Greetings from Mykanos.
I’ve been asked about our animals, so I thought a report from the home front might not go astray…
Many of you might find this very boring as it is mostly about dogs, with some plants thrown in. Over the years however, with a few notable exceptions such as Mac in London and JBJ in Costa Rica, you coped admirably with a host of cat anecdotes so I was emboldened to include some coverage of canine capers too.
As you know, Shakira had retired here after a lifetime of guard duty at Rancho Grande. You might also remember that, even though severely impaired through age and rheumatism, she kept chasing the ducks, in between rest breaks. We thought it a fruitless but endearing quest until she actually caught and killed a few. Adriano was not impressed, so Shakira moved back to Rancho to keep Checho company and be spoilt rotten by the ladies who look after Adriano’s father and mother, and who regard the dogs as starving children that always need a treat.
Danilo, the new blonde kid on the block, has settled in and is slowly overcoming his wariness. To start with he was very timid, which we believe was a trait instilled (or more likely beaten) into him by his previous owner. He would cower anytime anyone near him would raise an arm or hand, and would never come when called, giving the impression that he was expecting a kick if he did. He will come when called now, and encourages pats and cuddles, but being young he also wants to play all the time, and his favourite pastime is being chased. He initiates this by grabbing the back of your trousers or your shoelaces as you walk. You stop and turn and he bounds away, tail wagging joyfully, before dropping his shoulders and splaying his front paws in an invitation to play. I ignore him as my job is to be the serious one but, when in the mood, Adriano will chase him. Nothing gives Danilo more pleasure. They race around the garden, swapping chasing and being chased, as he barks joyfully at every twist and turn. Teenagers! They are much too full of energy for me.
Lulu and Niña, the mother and daughter double act that used to live at Don Narciso’s at San Pedro, are older (though maybe not wiser) and have a very different preference when it comesto leisure pursuits. They look all very cute and charming, especially when curled up together in the bed we originally bought for Torsalino but was never used by any of the cats, however many evenings they disappear, escaping from the farm by scuttling through the drain that takes our creek under the road, to hunt possums and armadillos, and they catch them, and they kill them.
It is not all one-way however.
The armadillos are relatively easy prey but the possums, called ‘chuchos’ here and, apart from their tails, not dissimilar to the ringtail possums that inhabit the South East corner of Australia, have a virulent form of defence. They pee in the dog’s faces. I don’t know what the immediate effect it has on the dogs but what it does do is affect their eyes, giving them a milky haze similar to cataracts, which if repeated too many times affects their corneas and sends them blind. Niña is currently being treated by Anserma’s vet, Alejandra, who is well versed in saving dogs’ sight, brought on by canine possum abuse. Adriano gets very frustrated that they keep doing it. The bottom line however is that they are dogs, not humans, and they will do what their instincts tell them.
Which brings me to the biggest news, I suppose, and that is that Checho (now alias El Gordo … the Fat One), has returned to Mykanos to regain his shape. He was only at Rancho Grande for around two months but literally doubled his girth, victim of the nice ladies bearing ever more food. That’s what his instincts tell him: if it is on offer, eat it. He became middle aged seemingly overnight, and currently looks like a version of Checho as painted by Fernando Botero.
On returning to Mykanos he was immediately at home, having grown up and lived here most of his life. He stepped in effortlessly as alpha male (behind Adriano and me) and has taken all of Danilo’s usual sitting places, at the top of the stairs, in doorways etc. but then he had them first. He is always on hand; on the landing outside our upstairs bedroom at night, on the steps to the terrace when we having coffee there, in the doorway to the kitchen when we are cooking (what a surprise), either to keep us company or to protect us. At meal times he still remembers to wait for Adriano to snap his fingers before he can dig in, and still sits and shakes hands on command. This used to frustrate Horacio as he wouldn’t do it for him, but then Checho only responded to the English command because I was the one who taught him to do it.
Still no cat. We are not yet up to the prospect of finding someone who can live up to Torsalino, Mafeluchis or Pispirispis.
Adriano taking over complete control of day-to-day operation, apart from giving him too many things to worry about, has also fired his entrepreneurial spirit and where once he saw a beautiful space he now sees a beautiful space that can generate benefits.
On the grassy slope beyond the Rose Acacia tree, where the cats are interred, we now have a green tsunami of maíz (maize or sweetcorn), which will provide us with lots of food for the chickens, which we are now raising for food and to sell. And above the various tilapia filled fishponds we have planted about 1,000 pineapple plants, because they are very decorative and because they produce saleable fruit.
The pineapples join the fruit we grow for our own consumption which currently includes oranges, mandarins, limes, avocados, bananas, guavas, and maracuya, which is the same as passion fruit but bigger. The day before yesterday I had my first taste of a relatively new addition, Arazá … Eugenia Stipitata … a new fruit from the Western Amazon, which is being considered for commercial purposes by the US as I write this. It is quite acidic but when blended with milk and some panela (unrefined cane sugar) makes an absolutely delicious yoghurt-like drink.
With the ability to generate income from maíz, pineapples, chickens and fish we can fund a fulltime gardener and beast keeper who will make the place ever more beautiful and ever more bountiful.
With the cosecha heating up Adriano is overseeing coffee going to the co-operative each evening, which means I have the odd moment to watch some television before he gets home for aperitifs.
The other night I was watching Pioneers of Television on the Arts & Entertainment channel, which was about pioneers of TV comedy such as Dick Van Dyke, Robin Williams etc. and included Jonathan Winters, whose improvisational skills were astounding.
The expert witnesses said his rehearsals were always better than the takes and it reminded of when I had the privilege of working with Spike Milligan back in 1987. It was a short film for the Australia Post pavilion at Expo 88 in Brisbane. I wrote it (in the style of Spike) and directed it. I also played a minor role, as my rates were very favourable. His agent said that if he was uncomfortable with anything in the script he would ask to change it but luckily he was happy with it, and arrived having committed it to memory. The cameraman, who had worked with him before, told me discreetly that the rehearsals were always better than the takes, and with each take his performance got less magical, and so we (secretly) shot all the run-throughs, and those were the bits we used.
Funny thing, spontaneity. Adriano nearly always likes his sketches better than the works he creates from them. There is a freedom and joy that is muted when too much thought goes into them.
I saw an interview with Yo-Yo Ma who talked about the time, when he was a kid, he told his father, ”When I grow up I want to be an artist.” His father responded, “You can’t do both.”
Adriano agrees.
Love from him and me
Barry
