Symi Cats and Flowers

Thomas, a fine figure of a Symi cat, surveys his domain.  He has his humans well trained and is fed through out the year.  Other Symi cats are not so fortunate so if you are on the island in the next few weeks, please put your coins in the Symi Animal Welfare collection tins for the winter cat feeding program.

It will be a while before the new Chorio clinic is completed - the foundations have yet to be poured - but it is easy enough to find the old one now that it has a bright new sign with the doctor's telephone numbers prominently displayed.

Symi Flower Shop is reminding us that it is time to plant our bulbs if we want daffodils, freesias, tulips and the like.  Our winters are not cold enough for long enough for bulbs to naturalise here and flower successive years so we have to plant new ones every year.

The entrance to St John's church yard, enhanced by another Symi cat who has the well fed look of good owners.

Another reminder that the first rains are round the corner and it will soon be time to start planting again. Dino, the chandler in the lane below our office carries an amazing array of goods, including basic agricultural implements.  A good pick is essential for breaking the ground after it has baked hard in the summer drought. The grey plastic object to the right is a manual lift pump, used by local fishermen to pump rain water out of their open boats.

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Autumn Beckons

The first of the many bends in the long and winding road from Chorio to Panormitis monastery at the southern end of the island.  Although Symi is quite a small island it is very steep and mountainous and the road offers some spectacular views.  On a clear day one can see as far as Kos in one direction and Rhodes in the other. It is worth hiring a bike or car for a day to go up to the top and at the same time visit Kokkimides monastery on the second highest peak on Symi as well as Roukonioutis monastery and Toli Bay.

The olives are swelling on the trees. Still green, they will ripen and darken when they reach full size after the first significant rains in late October or early November.  As Symi is such an arid island our olive harvest is later than Rhodes only a few nautical miles away.  Few people have water to irrigate their olives and there is no communal olive press on Symi.

Temperatures are still in the thirties but the worst of the heat is over. The shadows are lengthening and autumn beckons. Autumn in this part of Greece is more like a second spring as when the first rains come in October the temperatures are still warm and plants start growing again. The almond trees put on new leaves and a fine carpet of green appears over night after those precious first rains.

Most gardens are now pretty frazzled but the robust survivors are putting on a late blaze of colour.

My attention was drawn by a delicate cooing from this pergola in Lieni. 

The mysterious noose has gone - or rather, the donkey man has moved on.  The Judas Curse is gaining momentum with fresh announcements every day from www.symidream.com regarding fund raising and the latest names to join the cast.  Kurtis Stacey from popular British soap, Emmerdale, is joining German actress and Symi regular, Wookie Mayer in Symi's first ever horror movie. Filming takes place in October.  Further funding is still required on Kickstarter so if you would like to participate in this exciting project please click on the link.

Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana

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