Blackie and life

Well what has been happening here recently?

The sun is still out - I love April it is the perfect month here... not too hot, not too windy and the winter southern swells are beginning to kick in so Samson is very happy with the waves!  He has been busy with lots of surf lessons down at Baie de Sainge - it is such a lovely beach to learn on.  He has a regular class with one of the local French schools who are now really getting the hang of riding those waves and there have also been a few tourists and new 'vazah' (or strangers) arriving in town... long may it continue.   

He recently took a couple of tourists to Andoahela one of the National Parks within striking distance of Fort Dauphin.  It is a fascinating forest full of endemic plants and animals right up the mountains that separate the wet coastal Anosy region from the spiny deserts of Tandroy in the south west.  Really worth an overnight camp by the beautiful waterfalls if you are ever heading out that way!  

We are finally mending our leaking roof so that the menagerie I mentioned in a previous blog will no longer be resident in our bathroom - fingers crossed!!  Also fixing our terrace roof so that I will once again have the best office in town - imagine sitting in a beautiful garden whilst working on the computer - how cool will that be?  I love living in the tropics!

For the last three weeks Blackie (the dog) has been on heat. It is her first one and I have been determined to avoid puppies - easier said than done in Madagascar!  Dogs are not exactly seen as pets here by the Malagasy... not only because many families can hardly feed themselves properly let alone a dog, but also because there are so many dogs and very few solid fences so they tend to procreate rapidly.  Many of my Gasy friends don't get my English obsession with looking after Blackie.  Their attitude is that if a dog goes missing / dies / wanders off, you just go get another puppy from your neighbourhood - there are bound to be some. 

Luckily we do have a wall around our house which has meant that so long as the gate has been kept closed, I have managed to keep the boy dogs at bay.  This has been a challenge with all the comings and goings at our house: the man fixing the roof, little Dollar and Rasta (yes those are their names) who hang out as Samson's 'gofers', Relax who does the garden, the lady who does the washing, the numerous people knocking on the door to sell us meat/ fish/ fruit every day, not to mention Samson's family coming and going to use the water tap... I feel like I have turned into a crazy harridan constantly shouting 'close the gate'!  I think that all our Gasy neighbours must now be convinced that I am definitely mad!  Keep your fingers crossed that a naughty boy dog has not snuck in when I was not looking!!

I guess it is time for a bit of an introduction to Blackie.  She is the grand-daughter of Bonnie who was my first dog here in Fort Dauphin.  Both came to me when I was not really wanting a dog - both looked up at me with very cute little faces and my heart melted in a way that only an English heart can.  She is still 'only a dam dog' as Samson puts when he is feeling Gasy, but I can tell that he is getting really mushy about her as he plays with her when he thinks I am not looking.  Our Gasy visitors are amazed that a dog can be trained to behave themselves (sit, stay etc) and that so long as a regular flea/tick regime is followed, they can actually be quite fun to have around.  She is also a great guard dog - so she is earning her keep!  I am determined to slowly undermine the Gasy attitude to our four-legged friends!  Does any one knows a dog specialist vet that would like to come to help with sterilisation operations and more, I know that the one and only local vet would love to have more help/training/medicines?! 

Oh and I have finally signed up for French lessons - they start tomorrow so I am getting a bit nervous about going back to school!  I am dreading trying to understand the grammar... I remember hating it the first time around.  But I really do need to brush up my Française so it will all be worth while.

Hope that spring is springing with everyone in the Northern Hemisphere and the Daffodils are finally out back at home!