Orchids & Clearing

At last have been able to get to work and start path clearing. It's been way too wet up until now. So the way from Moutero church, the spring and up to the dirt road, is now clear. I walked down from Moutero to Panormos yesterday and it's fine; just at the bottom of the hill after emerging from the forest (where my friend Jessica found a Birdsnest Orchid - we put branches round it to protect it) the grass is rather long. I'll get that cleared next Sunday. After that, we'll tackle Djilili, which again, is overgrown. After that, I was hoping to clear an old trail from Ag Marina spring up to Palouki.

Out and about, I found a Bumble Bee orchid, amongst others.

Here We Go Again

It's time to get those paths cleared!

No volunteers so thank goodness for the SCAN budget. Having lined up a Skopeliti to help me, his wife gave birth and they are all still in Volos. So I had to find somone else. I asked George, who comes here every summer and helps clean the shops on the front every morning. He said he knew all about strimmers too. So yesterday we dusted off the dust from the strimmer and headed to Moutero, via the petrol station. Felt slightly worried when he didn't know one has to put this bottle of red stuff in with the petrol. Anyway, with the help of a neighbour, he managed to get the machine started. Shortly afterwards the 'strings' disintergrated and the spares the previous user had assured me were 'in the bag' were not. So that was that. The helmet was also broken beyond repair. Not wishing to waste the day, I then took George down to the Djilili area, as this will be the next path for clearing. Even though he has been coming here for nearly 20 years, he had never been to either location or anywhere else inbetween.

On the way through the olive groves, I took these images.

Let's hope things go better next Sunday.