Starting and finishing with flowers

 22 - 30 May 2021

Out of the blue, we got a call from a friend who was looking for somewhere to stay in Nydri, so we immediately offered the house, and she agreed to water the cats and feed the garden, while we made rapid plans for a few days away in the boat.

In the hedge, near the washing line, we are growing an incredible number of wild blackberries.  I wonder if I will get any, or just the magpies?

 

Another rapid-fire couple of paintings.  These are for a friend who has an obsession with the Moonflower - a rare jungle cactus that recently flowered for the first time at Cambridge Botanic Gardens.  She wanted one to keep and one to gift, so I made a very similar, if not identical, pair.  

[Moonflower I & II, Acrylic on Canvas Board, May 2021, 16x24cm]

With all the paintings finished, I was free to help get the boat ready.  I measured, and then Dave cut, glued and varnished these new shelves for the boat fridge - something else that had disappeared in the shipwreck.

I also measured and made a window covering for the heads, to give us a bit of privacy.  It is velcro'd up, and came down a couple of times, but then decided to stay up.  Slightly strange.

Off to sea we go.  But not without trauma.  We were to set off at midday, after reflexology therapies each.  Dave went to the pontoon early to get diesel delivered, but then found that screws in the top of the diesel tank had worked loose and fuel was flooding into the bilge.  By the time he had pumped it out and I had helped clean up, we were a little frazzled, missed our therapies and only good for puttering round to Sivota

Next day we had a long and fantastic sail over to Kioni, testing Dave's one-line reefing, which worked a treat.  Luckily Kioni was empty, as we found another problem with the new anchor chain extension, which was so twisty, it took us several goes to moor up.  At least it was a quiet time.

Later, I had a swim.  It was bone-chillingly cold, but very clear, and work has been done to make it easier to get in the sea near Kioni harbour.  Bracing.

 

The first evening was very blustery, and following hard on too many expresso martinis (one each!) resulted in a poor night's sleep, so we decided to stay put, and have a day exploring, which we have never done in Kioni before.

The lovely little coastal path we found on the walk round to the windmills at the head of the bay.

Back home, and very excited to see three waterlily flowers all blooming at once in the pond.  Wow!Also, the bougainvillea by the front door is in wild, majestic flower, another first.

 

That time of year

15 - 20 May 2021

Just as the grass gets knee high, and starts to seed, regular as clockwork, that's when the strimmer will break down.  We took it in for repairs, and were told it would be three weeks.  We put up with it for another week, until the grass was waist high and we were both sneezing, and went to buy another strimmer.  We will be a two-strimmer family and get a lot more done in future.  The new machine came with an extra battery and charger, too, so we are generally better equipped now, if poorer.  

Dave out early with the new machine, which is bigger and better balanced than the old one, and apparently much easier to use.

Much joy when we saw more than six ladybirds and several chrysalises not yet hatched.  These are all in the chopped down borage, so there must have been an egg-laying among it.  Very pleased indeed.

Another painting completed, this one was for my brother-in-law's mother who is confined to bed following a stroke, she asked for a copy of a photo of two family pets.

 

Dave completes work on re-rigging the mainsail reefing lines so that we can operate them from the cockpit.  He has decided that we need to focus on safety, now we are no longer young!

 

Another early start to get on with strimming

The row of vines in front of the water tanks are doing very well compared to last year.  Looking good.

Also the pomegranate tree.  Lots of flowers, and we are hopeful that at least one of them will hang on and become our first ever home-grown pomegranate.

 

An exercise in up-cycling.  When the boat sank, we lost our coasters to protect the varnish on the table, so I decided to try a technique I'd seen for making cloth ones.  You cut three old t-shirts into strips of fabric about one inch wide and plait the strips, then zigzag stitch out from the centre in a circle until you reach the size you want, and then tie off.  It sort of worked, although they are a bit lumpy (I forgot to take a photo!)

 

 

 

 

Songs from the heart

 10 - 15 May 2021

Tragically, one of our friends, and a leading member of the Shanty singers, died suddenly during the winter.  The plan is to sing a few songs in his honour at a memorial gathering in June, so rehearsals were started and everyone had to try to remember the lines.

Outdoor practice session

The weather is hotting up, so we made time to tidy up in the Solarium, lower the plantling shelf and take the windows out.  We left this a little late, and found it a rather hot job, but that made us grateful to be getting it done.

Dave stacks the windows at one end, while I cover them with the floor rugs for protection.  It was quite a slick operation this time, now we know what we're doing.

All done, phew

This monstrous-looking thing is a vacated dragonfly nymph case.  We had wondered if any of the dragonfly eggs had survived the hungry fish, so we were very pleased to see this one, and a few more after it.

And even more pleased to see this little treasure.  We have often wondered where the ladybugs are, especially when aphids are rampant.  So this is our first ladybird, I hope we find more and they stick around.

I finished another painting - this one is for my Mum's 90th birthday in June, and she specifically wanted all the flowers that open in Spring and early Summer in the UK.  So here it is, now I just need to find a way to send it.  [Spring Magic, Acrylic on Canvas, May 2021 30x60cm]  After finding the ladybird, I added one in, but it isn't in this photo.

In the rain, but so pleased to see it, that we sat outside under the barbeque roof and watched it fall.

 Swallowtail caterpillar.  They love the fennel.  Every year I am astonished anew by how incredible this creature is.

Summer Prep

 6 - 10 May 2021

The end of lockdown is in sight, at last.  We are doing lots of jobs around the house and boat to get ready for the summer.

 First lily appears in the pond

Our exotic new plant 'Captain Cook's Cabbage' or NZ spinach seems to be settling in.  It is a perennial edible and ground cover, so we've planted about five out around the Moringa beds.

The broad (fava) bean harvest continues.  We are a little overwhelmed by the quantities of beans we have grown over the winter.  After a couple of long sessions podding, we made bean burger mix and bean hummus mix and put them in the freezer.  Beans to eat for a long time yet!

In the pond, distorted by pollen in the water, we saw one tadpole that was undergoing 'the change'.  Hope there are more of them that made it.  They all disappear before changing usually, and we don't know if something is eating them, or they are just hiding very carefully.

A lovely shot of the house through apple blossom

Our boat-kittens, getting to the stage where they want to explore.  We had set aside a cardboard box for a rescue operation, when we were told that the mother cat had relocated them all to a power-boat on the opposite side of the pontoon.

 

Work on the boat - fitting the new bimini, and then tying it up against the wind.  All fitting perfectly.

Hurrah!  We are allowed to eat out.  First off was supper in George's, then I had my first jab and decided to miss out on all the openings and celebrations, but some days later, we had a civilized lunch at Flisvos, after juices in Elite, then drinks at Arnie's, and finally back to George's for dinner, as we no longer wanted to cook that evening.  Lots of fun.

This is the current state of the high street in Nydri.  Lots of work still to do, and we are now open to tourists from the EU and some other countries.  A litigant's dream

Dave suddenly decided to remove the masking tape from around the little triangle window above the bedroom door.  It's been two years, but very glad that it's finally done.

 

Easter Weekend

 1 - 3 May 2021

Following our efforts to house-paint for Robbie and Sue, they were all moved in by the weekend of Greek Easter, and invited us and some others round for a barbeque.  Meanwhile, the garden, and even the boat, was full of life and growing things.

Just by the front door - a cabbage white chrysalis, very beautiful, until it grows up and eats our kale

On the boat - I thought Dave was joking when he said he's having kittens!  Four little newborns nestled under the dinghy cover.

Then we went round to Robbie's, and admired his chicken house, and its occupants

Robbie decided to invite a donkey to dinner.  It was very lovely, and very well behaved ...

... right up until it tried to eat the table cloth

In our garden, the self-seeded apple tree has thrown out an amazing number of blossoms.  Last year's apples were the size of marbles, but very sweet tasting and well formed.  Maybe it was just practising?

And first time ever, we have baby grapes on the vines.  This year we built up a deep bed around the vines, and gave them loads of manure, so far they seem to be pleased about it.

At the pond - our first iris of the year.