Friday, 8 May 2026

These Days

 We were startled this morning by 3 rifle shots nearby.  Sometimes our neighbours take pot shots at the wild goats, usually because they've managed to invade someone's vegetable patch. 

K phoned around, as he does, to see who the culprit was. And... It was an irresponsible neighbour showing off to his niece.  He's over 50 and she's not a child. They both should have known better. There were no goats involved. He was showing her how his shotgun worked. 

WTF




The May Day bouquet on the front gate is looking bedraggled. It's supposed to stay there till June 21 and then be burnt on a midsummer bonfire.  I don't think it will last that long.  And anyway midsummer bonfires are definitely not allowed.  It'll be going on the compost very soon.  It did the job, I followed tradition, kept my head high.  Enough




No more fires, inside or outside
The fire ban is on till November

The weather has been iffy with wind and rain but the sun is out now and temperatures are rising. 
We moved the remains of our winter wood pile to the back of the house.  There's no Poppi around to haul wood so we managed ourselves, log by log. Took us 3 days to move the pile but we did it. Those logs were heavy. 

The front entrance is clean and clear ready for the big umbrella, summer chairs and table




17 comments:

  1. Ooh, that's a big pile of logs to move. Did you use a wheelbarrow or roll them onto a sheet to drag?

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    1. We used that trolley and a couple of plastic cases. A load or 2 in the morning, one in the evening and we were done.
      I stacked them out the back, covered them and we will have enough for a month, or thereabouts, when the November storms begin

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  2. You've done your duty with the bouquet.
    Shifting wood really exercises the muscles.

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    1. We were bringing the logs in one by one when we had our fire lit . I didn't really notice how heavy they were. Till the big move

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  3. How will you bbq in summer with total fire ban? Gas? They say firewood warms more than once - well done getting it all shifted and covered. (olive wood I assume - does it burn hot?)

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    1. Actually it's oak this year. From northern Greece. It's very slowly burning, great once it gets going. Needs a bit of pine to start it off.
      We bbq on a little electric grill in the summer. Not worth the risk to light coals. We could get fined

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    2. Fined or worse!!!
      Our local wood supplier must be finding it hard to get olive.

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  4. Everything we do now is slow and steady. But we do get it done in the end.
    Some people just never grow any sense, sounds like it’s a family thing.
    What about taking the dead flowers off and replacing them with fresh ones. Kinda like sitting an old blanket. The old bouquets slowly disappears but it’s that gradual that you have “ transfered the luck” onto the new flowers.
    Like we do when our children are attached to a blanket.

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    1. Good idea Angela but I couldn't be bothered . I'll water my pots and enjoy those flowers

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  5. It's a Crazy World8 May 2026 at 18:14

    American's need to take things as seriously as Greece does. No matter how high the fire danger is, no one in authority is going to tell us we can't barbeque. My grill is a gas one.
    It is horribly dry, and we did not receive much of the snow/rain we usually get during the winter.

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    1. Actually I think we could use a gas bbq but we have a small electric one that does the trick

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  6. In France we have a fire ban; but not INDOORS.

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    1. No fire ban indoors. It's just too damn hot

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  7. Silly neighbour, sounds like that can scare people all of a sudden, hope the rest of your week has been good.

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    1. We hear rifle shots now and again but it's usually angry neighbours getting rid of invading goats. He's lucky we didn't report him for misusing a firearm. But we have to be very careful........

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  8. That was an impressive wood pile to begin with. I love a wood fire, sadly not had one in any of our homes since WAY back in 1987! I miss them.

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    1. They give off enough a good heat but by the end if winter I'm over it. Cleaning out the ashes and bringing in wood soon loses its charm

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