Baba Roon

 We had the great good fortune of being invited to a gastronomic society last weekend to partake of babarrunak, a kind of red bean grown in the Tolosa area. It is (not kidding) traditionally served with boiled cabbage.
Yes, that's right-beans + cabbage.

With a side of blood sausage, if you are inclined. It was musical event, as it were. I forgot my camera, so I stole pulled some lovely photos from the internet of the town of Orio, where the society is located. They are famous for their rowing team, which also rows on the ocean. Now that I think about it, maybe beans+cabbage makes sense...This particular gastronomic society allows women as guests but not in the kitchen. Traditionally women have been the heads of the household here and dominated the kitchens, so guys wanting to go cook made their own no-girls-allowed societies. That is all slowly changing. We sat down all together at a big long table and carried on in three languages and got real full. I am thinking of starting my own society, hmm...

Monty

 Would have put a coin next to Python Earthworm here for scale, but s/he ate it. And it doesn't even leave a bump. THAT is how big these things are.

We had a semi-respite from the month of April during which only one day was rain-free (which is fortunately some kind of record) but we are now back to our relentless advertising campaign to woo the Coastal Douglas Fir to change continents. So now we are being overrun by Burmese Wigglers. Keep your Yorkshire Terriers indoors.

However, the chestnut blossoms have a divine, delicate scent, and the fields are now filling with wildflowers. I am assured that someday, however briefly, it will stop raining long enough for us to go somewhere and take a handful of sharper-focus photos.
 

 In the meantime, if you can read Spanish, you can go see a subtitled version of Xora, a film that was recently produced in Zuberera, which is a Basque dialect spoken by under 15,000 people. Very dark, and a good way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon. Hopefully it will be released with English subtitles.

Neroli

A hot air balloon was following me yesterday.

Citrus doesn't do spectacular here, but when the oranges bloom, it becomes clear that everything you were worried about was probably kind of silly.

Our downstairs neighbor is an Andalusian lady who is about 4 feet tall. She actually has to reach up to open the door. The other day she let us see her orange cat, who is roughly the same size as she is. His name is Bolito, though he is not -ito by any stretch. F suggested that she could ride him when she gets tired.

I was struggling up the hill during a humid day, doing the inverse of a time release air freshener, when I was handily passed by an older man wearing purple corduroys and Chuck Taylors. He bid me good day as he and his spotted dog left me in the dust.

Replacement Apple Blossoms 4 U NY

With bonus purple columbines and a field of shorn sheep.

First of May

Marches on May Day in Donostia.

Also-innovative horticulture: another life for your discarded appliances (strawberries in a refrigerator planter!)

And

Pottoka protests unjust working conditions.