Black magic in the garden

As the garden has developed we have both grown very fond of deep red, dark purple and almost black planting in the garden. Sunlight enhances the rich coloured leaves by enabling them to show their rich deep red and purple tones whilst the dullest of days serves to bring out the black. Add rain or dew to the mix and you get an altogether different perspective: the raindrops reflect the light like diamonds. This group of hues adds focal points to the garden and serves as a splendid backdrop to other plants and flowers or helps to lead the eye to a view.  If you have any recommendations for black or deep purple foliage plants, please let us know in the comments below.

In the heat of the midday sun at La Pasera

Continuing our time specific theme for Summer it struck me the other day how life changes with the weather. Here at  La Pasera it has been very warm and muggy for the past few days with little relief from the persistent heat and overwhelming warm humid air. Unlike the rest of Spain and Europe it seems, where constant sunshine has been the order of the day, we have had short bouts of strong sunshine followed by low overcast skies which have felt equally oppressive. Not only has it had an effect on us, it has changed the entire dynamics of life in the garden.

Wentworth and Gawber are to be found in deep shade either in amongst the thick carpet of honesty and crocosmia, too drained by the heat to contemplate chasing a bathing Jay or Finch. The blackbirds scavenge dangerously close to the snoozing cats who from time to time open an eyelid when a scurrying lizard whisks by.

The birds roost in the bushes with an occasional sortie for food or water. The insects come out in force making the most of the wide and inviting flowers and nectar within. The ants march onwards in their regimented manner to their cool underground tunnels and the spiders await their pray, ready to pounce and wrap, saving the bounty for a later feast.

The lizards take advantage of the warm limestone rockery and with their flattened abdomens, soak up the heat...Whilst the grasshopper takes shade in the cavity of a Calla Lily.

The plants throughout the garden wilt, especially the young broccoli and pepper plants. The ruby red-veined leaves of the beetroot almost touch the earth and the onions leaves begin to turn golden yellow and become brittle. The harvest continues with large juicy blackberries, ruby Swiss chard and sweet, sweet beetroot whilst freshly harvested Lemon Verbena perfumes the air as it is strung up to dry.

As for the humans at La Pasera in the heat of the midday sun? Inside a cooled house or workshop, enjoying the chores of the day and taking time to enjoy the heat of the midday sun. Learning from the cats that it is best enjoyed... from a distance.

  

The first day of Summer

It is a bright sunny day with blue skies punctuated by white and pale grey Columbus clouds. It is warm bordering on hot in the sun but with plenty of shaded places to keep cool, it is a lovely first day of Summer.

The first peaches were harvested today and although the tree doesn't produce much fruit, what it does produce is sweet, very peachy and juicy if left to ripen naturally. One or two have already been pecked at by the birds and then plundered by the ants but as today was getting breezy I decided to harvest the first of the undamaged crop before they fell in the gathering winds.

The mosaic terrace table top has been united with its long-awaited bases and it not only looks great, it is also functional and perfect for the glass of red as the evening sun sets. Needless to say, Luis has started another mosaic project and the list of projects in mind continues to grow apace.

One of the showiest plants we have is in full bloom near the edge of the pond. The angels fishing rod is heavy with bright pink flowers that droop towards the water and encourage lots of bees and insects.

Another plant that gives all it has when flowering is the cactus. This one is in full glorious flower, sadly they last only very few hours so to get to witness their show is a true privilege.

Other worthy contenders for showiest bloomer are the air hyacynth and the bottom meadow, both of which are at their prime.

The cats are spending most of their day in the deep shade of the bog garden where it is damp and cool but occasionally venture out from the shade of the giant Gunera leaves and soak up the warmth of the sun for a few moments but soon return to the cool and welcome shade. They are brushed daily from now on as it is flea and tick season and regular grooming means we can keep an eye out for attacks. They are also fast loosing their winter coats so they seem to welcome a daily brush.

You might have heard of the Andrex puppy? Well we seem to have an Aubretia pussy who has taken to finding comfort when relieving himself resulting in large dying patches...I won't publicly name and shame, I'll leave it up to you to decide who is the guilty party!

  

They're only cats...

We've had a difficult few days with Wentworth (Black) and Gawber (Tabby) the cats. About 10 days ago Wentworth came home from his daily wanderings and was obviously sore on his tail and whimpered whenever we went near him. This is a sure sign he had been in a fight with another cat during his nightly adventures. This isn't the first time he has had such problems and we are very used to the process of bite, abscess formation, localised hair loss, abscess bursting, cleaning, scab formation and healing. This time it was a bit different.

After three days the abscess grew and grew, hair loss was significant in and around the bite/s and Wentworth became subdued and generally unwell. It was clear from the amount of scratches on his body and from closer inspection of his tail, that this time it had been a significant fight and he was suffering much more than usual; a trip to the vets was indicated. On examination he had three puncture wounds on his tail and three abscesses. He was given antibiotic cover and a pain killer before having them drained and flushed out with hydrogen peroxide. With instructions to remove the scabs as they formed and continue to drain any puss formation we took him home, grounded him and continued with the treatment regime. Poor little thing (he is only very slight for a male cat), he was very sore and hated our interference with his very inflamed tail. With regular anti-inflammatory medication and wound cleansing his tail began to heal.

We became concerned that despite healing well, he was sleeping for much more than usual and he had developed very watery eyes, sneezing and a build up of mucus in his upper respiratory tract. Apart from the odd bit of yogurt and water, he wasn't eating. We did some research and talked to the vet and concluded that it could be a viral infection passed on from the cat which he had fought with. The antibiotics would give him cover for any subsequent bacterial infections so it was just case of tender loving care and wait and see. Unfortunately we suspected that if it was viral, Gawber, his brother, was also at risk. Sure enough two days later Gawber started becoming unwell.

At first he just seemed to have a bit of a cough and would sit with his neck slumped and his mouth open. He went off his food and wouldn't drink. It was weekend and by the Sunday we were really concerned for his prognosis without intervention, so the emergency vet was called. On examination Gawber was found to have an extremely inflamed pharynx resulting in difficulty swallowing, a lot of pain and respiratory difficulties. Injections of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications were given. With instructions to contact the vet if he should deteriorate, we set about trying to keep him hydrated and comfortable along with his brother Wentworth. When ill, cats can deteriorate very quickly.

Gawber's condition deteriorated rapidly and on Monday we took him back to the vets where a decision was made to give him a stat dose of steroids by injection. It was a worrying 24 hours and distressing to see him gasping, vomiting and extremely subdued. Thankfully he began to show signs of improvement by Wednesday and began to voluntarily drink water. He is now back eating soft food and beginning to recover well as is Wentworth. They both now have runny noses, weepy eyes and frequent sneezing but are doing well. We've been back to the vets today and she is pleased with Gawber's progress. With a couple more weeks of TLC, good food and a few extra vitamins there is no reason why they shouldn't make a full recovery.

They're only cats... This has been said in one of several forms a few times over the years by a few people who really should know better. To set the record straight, the cats are not children substitutes, they are not pampered or spoilt, they are not treat better than humans neither are we wasting money on good quality food, shelter or care. We took the decision to take on the responsibility for the guardianship of two independent, domesticated animals. To us they are not pets, playthings or trophies, they are fascinating, intelligent, graceful and endearing creatures who require us to act as their advocates when it is required. We owe them the best care and treatment we can provide and we will continue to love and respect them as unique and intelligent animals. In our opinion, if you are not prepared to work in this way with another animal, you really should stick to a life without one.

On a final note, whoever developed these multivitamin tablets for cats has obviously never product tested adminstration....