July 2016

As we are now out of the 'month' age identification, I will refer to the photos by calendar month. Past 18 month old mark, it felt weird to refer to him with his age in months.

Within the week prior to the big packout, Owen figured out how to get on the kitchen counters, on top of his dresser, and also on top of the desk in his room.  A common thought is how I could get nets to suspend everything off the ceiling.

The month began with a lovely visit from my mother where her and I were able to go to Madrid, Granada, and Cordoba with Owen staying home with Damon for the long 4th of July weekend.  Owen and Damon spent a lot of time down at the greatest sandbox a little boy could ask for.

We didn't really end up going anywhere this month with Damon having bullfights and my general boycott on travel. 

Owen is getting more and more 'active' and still not saying much.  He makes up for these frustrations by being loving and happy. He has a speech therapist come weekly to help teach Owen new words and how I can reinforce him using his words instead of screaming.

 

Our only furniture remaining in the living room is Owen's high chair.

And without any couch, the next most comfortable place for story time is Owen's crib.

 

 

 

Lawn Progress

View from Star Hill July 29, 2016

House Lawn as of June 12, 2016

Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain - Bullfight July 30

July 30, 2016

This Saturday I saw Novillada Con Picadores which are young upcoming fighters with horses delivering a vara on the second act.

Fight one featured Daniel Crespo a 20 year old from Puerto Santa Maria fighting a 445 kg 4 yo Penajara De Casta Jijona bull (an offshoot of Vitahermosa lineage.)  During the second act the horse went down and the bull received two vara attempts.  During the third act, he broke his muleta and dropped the muleta again.  The guy also got thrown in the air probably ten yards but got up and did not appear hurt.  I think his hit from the bull is what got the band playing in the third act.  He got an ovation for his fight.

Fight two featured Pablo Aguado, a 25 year old from Sevilla, facing a 4 year old 465 kg bull.  The bull tore the veronica in the first act but Pablo did not let go.  His picador may have used too much vara.  His third act earned no music.  He placed one escoparda deep but still had to descabello after the judge had the horn blown.  He earned an ovation.

Fight three featured Alfonso Cadaval, a 20 year old from Sevilla, facing a 430 kg 3 year old bull.  His cuadrilla placed the banderillas, like all other fights during this night.  He did get music for his third act.  He placed one escoparda but had to do three descabello attempts.  On the third descabello he partially sectioned the cord which was obvious because the bulls back legs went flaccid but not the anterior legs.  He earned a silencio.

Fight four featured Daniel Crespo against a 460 kg 3 year old bull.  He got no music on the third act but got the only ear of the night.  I assume this is because he is from Puerto and had an efficient kill.  His escoparda only went in half way, but he owned up to it quick and went right to the descabello and droped the bull immediately.   This was the only bull in which the matador owned up to a poor kill immediately and put the bull down quickly with a follow up descaballo.  In many of the other bulls the escoparda clearly did not hit the cord or the aorta and the matador would wait basically for the bull to bleed out and fall over, or for the judge to have a horn blown forcing a descabello.  Novices are not the only ones who hope and delay, Jose Padilla did the same on the 20JUL fight.

Fight five featured Pablo Aguado versus a 445 kg 3 year old bull.   Since he is from Sevilla, he took his bull on his knees.  This was the only bull in which this was attempted.  He dropped the veronica at the end of the first act.  His cuadrilla only placed 4/8 banderillas successfully.  His picador put in too much vara.  He did get music in the third act.  His kill involved two obvious hits to the spinal column bone with the escoparda shooting off.  His third sword went in true for a good kill earning a de vuelta.

Fight six featured Alfonso Cadaval versus a 470 kg 40 yo bull.  He dropped the veronica on act one.  On his third act with the escoparda he actually missed the bull entirely.  He dropped the muleta also.  His second escoparda was 1 foot from the hub.  His 3rd escoparda was also 1 foot from the hub.  It took two descabello attempts to bring the bull down (once the judge blew the horn and said enough is enough.)  He earned a silencio.

Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain - Bullfight July 24

July 24, 2016

This Sunday I saw the first bullfight of the season in Puerto Santa Maria.   I got season tickets (seven fights) this year for 167 euros.   I’m really excited because I got great seats for cheap.  I got sol (half the cost of shaded seats) tendido 4 (really near the shade/sun wall so half hour into the fight you are in shade) and fila 3 (3rd row up so you are very close to the action.)  The only problem with buying abono tickets is on 20AUG a fight occurs in both Sanlucar and Puerto.  It is beyond me why the arenas did not coordinate their schedules.

The 24JUL fight was unique in that it was a Corrida de Torros Mixta.  It had two bulls fought on horseback and four bulls fought on traditional foot.  In the past bullfights have been one or the other.  Different techniques require different bull attributes so the horse bulls were from D. Fernando Sam Pedro.  The bulls in the traditional style were from Salvador Domecq.    Domecq bulls were of the ranch we visited earlier this year.

For the first bull Diego Ventura (34 yr. old from Portugal) earned one year.
For the second bull Juan Padilla (43 year old from Jerez now living in Sanlucar) earned one ear.  He faced a 530 kg bull who knocked a gap in the Barrera.  This gap consisted on 5 board not just the top board.  Padilla as always did his own banderillas and got music in the second act.  He appeared to hurt his one remaining eye with a missed first escarpada.  In Padilla form he manned up and finished the bull anyway.

For the third bull Lopez Simon (26 yr. old from Madrid) faced a 480 kg bull.  His caudrilla did his banderillas and no music occurred in the second act.  He did earn music in the third act.  His escarpada went in the right for quarter and needed a descabello which dropped the bull in seconds.  He earned an ear.
For the fourth bull Diego Ventura (horse) fought a 500 kg bull.  He had a clean kill and placed his elbow on the bulls head while on horseback. He circled the 63 meter arena multiple times with the horse running sideways mm from the bull’s horns.  He earned one ear but the crown felt he deserved two.  The judge got booed!

For the fifth bull Jose Padilla took a 485 kg 5 yr. bull.  The bull tore the veronica on the first act but Padilla did not drop it.  A veronica is thick as canvass.  I can see why Padilla medically wraps all his fingers!  Padilla did his own banderillas and placed 5/6. He did not get music on the third act and he dropped the muleta.  He showed usual bravery by being on his knees for much of it.  He placed a single deep escoparda probably in the lungs.  He prevented his caudrilla from waving flags to get the bulls blood pressure up facilitating the desangination.  The kill took too long.  The crowd was getting angry with Padilla.  The bull went down without a descabello but it was awkward.  Padilla actually put the muleta on the bulls back which seemed disrespectful.  Padilla is a showman and brave.  I really like Padilla.  He did not handle the end of the 3rd act of his 5th bull in the best way.

For the sixth bull Lopez Simon faced a 540 kg bull (biggest of the night.)  A great bull, the bull charged hard and held his head low on one pass and actually did a headstand when his horns got caught in the dirt. The cuadrilla put 6/6 banderillas in true.  The picadors with Lopez were gentle on both his bulls earned admiration from the crown (vs Padilla.)  He earned music on the third act with a very slow, controlled dance with the bull.  Watching Lopez’s third act was what bullfighting is all about.  His kill was clean He earned two ears from a reluctant judge.  The crowd booed her until she gave the second.   I talked with my tech who is from Mexico the following day (he knows bullfighting as Mexico has a proud history of it) and he told me the judge didn’t know what she was doing.

Month 24

Owen's two first years are now to a close.  This past year saw him learn how to walk, eat with less mess, sleep better, and almost talk.  He loves the beach and anything related to water.

Owen wanted to help make his birthday cake!

 

Watching Grandpa John play the banjo for a dancing Otto.

 

 

"The Clubhouse"