Varieties of tortoiseshell

28 - 31 May 2020

We cycled into Nidri on Friday to get the last paperwork and payment to a colleague of Constantine's, and on the way back we met a tortoise.  I was very keen to bring it back to ours for an improved quality of life and lots of melons, but the tortoise was not so keen.

 After a couple of failed attempts to persuade her to accompany us, she took off into the undergrowth.

 Friday morning - having run out of fruit for breakfast, I collected mulberries before the magpies could eat them.

 While Dave was watering the garden we noticed that a lot of the irrigation water floods out of the stone-edged bed and makes a muddy puddle just below.  We think it is seeping through the stones, and is therefore hard to fix.  The answer, we decided, was to build a little extra log garden, on the weeded mud, with a couple of shovelfuls of manure and some potting compost.  And it gave us a much-needed place for our last seedlings - two watermelon plants.

 Saturday - on our fourth visit to the chicken shop, they finally had some in.  Not just the usual russet ones, either, but a medley of colours, so we mixed-and-matched.  Here they are, newly tipped out of their cardboard boxes, adjusting to the new establishment.

 Having got carried away by chicken-watching, and then going for a walk between showers to visit Robbie and Sue's new patch of land, we suddenly remembered we were supposed to be in Lefkas for the Lefkogaia AGM.  I sent a 'sorry-delayed' message, and we shot off to town, arriving only 20 minutes late - and we were the first to arrive.  We had a very responsible 'socially-distanced' meeting on a patch of land opposite Thomas' house.  The warehouse has been given up because we couldn't make the rent during lockdown.

 On Sunday morning, the chickens didn't emerge from the chicken house until we chased them out, but then they found the food and water and got settled in.  Here they demonstrate that birds of a feather DO flock together!  From left: Dapple, Ginger, Snowy, Inky (black smudges on neck and tail), Speckles and Blackie.  Such unoriginal, but mostly memorable, names!

 Ah!  The joy of a dust-bath.  

Probably the first ever, if they've been brought up in concrete sheds.

 Speckles and Blackie enjoying one too.

 Dave puts up the tent, to cut a piece of pond-liner offcut as an extra groundsheet, and pegs it all out.  Then calls me and we time the deconstruction - 7 minutes - much better than expected.  One minute later, the heavens open and we have our first real heavy thunderstorm in months.  Filled the pond and all the water barrels to the top in about an hour.  Glad we got the tent in first!

 Meanwhile, I've been painting a picture of my favourite garden flowers: the wild gladioli and some borage.  A pressie for my Mum.

Sunday evening - the cat eyeing up the new arrivals, which are also tortoiseshell, when you think about it.

Final Requirements for the Permit

26 - 28 May 2020

Constantine sent a message asking for two documents I'd never heard of before to be signed and stamped by the Town Hall, and some more money, and a drawing of the contour lines on the land ...  Lots of running around and sorting out, but we hope it is now a done deal and the permit will arrive in due course.

 Second attempt at the tent - too blustery to do outside, and only just fitting into the living room.

 Lots of space inside it.  Getting better at putting it away.

 Much cooler temperatures, so Dave is getting some strimming done (early, 7ish, as it still gets too hot for boots and jeans after 10ish)

 I tackled the regrowth of brambles in the cleared area, and put up tripods around the wild asparagus, and elsewhere, around the cucumbers.

 Where the turnips were, we found that one resilient carrot had survived being overwhelmed by turnip tops - we'll ceremoniously eat it when it is ready.

 The contour line drawing.  Dave and I with spirit levels and a tape measure made it.  Not a bad effort, and useful to have.  This is only for one half of the land, so we will continue it onto the other piece in due course.

Early bean crop, as well as blueberries, mulberries and strawberries for a multi-fruit breakfast.

Some Changes

Monday 25 May 2020

First the weather broke - hurrah.  We've been having August weather and it's no fun, too hot and bothered to get much done.

 After the rain - the creeping thyme planted between the paving stones has started to creep!  Looking quite lively.

 Close-up of spreading thyme.

 And our camping gear arrived.  It had to wait till the rain came, of course.  This is a pop-up tent: one minute to put up and about 30 minutes wrestling it back into its cover.   We need to try it out several times till we can do it without embarrassment in public.

 The best change of all: cafes and restaurants are allowed to reopen.  Time for a glass by the sea front.

 Staff have to be masked and gloved, though.  Here are Anya and Bob from the wine bar ...

 ... and George and Maria being a lot less sensible

A day later - a long-awaited cappucino !  

With chocolate surprise (the surprise was how much I didn't really like it - gooey and sweet)

Around the Pond

24 May 2020

We are still fascinated by the pond, and keep watching it.  Some things are good and some are a bit sad.

 The sad bit: one of the goldfish - a female - must have died of exhaustion after non-stop egg laying for weeks.

 A nicer thing: at least one tadpole is developing into a toad.

 More dragonfly egg-laying is going on

 The pond looking gorgeous in the last evening light.

Rowan came to join us in pond-watching and wine-drinking after finishing the decking.

Turnip Seed harvest

24 May 2020

As we usually do. we had over-planted turnip seed, and after having a great season of turnip greens in our salad, we then failed to eat all the turnips before they went to seed.  And there were many that didn't form due to crowding.  As a result, a large number of plants have set seed.

The seed casings have dried and gone brittle, a sign that they are ready to harvest.

 I cut the tops off whole, and put into a large, strong paper bag.

 Then, with gloves, I crushed and squeezed and rubbed the seed casings, and removed the stalks, leaving this chaff on top of the seeds.

Dave came to help, and we sieved a lot of the chaff out, and then daringly used the wind to blow most of the rest away by pouring from bag to large bowl several times in a windy spot.  It worked!

 

A little bit of chaff made it into the jar, but it won't do any harm.  Lots more turnips to come!

Finishing the deck

23 - 24 May 2020

Rowan has found some time to come and finish the deck terrace outside the house.  The deck covers three water tanks, and so far we've had no access to their lids for checking and cleaning.

 Rowan started by taking up four of the boards to measure.  The under frame for the hatches was already there, as the hatches had always been in the spec.

 Measuring and framing

 The finished job.  Incredibly neat, and looking like a bit of fancy patterning, rather than a series of inspection hatches.

Garden sink top

23 May 2020

I seem to have missed all the interim activities, but by Saturday, Dave had the sink top cut, varnished, fixed down and the sink inserted.  Ready to use.

 First job, wash the radishes.

 The sink just has a hose fitting from the manifold fixed to the back of the unit.  It is easy enough to reach over and turn it on.  It is designed for washing muddy vegetables, mainly, as it soaks away into the garden - returning the mud to where it can be useful.

Here it is as part of the barbeque unit.  We have asked our steel working friend for a charcoal tray and grilles, but there's been no response from him yet.

Ginger beer production

Saturday 23 May 2020

Dave leapt into action to refill our stocks of homemade ginger beer.  Can't afford to run out!

 Siphoning the fermented brew into a clean jar, to leave behind any sediment.

 The beer ready for bottling.

 The bottles, also ready

 Beer in a jug

Jug into bottles, a dab of sugar, and they're done.  Ready in about two weeks for best results.

More Chicken House work

20 May 2020

Still no chickens, but to protect the feeding flap, and make it jolly, I painted some welcoming former residents of the homestead.

 Dave was concentrating on cutting and varnishing a sink top for the outdoor kitchen - in the shade of an olive tree.

 A rough-and-ready sketch taken from life drawings of some of our previous chickens, painted in acrylic on canvas paper, stuck and stapled to the wooden flap, then varnished over.  It's not a precious work, so if it doesn't last I can always do another.

 The completed feeding flap, with tidied up green shade cover.  All smart and ready.

After a bike ride out - coming home to the cat greeting us at the garden gate.