Sparkling in the Morning Sun

Pedi bay sparkling in the early morning sun, as seen from a wayside chapel at the top of the Pedi valley, in the Lieni area of Chorio.

The bougainvilleas are in full bloom now and visible for miles.  Here is one, glowing magenta on a farmers cottage in the Pedi valley.  The silvery leafed trees are olives and the dark green ones are kermes oaks (holly oaks).

Another wayside chapel in Lieni.  Symi has many such small churches, often with little houses attached, privately built to fulfill a family vow.  

It is not just the bougainvilleas that are luminous at the moment - this morning glory is lighting up an old garden at the top of the Kali Strata.

We are nearing the Feast of St John and the St John's wort is flowering to schedule.

My eye was initially drawn by the tabby cat against the white background.  His own eye, however, is firmly fixed on the two cats in the vine overhead which I did not spot until I stopped to take the photograph.

One of the traditional tavernas on Symi, ready for the new day's customers.  Taverna owners are punctilious about cleaning up when the last customer leaves late at night so that everything is fresh and clean to start the new day.   

I had to go round to Krystallo, the housewares shop on the town square this morning, on an errand to buy something for one of our houses, and spotted the resident mouser snoozing on a pile of new outdoor chairs.  The kiddy chair no doubt provides necessary shade when the sun shifts.  Many Symi businesses have cats in residence who are fed by the proprietors and expected to pull their weight by keeping the mice under control.

The pomegranates are particularly good this year.  One advantage of having a car ferry coming over from Rhodes every day is that there is a steady supply of fresh produce available on the island, not just twice a week on the Blue Star as has been the case in recent years.