Down Among the Daisies

Spring has painted Symi with a generous brush and there are lush flowers wherever one looks. Even the most scrubby bit of wasteland is waist high in daisies and the bees are delirious in the poppies. Last week’s rain has freshened the landscape and given the island a boost. The prodigious vegetation has brought with it many insects and that, of course, means that the bird life is also flourishing. The tortoises that live in the wilder parts of my garden have woken up and I spotted one shambling slowly through the vetch last week, a bit of grass hanging from his lips as he carved a trail through the tangled foliage. April really is a nature lover’s delight. While many parts of Greece are still experiencing quite stormy weather, most of this passes to the north of Symi and Rhodes at this time of the year. Showers are forecast but they seldom reach us. Temperatures remain in the twenties and it is mild enough to eat outside in the evenings.

Preparations continue for the tourist season and as the houses start to dry out the season for external painting has begun. Swollen wooden doors and shutters are slowly shrinking to their summer dimensions and the great pre-Easter whitewashing of steps, lanes and houses is well under way. The lanes are perfumed not just with the scent of orange blossom but also the whiff of Easter baking – vanilla, cinnamon, flower water and almonds.

Have a good week.

Regards,

Adriana