughter. It's strange how imperceptibly our children become friends as well as children. Timba obviously knew you were to be trusted. Perhaps she wanted you to adopt her! I love the RAOCK. Too nice to be left for someone to pick up who might not appreciate the care and skill involved. I'm sure whoever you send it to will love it. xx

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    1. Thanks HH!! I would jump at the chance of adopting Timba if I had a house ...she wouldn't like it in my apartment though much too small for her. keep well A x

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    2. PS: Sunshine beams on their way!! :-)

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  2. A beautiful sun catcher, and walk, Amanda
    I suspect Timba isn't unfamiliar with the van. Lovely dog, they make being out and about more interesting.

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  3. Thank you very much!! I didn't think she might be a regular but that could be the reason why. A x

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  4. I enjoyed reading about your walk Amanda, there's an app you can put on your phone which identifies flowers and shrubs it's called Lens and I use it all the time and it's quite accurate. I hope Timba is happily reunited with his owners. I love the colours in the Raock it's beautiful. Homemade croissants wow! I bet they were yummy. Have a great weekend. x

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  5. Thanks Linda! I shall have a look and see if there is a Mediterranean flora app. I expect there will be...don't know why I didn't think of that!! My daughter is going to try and find out this weekend who Timba belongs to see if she is ok.

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  6. Amanda, That was such a fun walk with you and your daughter. I laughed out loud when you wrote that Timba became dead weight because she didn't want to get in the van. Dogs are pretty smart and she knew what she was doing. She's a beautiful dog.
    I learned much more about the area you live in. Isn't the world a fascinating place. So different and still much the same. :-). That you for sharing your RAOCK too. It's absolutely beautiful.
    Blessings and hugs,
    Betsy

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    1. Thank you Betsy! We are at present trying to find out exactly where Timba lives in the town! Very glad you enjoyed the post and that it made you laugh....that particular moment was quite funny...shame I couldn't video it...stay safe Amanda x

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  7. First you are so lucky to live so near your daughter. Mine lives 2000 miles away and it's really been hard to maintain a relationship and I barely know my granddaughters. It has broken my heart. I enjoyed your story of the walk and the dog.. you're kind to see to it's rescue. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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    1. I know Teresa...believe me I know how you feel!! My daughter lived in Chicago for 4 years so very far away from us and I only have the 1 child/daughter. I did get to Chicago though for the birth of my grandchild.....which was a wonderful time. A x

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  8. It sounds like you had an enjoyable and eventful walk that day. You found a friendly dog and it was reassuring to know that it was not a stray. Hopefully you'll be able to find out if Timba was reunited with the owners. It's good that you can get out on a public track in a quiet area and walk with your daughter. The tea and croissants at the end of it must have been very welcome. The crocheted piece is pretty. I like the colours and the intricate pattern. Someone will be happy when they open up their mail parcel.

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    1. Thanks Linda :-) Yes we have been thinking about Timba. My daughter is going to try and find out where she lives in the town and see how she is. A x

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  9. Sounds like quite the adventure, glad Timba was safe and reunited with her owners.

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  10. Amanda the dog story is a wonderful compassionate one! Your daughter and you are models for compassion. I love your crocheting in this post lady!!

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    1. Many thanks Kathy! We hope to be able to see how Timba is doing next Thursday. A x

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  11. I loved the green crochet and your blog post .

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    1. Many thanks Shilpa for visiting my blog. I hope you find it of interest. keep well Amanda x

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  12. That was a lovely story about your long walk & the dog Amanda. My son has two mastiffs & they are wonderful pets. Hope you get some respite from the heat soon.

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    1. Thank you Julie! Heat wise it is better here now! I can sleep much better at night and I don't need to use the AC....wonderful!! A x

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  13. My what a story about that dear dog. I bet those boys and the family were frantic about her being missing. Thank goodness she found both of you to keep her safe. Your walk sounds wonderful, hot but wonderful. Stay safe.

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    1. 2nd walk tomorrow and we hope to see Timba again!! Still hot here Mere but not so unbearable now ! A x

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  14. Hello I am the daughter and let me tell you that the story hasn´t finished yet ...

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    1. Ha! Ha! Very True daughter Nº1! We will see if we can find out more about Timba tomorrow during our 2nd walk. A xxxxx

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  15. The terrain there really reminds me of Southern California where I grew up! The trail sounds like a great place to walk. I hope Timba was happily reunited with her familia. :)

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    1. Thanks for calling in! I haven't been to California but it is very similar to parts of the Australian outback too. A x

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Thank you for your comments. I do read them and try to reply to all as well.Please keep them coming. Amanda :-)