Anything from the back of a van?

So, there we were, just all sat, sitting quietly watching a program we taped last night (on Tiger Woods) when suddenly a van pulled up outside.

Now we don't get uninvited visitors, no-one knows we are here and normally we have to give extremely detailed directions for anyone who is genuinely trying to find us, so to suddenly find a van outside on a Saturday afternoon is quite unsettling.

Neil went out to see who it was while I extricated myself from my very comfy seat, and as I got outside he called over to me. 'Do we need any fruit?'

It was a local local 'man in a van' who had a surplus stock of fruit and was driving around the houses in the Campo to see if he could sell any of it. Having spent a couple of hours walking around our market this morning I knew I didn't need anything as I always get our fresh fruit and veg there BUT I thought I would be polite and see what he had.

And there was the disappointment. He only had Sandia (watermelon) and melocotón (peaches). Admittedly the watermelons were incredibly large, and would have kept a family of 6 going for a month, heaven knows how long it would take Neil and I work our way through one. I normally buy just small portions of watermelon so we don't end up throwing most of them out. I have to admit to not being a great fan of watermelon and gracefully declined buying one.

But I did want to try and be a good neighbour and we could always work our way through a few peaches so I reached over to take a couple and see how ripe they were, and they were really, really ripe. So ripe as to be almost too ripe. I think we would have needed to eat them all today before the were only fit to throw down into the Rambla for the animals to finish.

So, I said in my sweetest Spanish that I didn't want anything and he closed the van door looking a little unimpressed with me. I have a feeling that he won't be making the drive down our track again soon, regardless of whatever crop he has an excess of.

I did think that maybe our neighbour on the hill had sent him down but as I went out with the dogs a few minutes later I saw him up there at their gate so I guess, it is just becoming known locally that there is a house down this track and more importantly to them, there is someone living here.

It would seem the peace and quiet of our rural hide-away just got a little less quiet.

Finally, the sun is back!

After several days of torrential rain, thunder, lightening and cold evenings we finally have the sun back. Everyone is hoping that summer has finally arrived.

Over the next few weeks many of the local villages will be having their annual fiestas and these are much better when held in the warmth of the sun. Eating Paella and drinking beer is not so much fun when done under a large, dripping umbrella, surrounded by muddy fields and having to make a dash for the car which will be hemmed in by a lot of abandoned cars, as is the Spanish way. They will party into the early hours and expect others to do the same so parking is not done with any thought to the fact that someone may want to leave early. If you park close so you don't have far to walk, be prepared to party 'till late.

Tonight, of ALL nights!

We've had lovely, long, hot, sunny days, for ages and ages now. We've had stable internet and phone links via satellite and I cannot remember when we last lost TV signal due to bad weather.

SO WHY TONIGHT? WHY NOW?

England are due to start their World Cup Campaign in less than half an hour and the heavens have opened. It's been pouring down for over an hour and shows no sign of stopping. As yet, we still have the TV signal but it keeps breaking up and then settling again.

We could be in for a long 90 minutes of football.

Mid-June in Spain - who'd have thoought it.

I know Linda-Lou in Mexico will be jealous of our rain, but honestly - couldn't it have held off just another couple of hours?

Summer has landed!

I was only in the UK for 10 days but the change from Spring to Spanish Summer has taken place while I was away.

So, we are back to the days of working before 10am and after 6pm, back to the days where the dogs don't want to walk more than 50 metres without a drink and no more than 100m before turning back.

All the greenery of the fields is rapidly baking brown, the flowers and grasses withering almost as you look at them. This is so reminiscant of our drives through Caifornia. Our first visit was in April, when all the hills were heavy green and the trees full of colour. Our second trip was in September, and I remember we commented on how baked everything looked. When we arrived at our friend's house we mentioned how brown the hillsides were compared to our first vist, and we were quickly corrected, not brown - GOLDEN! California is, after all, the Golden State.

So, our mountains are now golden except for the green leaves and nut husks of the almond trees. This year is strange for the Almond trees. The long, wet winter has not been good for the nuts as a lot of the blossom did not set. Whether this is because the wet weather kept the insects from pollenating them or whether it's because the wet caused the blooms to go mouldy before the nuts had set, I'm not sure but it is sad to see so many trees without any nuts, or only on a few branches. By now each branch should be ladened with nuts. For those reliant on the crop it will be a bad year.

It is also a bad year for the wild mushrooms. Oddly because we didn't get enough rain when it was needed!

And so, it will be interesting to see what does grow this year - I know it certainly isn't going to be my rhubarb. I have now tried 2 sets of seeds, cared for them daily. Neil remembered to water all my little pots while I was away and I have lovely new rose buds on both plants, on one stem I have 5 buds but rhubarb? Nada!

My trip to England was very enjoyable. Instead of the usual mad dash I got time to spend with people. I had time to wander around the shops, not looking for anything in particular but just enjoying the familiarity of them. I took every opportunity for a coffee break so I could indulge in a huge, frothy Cappucino and Blueberry muffin neither of which we can get here locally. Unfortunately, while I was away Neil pulled his back, big style and was in a lot of discomfort and pain. Ridiculously, after all the hard work we have done over the past few months, he pulled it doing nothing more than picking something up of the floor while cleaning up after the dogs. It was difficult being so far awy from him knowing he was having trouble moving about BUT he had a cast iron excuse for the housework not being done for my return.

So, my first day back in Spain was spent doing the cleaning, laundery, bathing the dogs (who definitely smelled of dog when I got back) and food shopping to re-stock the cupboards.

And so life returns to normal.