November

I was told that November is the rainiest month here and so far it’s proving to be true. It’s still raining every day, with breaks in the rain here and there, but not really drying. I’ve managed to find an hour or so every day to walk the dogs. Sometimes we have a decent enough walk and sometimes it will be ok when we start off and then we get caught in a downpour halfway through the walk. I ordered a pair of waterproof hiking boots about a month ago and thank goodness I did! We’ve had such heavy rains and high winds that some of the areas we walk into have big branches and even trees that have come crashing down along our path. I move what I can out of the way and leave the rest for the farmers to deal with. It’s getting to be like a bog with all the water and mud I swear I heard my walking stick making a sucking sound as we walked along and I pulled it out of the mud!

In spite of the weather as I said we’ve walked every day. Today before we went out I told myself that I would NOT pick up any walnuts today. So here’s what happened: as we’re walking along I start to see naked walnuts. What are naked walnuts, you ask? Well, they’re walnuts that due to the rain and wind have had their outer husks removed. So they’re just laying there on the ground, naked, wet, vulnerable and alone. What could I do?? I couldn’t just leave the poor things there. What kind of person would that make me, I ask you?? So of course, I had to pick up the first one and then there was another, and another and so on. I felt tears in my eyes as I had to walk by so many of the poor, naked things because my pockets were stuffed. It was a terrible ordeal but I’m consoling myself with the knowledge that I will go back out again tomorrow and rescue as many more as I can! 😜

Speaking of the rain, areas just north of Florence have been flooded because the rains have been so heavy. Every day we walk by the Arno River and it’s getting deeper and faster. Fortunately it’s not near enough to me to be a problem. Most of the area around here has pretty high banks and it’s farmland. I believe that the last time this area flooded was in 1966.

I have found out that I have to go to Madrid to get my Italian visa before I can apply for the more permanent Elective Visa which is for foreign retirees. Right now there are no available appointments however so I’m praying for a miracle that will somehow get me in before the end of November. Once this is done I can work on my citizenship again. This journey has been long and fraught with obstacles but I really hope there is beginning to be an end in sight.