By: MARGARET BROWN
Margaret Brown is one of The Resident’s longest standing contributors and has lived in the Algarve for more than 20 years. As well as Country Matters, she also writes Point of View every week.
WITH MORE rain to come, according to local forecasts, the rampant vegetation growing along one of my early walks is now up to shoulder height and in some places the narrow pathways have become tunnels.
Following heavy dew or an overnight shower, both Millie, the shag-pile bitch, and I were drenched – nothing to worry about, but a different matter when it comes to ticks.
This morning several of these unpleasant ectoparasites hitched a ride home. Some were wandering about on the kitchen tiles, others clung to the dog and halfway through breakfast I found two strolling across my shirt.
A relative of the Spider, when first hatched from an egg of which the female may lay as many as 3,000 at any one time, the nymph has only six legs. Having found a suitable host (you, me or the dog, among others) and feasted on blood for several days it will fall to the ground, moult and gain an extra pair of legs in the process. From then on it appears that the female ingests blood until she resembles a balloon and the male, apart from his sole purpose of founding the next generation is joined by one or two friends – they drill holes in her distended abdomen and drink. In due course all drop to the ground, a batch of eggs is laid and the female dies.
Tick collars, specially formulated drops and suitable shampoos are vital in the battle to keep these pests at bay. Twice daily grooming helps during the two ‘high seasons’ which in the Algarve are about now, and in the autumn. If blessed with a partner or close friend, it is advisable to have a mutual and personal inspection occasionally just in case a fellow traveller has hitched a ride. Removal requires great care because the probe through which blood is drawn has barbs like a harpoon. The use of tweezers close to the puncture wound may avoid crushing the parasite or leaving mouthparts behind.
Busy birds
Looking on the bright side, an infestation of ticks is unlikely except on land grazed by livestock or in places frequented by wild birds and animals. One way to keep the population down on a fair sized spread is to run some Guinea Fowl. Noted for their ability to consume insect pests in large quantities, they make a gourmet roast when fully grown and are excellent watch keepers day and night. If their gritty chatter annoys neighbours, the gift of half a dozen eggs goes a long way to smoothing any ruffled feathers.
With wild birds at their busiest and the first broods hatched, parents are foraging from dawn until sunset, none busier than a pair of either Swallow or House Martin which have built a nest behind the top central carving of the reredos in the Church of Nossa Senhora da Luz. During Trinity Sunday service taken by Canon John Davies, these busy birds kept a steady food chain going, their flight path directly over the altar. The twittering hatchlings became a part of the sermon and at one stage a noisy Sparrow perched nearby in case a tasty morsel missed its target, but how will the little family manage once everyone has left and the doors are locked? At least they should be safe from predators other than human.
Birds of prey, with the exception of a few Little Owls, have been absent from the range of hills behind our house for several years. Then the other evening as I watched the sun slip below the horizon, an owl glided from behind the house, no more than 20 feet above where I sat. At a guess its wing span was close to one metre and broad from tip to root, its’ feathers striped and flecked with brown. Absolutely silent in flight, the great bird was soon lost in the fading light. Perhaps it was a Tawny, or a small Eagle Owl.
Although Clube de Vela de Lagos started its season of competition for both fishermen and sailors on March 8, with fixtures every weekend until December 1, it was not until May 17 that the Boss felt ready to have a go. So on Saturday May 29, Lagos Open Sailing Week for Dinghies and Cruisers, he set out loaded down with boat gear, and a stuffed bread roll plus two artificial knees and a replacement hip all acquired since February 2006. Promising only to race in moderate airs, once his Laser was rigged, the adrenaline took charge and by the time competitors were flogging round the Bay waiting to start, the northerly wind was varying from Force 2 to Force 5.
There was no turning back. It was only a moderate sized fleet. The Boss capsized in the first race and finished last, he had a hairy flog round the cans in the second race coming in first but only fifth on handicap. In the third race with gusts up to Force 6 and another capsize, commonsense called ‘Time’ and he retired. At home I saw the worsening weather and visualized the Boss watching from the Naufragio Bar, safe and undamaged if rather frustrated. What a silly woman… at 5.30pm, bruised and a touch bloody, my Ancient Mariner hobbled into the house. Within two days he was as good as new, everything seemingly undamaged and looking forward to the next Campeonato.
