The first of the year.

 A belated happy new year to all,  I did say that this might not be a regular blog,  and it's now 5 days into the new year and first post. 
And what  wonderful weather this year has started with,  cold nights and some frost because the sky is clear and blue and sunny all day,  reaching 18 in the shade yesterday although a bit cooler today.  I know people like to think that Southern Spain is always hot and sunny and we are very lucky with our weather but nights are cold,  wood burner lit about 5.30 every day from early November through till March,  plus sometimes we have it alight during the day during February and March which is really our winter. 

Sunrise yesterday as the sun caught the rocks by the fuente....

and today shining through the olive trees....

A quiet Christmas here,  just the two of us,  New Years Eve we joined friends in Yator for food and drinks,  very quiet there as well,  the bar was shut when we down at 7.30 and still shut when we left at 1.15 so I doubt it opened at all.  But tonight is 3 Kings,  El Día de los Reyes   and much more of a celebration that either Christmas or New Year,  in fact there are fireworks going off as I write this. 

(from wikipedia - quicker than me writing it!)

"In Spain and some Latin American countries, Epiphany day is called El Día de los Reyes (The Day of the Kings), i.e., the day when a group of Kings or Magi arrived to worship and bring three gifts to the baby Jesus after following a star in the heavens. This day is sometimes known as the Día de los Tres Reyes Magos  (The day of the Three Royal Magi)  In Spanish tradition on January 6, three of the Kings: Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar, representing Arabia, the Orient, and Africa, arrived on horse, camel and elephant, bringing respectively gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus. Children (and many adults) polish and leave their shoes ready for the Kings' presents before they go to bed on the eve of January 6. The next morning presents will appear under their shoes, or if the children are deemed to have misbehaved during the year, coal (usually a lump of hard sugar candy dyed black, called Carbón Dulce). Most towns in Spain arrange colorful parades representing the arrival of the Reyes Magos to town so children can see them in their camels or carriages before they go to bed. In Spain, children typically receive presents on this day, rather than on Christmas, though this tradition has changed lately, and children now receive presents on both days."

 Just before Christmas our neighbours had 15 of their olive trees pruned as they needed firewood for their village house.   When I say pruned,  don't think tiny little branches cut out but imagine the centre of the trees,  trunks really and all large branches.  We don't think they really appreciated just how much ground would be covered with cut stuff and the firewood was mostly underneath the greenery.  Some of the chunks,  too big to be called logs,  were about 18 inches diameter and the same in length,  too big to burn without cutting up and probably very heavy.  They came on Friday morning and spent quite a while having what we imagine to be an 'oh deary me' moment.  2.30 saw them going off for lunch,  back here at 5pm to start again,  moving branches,  finding firewood,  moving it and stacking it.  John realised they didn't have a log splitter

this is it,  the log splitter and the man himself! Or part of him :)

 only a small hand axe so he took his log splitter round for Miguel to borrow.  Marie was a terrace lower down,  she called me and said 'can you use any of this?'  This being quite large branches,  bigger than kindling and very good as a fire starter when dried out.  So that's what we've been doing for an hour or two every day,  cutting down branches,  stacking in our wood store,  and gradually working from pile to pile.  To be honest I don't think we've made any sort of impression at all! 

 Excitement this morning - well for Monty and Pip at least.  I was indoors,  heard barking,  John heard what he thought was someone or more than one person running past in heavy boots,  actually it was 2 horses but no-one with them.   From our lounge window -  we have a much bigger view now the trees are pruned - we saw the horses going down the pista.  I went out shopping soon after but no sign of horses,  when I was on my way up the pista almost 2 hours later I pulled over to let a car come down and the guy asked me if I'd seen his horses!  Well yes,  and told him when  and where,  so he carried on down to Yator.  Has he found them?  No idea, but we hope so.