Zouzounia are bugs and flying things. It's a word used often by a greek Yiayia to describe an overactive grandchild.
The summer bugs have started to appear. Last night we had the first mosquito of the season buzzing round our bed and I had to get up and plug in the mosquito repellant device. In an older part of the house as I was doing some cleaning I heard the soft 'click click' of a small lizard. Unfortunately the mosquito wasn't in the same room. The lizard, a gecko I think, could have had a nice meal.
The big black ants have surfaced in the garden. They mainly stay there. The tiny ants that are hardly larger than tealeaves haven't appeared out of the walls yet. I suppose we will see them just before the next rain. The smaller ants are a harbinger of bad weather. What we don't want are the red ants which give a very nasty nip.
Daddy Long Legs drift up and down the big balcony doors. It always amuses me when certain locals remark how big the 'mosquitoes' are this year.
As I mentioned in another post this is the year of the snail and the caterpillar. The latter are turning into yellow and white butterflies. They flutter around the geranium flowers.
In the last few years we have had hordes of praying mantisses, grasshoppers and other jumpers. They are not around yet or maybe this is not their year.
There are no flies or wasps yet. I have found a few frogs in the garden, hiding in dark corners. I hope they don't disappear.
We were talking with a neighbour last night about the wild life here. When we first bought this house the fields were full of partridges and pheasants. Now there are none.
We still hear birdsong in the early morning and we've seen a few swallows. There used to be a lot of blackbirds who trilled at dawn but they are few and far between. Most of the birds are magpies, a few sparrows and we still see a hawk or two hanging in the sky searching for prey.
Spiders are always around. I can tell that by the darn spider webs hanging in every corner, big, black from the fire, and sagging undecoratively. The house badly needs a spring clean.
The carpets need taking up and cleaning, the outdoor spaces need to be water blasted ready for summer living, winter clothes have to be packed away.
Give me a glass of red wine, quickly. Fill it up with ice. It's too warm to drink at room temperature .