Surveying

Luis and Fido were being terriers in the night and dealing with a mouse. I’m not sure of the status of the mouse but there was a lot of rushing around and noise. Hopefully, not for nothing.

Isabella and Skinny detected movement so were urging me to get out of bed which I did. It was 05:50 but close enough with little chance of any productive sleeping before the alarm. I let them outside to romp about.

The mornings are gradually getting lighter so we will be out earlier to keep up with the sun. I used my torch only on the initial crossing of the field as it’s rough and the landscape changes as the piles of greenery are burned.

There was no wind which made the walk to the end of the Promontory and crossing the rocks a delight so we were marching up the beach towards Plakaki before very long. By that time it was possible to make out the dogs on the beach but not Skinny as he was actually behind me.

As we got back to Grammeno Beach, a car drew up and two people alighted and set off up the east side of the Promontory. They are the couple which live high up amongst the greenhouses and come to walk on the Promontory regularly. Nevertheless, we completed our second visit and returned to the camping by which time the couple’d already left. Lightweights!

I was getting breakfast ready when Nikos came for the key to the ‘playroom’ as he’d stacked some of his property in one corner before his trip to Athens. He was unimpressed that Bona had taken it upon herself to empty the fridge which contained food belonging to him!

Not long after, there was a further interruption when a young couple materialised in the field carrying a GPS on a stick with some clever console that talked to them. They were there to plot the boundaries of the field for the upcoming construction project. Or maybe they were just out for a walk? The guy was quite keen as he squeezed between the fence and the carobs to plot the corner of the compound. Lucky I’d trimmed them back when installing the electric fence. With their funky gadget, they were able to do what used to take several of us to do in a day excluding the calculations and actual drawing which was completed later on!

Xanthippos was still sawing wood, the blokes were still lopping the eucalyptus and the men on the building site were shouting and crashing about as usual. I expect they will finish just as the next lot starts. The dogs were more than a little agitated.

It was very sunny, the sky was clear so the battery was full before noon. I used the time to enjoy the sunshine as I didn’t see why the dogs should soak it all up.

I went to the office to give the January camping money to Georgia as I guessed she might need it to pay for the workmen in the camping. She was on the phone but indicated I should wait but her conversation seemed interminable so I sloped off. I think it may have been general chitchat anyway.

Things have now quietened down as the majority of the work is completed and the cuttings and branches collected onto a large flatbed which trundled around the camping. Most of the hedges are trimmed and the place looks much better. The tall eucalyptus are now much shorter, at least for a couple of years.

I used the metal pole formerly supporting the weather station, to support the camera which looks towards the storeroom and workshop. I’d temporarily relocated the camera to a previous position but then remembered why I’d moved it to where it was before I stole a chunk of the pole for the weather station. In essence, the camera and weather station have swapped mounting poles.

I’d noticed the ethernet uplink cab from the bar WiFi and cameras was flapping in the breeze so spent a while refixing it to the fence between CBV and the camping. Another Xanthippos masterpiece with insufficient cable ties to account for those which inevitably break due to the UV from the sun. Why do a decent job when it can be bodged? I used around 100 ties to reattach it to the fence for the majority of the cable run.

I rewarded my efforts with a long, hot shower and then put back on the layers I’d discarded in favour of my summer shorts. The mornings and evenings are chilly but the last couple of days have been beautiful.