A man and his donkey

   The weather has been unseasonably cool here. For us, it's much like a late September at home: 20-24 degrees during the day, and cooling down quite a bit overnight. (Ironically, the weather was nicer at home while we were away than it was in Sicily.) All the locals are walking around in jackets and commenting on how cold it is.
   Unfortunately, we did not bring enough appropriate clothing. While I have a couple pair of jeans, I only packed one long sleeved shirt, and one pullover fleece jacket. The locals see us walking around in our shorts and t-shirts, and think, "those Canadians are sure used to the cold." We try not to let them see us shivering.
   Along with the cooler temperatures has come some changeable weather. I'll tell you, you haven't experienced changeable weather until you've experienced it in the mountains. Sudden rainstorms come and go like hummingbirds to honeysuckles. Today we went from full sun to cloudy and raining and back four times over the course of half an hour. Ciccio says the weather might get more severe tonight. He knows because he saw the fishermen down at the seaside begin pulling in all the boats.

   This little town seems idyllic, with one exception: the cars. If it wasn't for the Peugeots and FIATs parked hither and thither, you could almost believe yourself to be in an eighteenth century farming village. Sometimes every element comes together, just for a few seconds, and the illusion is complete.
   The other morning we stepped out onto the balcony with our cafe lattes. For once there were no cars parked in the Piazza del Duomo. The soft morning sunlight streamed across the valley. Sparrows darted and dove in its depths. A soft clop, clop, clop swirled like a leaf in an eddy of air. From around a corner appeared a little old man in  a threadbare vest and a wool cap leading a small donkey by a rope. They tropmped across the square and disappeared past the edge of the church. Pat sighed and said, "I could almost see that being one of my Uncles."
   When she described the scene later at dinner, Concetta laughed. "There is only one man in Mandanici who still owns a donkey," she said. "That was one of your Uncles."


Pat and Matt with Zio Pepe. The donkey was camera shy.