Fields of Gold

I went for a long walk with the expat group and took this photo of a field of rape, a plant that produces rapeseed oil. It’s grown all over Western Europe and when it’s flowering there are gorgeous fields of yellow stretching out forever… though I think the crops are nearing the end of this cycle now.

I’ve read that in the last few years there’s been a surge in artisanal, high-end “cold-pressed” rapeseed oils, which are marketed much like olive oils. It’s the rage in Britain, but in Spain, at least, it’s only used for animal feed or biodiesel. Little or none is sold for human consumption here though it is used in other European countries. One reason for this is a tragedy and scandal that happened in Spain in 1971 when 300 people died from consuming rapeseed oil that was adulterated and sold as cheap olive oil, principally in street markets. Ten thousand people were hospitalized and even more were diagnosed with what they called “toxic oil syndrome.” I guess it’s not sold here because it left a bad taste in their mouths. Sorry, not funny.

You can read more from a humorous article in The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2012/jun/12/rise-of-rapeseed-oil?CMP=share_btn_link.

Cassie is still a bad dog. At the dog sitter’s house, just as I was picking them up, Cassie headed into the woodpile and became very “active,” very active. The next thing we saw was the dead rat she dragged out of the pile. She had killed it and she had blood dripping from her mouth. The rat got in a bite or two and she was bleeding herself. I wrote the Vet who just suggested cleaning the wounds, which were not deep, with antiseptic spray. She never had any symptoms or distress, but I DID!! Gross!

On my latest sojourn, I saw the last of the end-of-season drooping tulips in Amsterdam.

And then I saw what might be a Russian oligarch’s yacht passing by my apartment. It’s hard to see in this photo, and if I magnify it, it’s even blurrier, but believe me, it was a HUGE yacht. And the small boat in front of it appeared to be some sort of guard ship or escort. Could be…