Fabulous weather it was for Easter and still is though the middle of the day a bit too hot for working out of doors. Yesterday evening had to water the entire garden, the first time this year. Nights are still one blanket affairs. Although the minimum temperature seems to hover around 11 degrees it does feel a little on the chilly side. Have not as yet had to drop the mosquito nets though have caught a few of the little horrors hovering about.
The weeds have now achieved tremendous proportions and, even if I manage to get rid of them, where do I get rid of the uprooted corpses there is so much? and still some waiting to be burnt from last year. Unfortunately there is no burning after April for fear of fire so one is left wondering what the priorities are, clear up or burn? There are only so many hours in the day. The Greeks say don’t bother to weed, they will all die in the summer anyway but the trouble with that is, they will have seeded and, in growing to such an extent they will most definitely be a fire hazard. The Greeks call them wild weeds as opposed to just weeds (xorta) which are edible. In restaurants xorta on the menu is usually translated as “mountain greens” as the word weeds would no doubt be definitely off-putting to holiday makers and tourists. There are any number of edible weeds (think of nettles for a start) and Chris loves them but, food for free notwithstanding, I find most too bitter for my taste.
Unfortunately it is due to our neglect that the garden has got into such a state and it is a very large garden. It does look beautiful in parts with shrubs and ground cover flowering but what with the visit to the UK, the periods in Athens and illness taking its toll, the clock has beaten us.
It would seem my lungs have finally cleared up but, as one grows older, minor (minor?) ailments are sent to plague the aging body and I do believe in my old age I have become allergic to something, I know not what, and to hay fever mainly, at the moment, affecting the eyes. It’s interesting that the Cretan grandmothers swear that a cup of mountain tea a day keeps the coughs and colds away and we have started to take their advice this last week or more. Maybe it is that that has cleared up the lung trouble. I just wish it would also clear up the hay fever or the allergy or whatever the hell it is. Douglas’s sister in law, Susan, said there is a theory that taking local honey helps, the bees having utilised the local pollen to make it so the honey acts a bit like a preventative jab. I’ve started to take that in my mountain tea so we will see if it works. Mind you, by the time the eyes stop itching and running, the pollen season may well be over and we will never know anyway. Next winter start drinking the tea early. Actually it is not at all unpleasant so might drink a cup a day all year round.