The noble sport of hunting - 23 Sep 2010

Moving to a different country is always some kind of a culture shock, even if it's a reasonably nearby and by all means European country like Italy. And I apologise to my dear Italian friends, but there is one aspect where Italy still hasn't made it to the civilised world... and that is hunting.
In Italy, a hunter is almost omnipotent. He doesn't need to undergo any psychological or technical exam prior to being given a license. He's merely "supposed" to know the rules. And there are very few rules. In fact, as far as Italy is concerned, the situation is not far off of being a Far West. Not suprisingly, in this country there's an average of over 50 mortal incidents each hunting season. The number of injuries is of course much higher. Hunters can happily enter private land and shoot as they like. They only have to maintain a distance of 100m to houses. But what is 100m of course. If you want to keep hunters away from your property, you need to close it off by a fence of at least 1,20m high and put visible "private property" signs on regular intervals. Meaning, to close let's say a 100m perimeter you're easily in for a 300-400€ expense without the poles. If, like in our situation, you have to enclose 2 hectares, this is as good as impossible. Just putting signs or putting a plastic rope or chain isn't good enough. Obviously the Italian legislator has made it so difficult for private house owners that they'll usually give up and let the hunters have their way.

Last Sunday the hunting season started. Christine and I were still in bed when we heard a shotgun fire really close by. A bit later when we were outside, in front of our house, we suddenly saw a hunter fire at a partridge in the middle of our field. Roughly 60m away from us! He came barging into our field and I went to meet him because I wouldn't have that. I was still only 20m away from him when he suddenly raised his gun and fired in the air at another partridge. The argument that followed wasn't pleasant at all. Especially when his dogs suddenly entered our garden and started chasing our hens. Christine and I chased them away of course. But this made the hunter even more furious. Up to the point that he started making hidden threats. He went back uphill, to his mate who was standing there, laughing. And then they just stood there, observing us. Every now and then they took their binoculars to look at Christine and I and when they noticed we were still there, they made angry gestures. Fortunately, after half an hour or so, they went away.

In the mean time I've already put "no hunting" signs everywhere. And I've dug a little deeper into the Italian hunting law. In fact, it seems to make a difference between a private garden and private land for agricultural purposes. Because under no circumstances a hunter is allowed to enter a garden. It's the "private agricultural land" that has to be closed off by a fence. And there is more. A hunter also has to remain at least 100m away from domestic animals. Which includes the normal cats and dogs but also horses, cows and... hens! :-) So I've put the new henhouse at such a distance from our house that basically no hunter can still come into our field. I've also been thinking to put our old, plastic garden furniture towards the far end, to really make it look like a "garden".

I can understand that the hunters must really be frustrated. Our field is the perfect hunting ground because from the field above you can take a very nice pop shot into ours. Our house has been abandoned for forty years so there has never been anything in their way. But as from now, they're technically no longer allowed to come, let alone hunt, in our field. And on top of that also a large portion of the field above has become off limits due to its less than 100m distance to our house.

Christine and I don't care in the least. On the other hand, we're very much afraid because it's clear that there are a lot of cowboys among these hunters who don't give a toss about the rules. A good advice a friend gave us is to keep a camera nearby. So whenever a demented hunter tries something illegal, we'll have a picture as proof to the authorities. And hopefully they'll listen...

Moving in at last!!! - 23 Sep 2010

Sorry... this post is a bit late; my apologies. But since Tuesday of the previous week we're living in our own house!!! This is actually one of the reasons why I couldn't write any earlier. Moving in is one thing. Creating some sort of order is another... :-)



But slowly we're getting there. The house already looks a whole lot tidier now. Even though we're still more or less camping. There is no running water on the ground floor, simply because we haven't got any sink there yet. This is mainly Dopey Dwarf's fault because he put the taps too low and had to send one of his assistants, an even more stupid dwarf, to mend it. The even more stupid dwarf came, put the taps where they should be but left a big mess. "You can repair it any way you like", he said. And left in a big hurry. Well, we're not going to let it ruin our good spirit, are we? The cooker... was supposedly sent but then again not. A simple inquiry with the courier confirmed that there's nothing being sent to us. This means that we have no other option than to inform the "Postal Police" which is responsible for internet fraud. Hopefully they can eventually talk some sense into that ghastly woman. Fortunately there's a very friendly English family nearby who were happy to lend us their camping cooker. It does its job more than well.

On the other hand, we do have a toilet at last. You may remember that the one we got turned out to be broken underneath and had to be replaced. It took some time and a week's survival on a camping toilet (again many thanks to our English friends) but now we can at least go to the loo properly.

So this is more or less where we are at the moment. One thing's for sure: the cats love it here! We were so confident that we left our two oldest ones, Canelle and Blu already outside after two days. And without any problem. They simply ador these surroundings full of bushes, trees and a view you only get in travel magazines. Thomas and Flora will still have to wait a bit. They're less experienced and more likely to get into trouble. Perhaps we'll try a guided walk this afternoon. After all, the weather's just superb today...

The Pradarena adventure - 13 Sep 2010

One thing I try to escape from the ghosts in my head, is taking my Vespa for a spin. For me there's no better way to get rid of all the worries (for a few minutes) than to ride along the winding mountain roads and enjoy the magnificent landscapes that await you behind every bend.

The day before yesterday I was feeling so down that I definitely needed a slightly bigger adventure to get my mind off things. It was around four 'o clock in the afternoon and the weather was just perfect. So I decided to make one of my dreams come true, which is riding my Vespa all the way up the Pradarena pass (1575m). It's only about 20km away from our house, so there I went.

Initially the road takes you along the valleys towards the town of Ligonchio. No problem there whatsoever. But then the climb gets steeper. Much steeper. Over 10% steep. Not the sort of thing my Vespa was keen on. After all, it was designed as a city vehicle; certainly not well-adapted for mountain-goat adventures. At times its maximum speed dropped below 20kph and I almost felt like getting off and give it a push. Very embarassing, you know, when motorbikes are zooming past; the riders of which obviously thinking that I must be bonking mad. But I let them mock me. My brave companion eventually made it to the top!!! Here's the living proof: the sign which told me that I was leaving the province of Reggio Emilia and entering the province of Lucca, in Tuscany:

Obviously I wanted to enjoy this moment a bit. It's a pity that at the top of the pass the view isn't all that superb. It's closed in by mountainsides and forests. And I hadn't had enough at all. I wanted more... and higher. Much higher. So I continued on foot, through the forest leading to the nearest mountaintop.

Hey! Look at these big mushrooms! But you better no eat those...

The forest got thinner and thinner. Eventually I arrived at the tree limit and to my great joy I could see the mountaintop. Well, at least I thought I could see it...

Much to my disappointment, the mountaintop was a lot higher still. Oh... my poor old legs... :-) But I would not give in! I would make it to the top, even if I'd collapse. Then I saw this weird pile of stones. Would that perhaps be the top?

No! Not in the least! I had to climb about another 50m still. But then... tadaaaa... the big moment...

WOOOOOOWWW!!! Just look at that!!! The following picture was taken in northeasterly direction. You can see the Bismantova rock in the far distance, with to its left the town of Castelnovo ne' Monti. And all the way against the horizon (not very clear on the picture) I could make out the outskirts of the city of Reggio Emilia, which must be about 60km away!

To the east, the majestic mount Cusna, the highest mountain in the Reggian Appenines...

And then... hold your breath for this panorama which ranges from south to northwest.

On the left (south) you can see the sharp outlines of the Alpi Apuane in Tuscany. Then the panorama goes through the southwest (sun), past the Alpe di Succiso (also over 2000m), then nearby Mount Cavalbianco (+/-1850m) and to the northwest Mount Ventasso (on the last picture). I absolutely haven't got the faintest idea how the mountain that I was standing on is called (couldn't find it on any map) but it must not be much lower than Mount Cavalbianco as you can see for yourself. Unfortunately the mountain I stood on just wasn't high enough to be able to see the Tyrrhanean Sea. But it was a spectacular view nonetheless.

After half an hour or so I climbed down again. Here's a picture of me and my loyal ride on the top of the pass, with Mount Cavalbianco on the background...

One last glance at Tuscany before I'd drive back...

Look, mama, that's how high I've been!!!...

Almost home. The Bismantova Rock in the evening light. Just a few more bends and I'd be home...

Sundown over the Alpe di Succiso...


The end. :-)

I wish I could fly - 13 Sep 2010

Being autistic means i.a. that I'm much more sensible to emotions. Good ones, but also bad ones. How hard I try to keep on smiling and to laugh at the problems we're still facing, I can't hide my innermost feelings any longer. Tears are rolling off my cheeks nearly every day now. In spite of the good news I received about my book and our house being habitable now.

Financially we're still in a lot of trouble and also Danilo decided he'd be his old stupid self and went to court to ask another €13.000,- from us. Even though he messed up completely, "forgot" to order the seismic study and to ask for a building permit and last but not least forged Christine's signature on an official document to make it seem like he did his job. So that's courtcase number two.

Courtcase number three is also well on its way. We bought a beautiful cooker through eBay and at a very sharp price too. Unfortunately, the lady of the eBay shop also messed up and had the cooker sent to my address of residence (still in Belgium at the time) in stead of my primary shipping address (in Italy of course). The discussion is already going on for over a month because she doesn't want to admit that she made a mistake. "I sent it to the address as mentioned in eBay", by which she means "residence" in stead of "shipping". And then she says it's all my fault and that I have to sort things out myself. Three courtcases in three months... I had imagined things a bit differently...

I also fell out with a hunter who came barging through our land with his dogs, regardless if it is a private property or not. I've put "no entry" signs everywhere but that didn't seem to bother him. He even warned me that if I tried to stop his dogs one more time... I asked: "Is that a threat?" "No", he replied "but I'd see what would happen otherwise".

Then, last week there was a terrible tragedy in the family about which I will not elaborate here.

And so on and so on...

I'm feeling empty... chased by dark shadows which have come to haunt me. I can't find any peace anywhere because they always know where I'm hiding. At times I take a seat on our terrace and try to enjoy the warm sunshine. To no avail. My heart keeps beating restlessly. The pain is throbbing in my chest. The slightests of sounds blasts through my ears even harder than usual. Do you remember when you were really startled once? That's how I'm feeling all of the time now. As if my poor old heart could give up any minute. No... please... leave me alone!!! All I want is just sit here quietly on my terrace and be left in peace. Why is that so difficult?

Italian light - 08 Sep 2010

Did I already mention that the light in Italy is just fabulous? Every day the shades are different. Every day the picture changes. Remember the story I told you about that man who believed he was the richest man in the world because he lived in a castle with an ever-changing mosaic ceiling (which turned out to be the clouds)? Well, that's exactly how we feel. Very very rich and fortunate indeed. Here are a couple of pictures I took over the last couple of days. According to me they're not the best ever and they don't even come close to really being there. But I still hope you enjoy them...


This is the valley of the river Secchia, just a couple of miles away from our house and taken from the road that leads to Castelnovo ne' Monti, the main town in the area...





The following picture was taken yesterday morning. The town of Sologno was still covered by the clouds, but from our driveway the view was just spectacular. Being at an altitude of nearly 800m means that at once you can be "overwhelmed" by clouds. When I was having breakfast outdoors in Sologno, all of a sudden the clouds invaded the town and took away all sunshine. It was as if someone blew them in with an enormous smoke-machine. A bit scary, actually... just like in these horror-movies :-)




The following picture was taken from our bedroom window, yesterday evening. Just stunning colours...



And now for something completely different... How do you like our new dining room? :-) I hope that Christine will be pleased with my cleaning job when she gets back from Flanders... You can see the space where later on there will be a built-in cupboard. It's one of the few pieces of furniture that we'll recover from the original house. Obvioulsy the woodwork still needs a serious polish and a couple of layers of protective paint so we can't install it yet. But the old windows are just lovely. It will make a beautiful display for our finest crystal glasses.

Dopey Dwarf - 05 Sep 2010

The plan was to move into our new home last Wednesday. But this plan was thwarted by Dopey Dwarf - who happens to be a plumber and loyal servant of the Big Bad Wolf. He was already supposed to install the heater in July. In August he happened to be on holiday. And last week he finally returned to... start installing the water taps. Something which we could've easily done ourselves. The heater, you might ask? Or what about the pump for the rainwater container? No!!! Not important at all! And now he told us that the heater is out of stock until the beginning of October... WHAT??? Oh yes, he's going to help us out for the time being by installing a temporary, second-hand heater. Guess who'll have to pay for that! Oh no!!! Then he doesn't know us yet! I've contacted the supplier of our new heater to inquire how long it would take to order one. And apparently most of these suppliers have their own people who can install one if you like. Dopey Dwarf better weren't lying or he'll end up the same way as the Big Bad Wolf and the Nasty Little Man!

So here we are. In a house that's as good as finished. Apart from having water running out of our taps; not to mention hot water and central heating. Well, that last bit isn't all that urgent. It's still summer over here (although there were a couple of thunderstorms this evening) and the temperature is just perfect... What a life... Pity that my skin burns so easily because otherwise I could stay in the gentle sunshine forever.

Today Christine returned to Belgium. She has an appointment at the Chronic Fatigue Centre, at the Leuven University. And most important of all, she has to collect our hens and a whole trailer full of plants which didn't make it with the movers due to not enough room in the lorry. When I write this, she's already arrived at her mother's. Tired, but happy. Very happy, in fact. Why, you might ask? Well... she has a little surprise in store for her mother. Last week, she heard that there was a competition going on on the Flemish radio. The person having the best arguments would win a private living-room concert of one of Flanders' most famous artists (Paul Michiels, for the connoisseurs...). Under the pretext of not having to lose anything she participated and wrote about our Italian adventure and that she therefore had to leave her mother behind; all alone. Guess what? The day before yesterday she received a phonecall from the radio, with the message that... SHE HAD WON!!! Next Saturday Paul Michiels will visit her mother for the private concert. This evening the winner will be announced on the radio. Christine made her mother believe that they're going to play a special request record on the radio, just to make sure that she's going to turn it on. I wish I could be there to see her face... :-)