Summer neighbours

Someone's asked me if I could write more frequently to which I said, but I only write or post photos when there is something of interest to write about.  But, she said, I like to come home from work, log on and catch up with everything that's happened as it helps keep me going until the next time we're over.  (She and her husband have a house nearby and come for every holiday they can)



Our next door neighbours are down from Granada for the summer, they have a house in Yator that they sleep in and come up here all day every day.  They have a plunge pool - 3metres by 2 - big enough for the children to spend endless hours in.  Carmen - the grandmother - is chief cook and TV watcher in true Spanish style, Mari spends a lot of time stretched out on a sunbed by the pool usually getting splashed by her children while Miguel, her husband, has a new toy this summer.  He's bought a strimmer and can be heard  clearing anything that he thinks are weeds or grass and therefore unwanted.  It's partly in an effort to keep wildlife and insects away from around the house but he doesn't seem to know the difference between grasses, geraniums, iris and some low growing fleshy plant with red flowers that we have everywhere but don't know it's name.  So all the flowers that I'd planted around where we all park our cars are now no more.  They were only cuttings that were spare, but did brighten up the edges and more to the point, the roots help hold the soil together when it rains.  When I was chatting to Mari and Carmen, I said to them, have you seen what he's been up to?  Mari said the equivalent of "boys and their toys!"   It's not the first time, last summer he chopped out nearly all the flowers she'd put in outside their front door as part of his grand tidy up.  At least the roots are still there so they should regrow.  Next time the strimmer comes out, I'm going to stand guard! 

Saturday he set off down their terraces clearing the undergrowth.  On the way down he managed to "prune" the 20 foot high, enormously bushy bay tree down to something that resembles a lollipop.  Lots of bay leaves now drying on the terrace under the grape vine.  Luckily he is working this week so everything is ok until the weekend!