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.

 

End of April

 30 April 2021

The end of the month.  Dave has had his first jab (AZ) and I’ve got an appointment for mine.  Dave has been working hard on the boat, changing the rigging to make it very easy for us to drop the sail or put in a reef.  He’s also started work on varnishing all the interior woodwork.  Yesterday he found that a stray cat has had kittens on the foredeck, under the stored dinghy.  We’ll wait till they’re a bit older and then relocate them ashore.  The garden is flourishing, although we’ve already had to start watering it.  Restaurants and cafes are due to reopen on May 3rd, so that will be exciting.  After a long lockdown winter, we are ready for a bit of summer fun.

Iris have suddenly bloomed around the pond

The Empress is back!  Maybe she was born here.

First water lily (showing how murky the water is at the moment)

Lovely little harebell-type flowers are everywhere 

This is an experimental mushroom bed.  It is full of straw, and the broken up oyster mushroom bale we had earlier in the year.  We’ve put it in a very shady glade, mulched to keep the brambles down, and we’ll see if anything grows.  It’s more likely in September, so we might introduce more spores at that point if nothing happens spontaneously.

After the rain

 21 - 29 April 2021

There has been rain, a rare and wonderful thing even at this time of year, so for a couple of days everything in the garden gets easier: weeding and planting.  Then the dryness returns.

This is the stone bank below the house.  It can only be weeded after substantial rain, so Dave and I tackled it with enthusiasm.  Somewhat extreme weeding, as the footing is treacherous, and an over-enthusiastic pull could send you flying.

My red queen from ‘Alice’ moment - painting the trees.  In this case, with lime to prevent crickets eating the bark and killing them.

The pomegranate, which I finally agreed to do something about.  I’ve been letting it become a bush, but we never get any fruit because, we think, the ants rob the nectar.  So I trimmed out all the small suckers and cleared back to only a few stems that can be sticky taped.

Not very visible, but a small dent in the lower edge of the car where Dave had a miscalculation with the edge of a road in Neohori.

A very lovely butterfly on a crazy seed pod cluster.  Google says it’s a female Common Blue.  Doesn’t look common to me!

The wavy-leaved monkey orchids reach their full glory.

This is a patch of purple vetch that has colonised the edge of the slab by the gate.  A lovely softening of the concrete, thank you, vetch!

So Many Treasures

 17 - 20 April 2021

 The garden treasures continue to amaze us. 

The orchids, four days later. 

In the pond, the carcass of a hatched dragonfly grub.  We had seen these once or twice flitting in the pond, but never been able to get a photo.  They are a scary-looking creature.

Lots of flowers are coming on the lemon trees.  However, we haven't been getting any fruit, so we will try to get some anti-ant sticky tape for the trunk to stop the ants robbing the nectar.

After harvesting the first artichoke, we rapidly gained another three.  Very pleased with this plant.

Never seen one of these before.  According to Google, it is a spotted fritillary caterpillar

A new baby moringa tree planted out in a protective bit of plastic bottle. 

Another new one: a fabulous shield bug.

One of our many bean harvests.  Lovely when lightly boiled or steamed for a few minutes.  Now we know how to get broad beans - plant them in October!

Dave in a purple haze

And a pink one.

First of the love-in-the-mist flowers has appeared.