At the Palace

 

Photo Interlude - Victor one of the older guys

My friend who runs the Dog Palace picked me up this morning, but was a bit early, so they got my coffee from Marinos while I fed the cats. There was someone else in the car, he is Greek and has a Small holding that he goes to if the weather is good. It’s miles to it and he walks both ways. We think he is eighty. I was able to pick a lot of the words that my friend and he said when they talked. After we dropped him off, we continued along the track to the Palace where we got our usual lovely greeting from the inhabitants.

Photo Interlude - Mavro another one of the older dogs

I think I have explained the daily timetable before and it’s not changed much. I have a coffee with my friend, and a biscuit or two to start with, my friend has bread with soft cheese, each of the dogs gets a small piece of that as well. After the coffee, I go and see the two dogs who have to be kept isolated, just to give them a bit of company. Once I come back from this, the dogs know it’s time the walks started. I have been going different ways for all of them, to make things more interesting for all of us. Yesterdays rain was much needed, a lifeline for the plants that are in the middle of producing flowers, then seeds for their next generation. The unpaved track has scars in its surface, where the water ran during yesterdays downpour. The whole place was starting to go brown, it now feels fresh and rejuvenated after the rain. There are puddles of water around that the dogs often wandered into. 

Photo Interlude - Aloney on the old well

During one of the walks on the way back, I saw the ferry coming towards us, the one that runs all year, with its orange hull and white deck. There are a few other boats about too. It’s not super warm, but on the last walk, I leave my jacket behind. Some of these dogs are quite old, conversations with other dog owners have led me to believe dogs here live longer, the Mediterranean effect maybe. The dogs are much more at ease with me on the walks now, and like the ones I walked in the UK, and  take liberties with me, as they know they can. When I am sitting down there is a scrum to get to me. Mavro, who is timid loves it when he has me to himself making contented snuffling noises when he has his face pushed into me.

Photo Interlude - Maloney 

After a lovely lunch of spaghetti with a super tangy tomato based sauce, we all rest and have a siesta. The wind has dropped to a whisper now and it’s quite warm. I lay on the mattress by the house, the dogs are initially unaware of this, but one by one they find me and I become entangled in a mess of dogs. In the land around the enclosures, there is a carpet of flowers, of all types, with bees buzzing busily on them. The Apricot and Fig both have small fruit on them, their leaves now opening out. In the afternoon it’s time to spend with all the dogs, Buddy the newcomer loves his face being petted, he is better after last weeks stomach troubles.