On the Home Front

 Midsummer has come and gone and days are getting shorter.  How does this happen when we still have the 2 hottest months to come

Preparing the greens K picked this morning. Called Vlita in Greek

They'll be boiled, dressed with olive oil and vinegar. A clove of garlic on the side. 

They're usually an accompaniment to fish or simply fried potatoes 

Greens and zucchini, tomatoes and one melon from our garden.  The melon was sweet and delicious. Alas there was only one

So far the summer is mild without any heatwaves, unlike the rest of Europe.  We had a quick rain shower yesterday and the temperature has dropped a little.

It does finally feel like summer.  The TV is outside for our evening viewing.  It has a waterproof cover during the day to protect it from the searing sun and any rain showers.  The big umbrella is up in the front yard giving us a little extra shade in the morning and protecting the garden from all day sun.  

I water daily.  Some plants like the basil, mint, thyme and hydrangea get water in the morning and the evening.

Poros roads are teeming with cars, motorbikes, motorised scooters, ebikes and pedestrians.  We go shopping very early in the morning, coffee first, then the supermarket  and home again.  If we go to the Navy beach canteen it's from Monday to Thursday, in the evening. Even then it gets too crowded and noisy.

We haven't started swimming yet.  It's too much of a hassle. 

Get changed, drive down in a hot car, haul our gear along the track and hopefully find a space to sit in the shade under the small shade tree on the water's edge, then back into the hot car, home, shower, change again.

  We'll be staying for 2 weeks at the Navy resort in September.  There's nothing else to do there but swim so we'll get our dose of ozone and swimming in the sea.

Our rural road has been blocked off because of the fire risk.  There is a big No Entry sign up at the crossroads.  We are very happy about that because tourists on quad bikes were screaming up and down our cul de sac disturbing our siesta hoping the road would lead to the sea.  No, it doesn't!

There are no ants in the house this year.  Even the huge outside ants are few and far between.  We are very happy those annoying house ants have disappeared.  We couldn't leave any food item out on the bench, it would be covered in a swarm of ants in seconds.  But what has happened to them?  We haven't sprayed or fumigated.  

There are no flies and fewer wasps.  Mosquitoes are still around and it's the year of the spider, huge great things.

Spider in the shower

It's about the size of the palm of my hand.  I didn't manage to catch it so it's still lurking somewhere in the bathroom. 

The cicadas started their screeching much later in the season and their noise level is not deafening as it is most years.  Strange the way nature differs each year.

Last year the nuisances were ants and grasshoppers.  The grasshoppers are still around, eating the leaves of my roses but nowhere near in such great numbers as the previous summer.

Summer birthdays and name days come one after another

This is the service at the Church of the Holy Belt, down at the bottom of our mountain road.  The church was whitewashed, the area cleaned up and the Council put on a full scale fiesta.  40 kilos of bbqed pork was dished out, free wine and cold drinks and live music with everyone dancing well into the evening

Temperatures are rising tomorrow. Up to 39o in some areas.  Not a heatwave though