le Sete 2

The little houses made of branches in Barbassiria.

Our vacation in Barbassiria was quite wild and we enjoyed freedom of movement, with our grandparents. It was enough that we didn't get hurt while playing. Pino was the undisputed leader. We dedicated ourselves to many activities, the most diverse one could imagine. Among other things, we waited for my father to bring supplies. First with the “Galletto”, then with the Fiat 650, he brought up fruit and vegetables, the first bunches of grapes - it was August, or stuffed aubergines made by mom, sometimes games, e.g. the shuttlecock, and we were lying in waiting for the noise of his car. Like the Indians. Pino was never wrong. In that particular period, we built little houses made of chestnut branches on a steep bank of: blueberries, moss and selaginella. So the floor and the back were very soft and welcoming. We had to find large branches to make the posts for the frame, and then we used the twigs for the walls. Among other things, the position was dominant: overlooking the valley, where, parallel to the stream, the road ran. Rigorously white, stony and full of curves and holes. We were always on the lookout. We were not connected by telephone or anything.
We liked to have a snack in the little house. We were as prim as sectarians. We also did crosswords. Maybe we read. I don't remember. Grandpa read nearby, and if Grandma was there she also knitted.

Wandering here and there, we had discovered a small valley where there were some dog skulls: a marvel! It was a small valley with small, half-dry and twisted apple trees, vestiges of ancient abandoned fields, near a stream, with lots of moss and coralloids. It was while rummaging around there that the spectacular discovery occurred. The boys, perhaps Pino rather than Gianni, had imagined a grand entrance before reaching the front door. So: two large poles on the sides holding up an old, dark board held up with a chain, with the following written in branding: MC GREGORS RANCH. The whole thing crowned by the dog skull above. Written like that, it seems like nothing. The grandparents had to be convinced – we were renting the place; burning the writing on the board, looking for the chain, the nails, etc. etc. Pino would never let himself be overwhelmed by technical details, even of a varied, delicate and nature protocol related issues.

I remember that in the following years, the support poles have been surrounded by Grandma Maria's white and magenta cosmos, more than a meter tall. Grandma loved these flowers very much, and then they were "hers" while at home in Loano there was nothing of hers. In Tavernola, above the kitchen window, Grandma kept the ornamental pumpkins, the small ones, flask-shaped, yellow and green and the "marinelle", as she called them, with the red and poisonous berries. Nearby, a sage plant and a delicious, very delicate rosemary, which she used for meat: a heavenly scent... but she cooked only a few times... In short, we were satisfied and proud, especially Pino and Gianni. A purely masculine creation. With the wind you could hear pleasant noises...