Two candles

 

As we got into the truck for the homeward journey, after being at the Dog Palace today, we both remarked at how hot the inside of the vehicle was. The fingers of summer are making themselves felt. During a dinner date last night, I was introduced into the details of the Easter Celebrations. A friend is going to be my guide. A poster on Marinos’s Coffee Bar details the timings, but a human guide will be invaluable. Two candles are needed, a white and a red, to be lit on different days. I have mine ready. My last coffee voucher is now used up, it’s cash tomorrow. Unfortunately at the Dog Palace a couple of the older residents are not well, Victor is eating grass in an effort to make himself throw up, and the other, Mavro  is looking a bit peaky as we say in the UK, the vet will be asked to take a look, next time they are in town, if these two don’t recover. It’s ironic that these two were a pair of hunting dogs, who lived together, they really don’t like each other so have to be kept apart. A more placid pair of dogs you could not hope to find.

Photo Interlude - Mavro by the Fig tree

The first walk, for Maloney and Aloney went wayward at the start, as unfortunately the second entrance gate was open, so Rita and Choca made a bid for freedom as I tried to get the first two out. In any case, both are ok off the lead and can be trusted, it’s not my decision, but their owners. Rita is a reluctant Walker as we have seen, but with Choca about, they both went charging off, enjoying each others company. Victor was next but he spent all his time eating grass and turned around soon after starting , unusual for him. The final walk is for the owners home dogs, but one of them was with the coworker, who was working  in Livadi. I thought Choca would not want to come, with the other two brother dogs, but she did and finally we got to the church that I have been gradually aiming for when we walk that way.

Photo Interlude - Choca by Agios Mamas

On the walks,  I have been trying to remember the Greek words used for past tense like, I was, We were, You were, plus the words for ownership like yours, mine, ours and so on. At the end of the day I knew them all, but as I am tired now, I suspect I might not recollect them all, let’s see what tomorrow brings. It was a topsy  turvy day, being  hot and cold, until it really warmed up at the end of the day, I had a lovely lunch, a really tasty lentil soup.

Maloney, looks like a Spaniel and behaves like one. He does remind me of my dog friend who I wrote about the other day, he has taken to licking  large amounts of any of my body which is revealed to the atmosphere. He is a bit of an  Alpha male, and he will growl at other dogs if he feels he is being pushed out from being able to get to me. I usually say “no” to him in Greek and if repeated that usually does the trick.  I was reminded when looking at the figs in the  garden, that these are quite small, the ones I have seen in Hora are really big and almost look full size. During the walks, we have seen lots of Swallows, flying like they are in dogfights, swooping about and hoovering up insects. Sadly a rare sight in the UK now, in my younger years, we would see them lined up on electric wires, getting ready to migrate back to warmer climbs.