Not even Fido wanted to go out during the night and there was no Obi barking! As a consequence of the Obi barking and the feeling of exposure, I’ve fitted up a CCTV camera at the end of the roof. The camera looks at the gate and over the field. It’s a cheap PTZ camera which means it’s possible to change the direction of view which is quite handy as it’s mounted high up for a good field of operation. It’s only a cheap camera so the resolution is only 2MP which is not that brilliant in this day and age.
The camera will record if there is anyone snooping around in the field and can be set to track motion and also alert me via my phone. I can also see if Xanthippos is around and slacking.
I’d intended to move the alarm time back ten minutes as it’s lighter in the mornings but I forgot so it was plenty light enough when we walked up to Plakaki. I wasn’t paying much attention to where the dogs were going as they seem to just follow me so I can disappear into my thoughts when the urge takes me.
We were almost at the end of the walk when a German couple, who live in Paleochra arrived with their two dogs. There was the inevitable doggy interest and things would have certainly been different in the past. We were also at the end of the walk which makes quite a difference as they’re more tired.
I know the couple who usually walk their dogs on the sandy beach in Paleochora but, on a whim, decided to come to Grammeno for a change. Everyone behaved nicely although one of their dogs was reluctant to come too close and seemed a little unsure of the mass of dogs before him. Being a little timid, Luis felt it his duty to exploit the weakness however I was on his case so showed him very quickly that any aggression wasn’t on.
The woman, whose name I forget, asked what it is like walking with seven dogs off the lead. I explained that this was possible with a little wireless help. She couldn’t understand how it was possible to keep track of so many dogs and have them come back when wanted. She was impressed with the collars and remote and immediately decided she was going to get one! I wanted to get on so we continued back to the camping where I put the dogs inside before setting off for Krios.
The same German camper was at Krios Beach and there was a number of Greek cars. Gregory and his dogs were not there as they were going elsewhere as I discovered later. I started going back to Grammeno and met them opposite the little church where everyone was singing merrily. It wasn’t an ideal location as we were on a slight bend so we both carried on our separate ways after a brief chat.
The day was grey with sunny spells and reasonably warm and sunny when I got back to the camping so I opened the tent door before feeding the dogs. With them fed, I cleared up in the kitchen as I was going to be making breakfast for myself as well as Doggy Dinners later.
The sun stayed out long enough for me to do the breakfast and DDs and also charge up the battery which was useful as I used the heating the evening before.
I wandered down to see Nikos who’d temporarily moved from his cave under the thatched roof as Tony was spraying the carobs the evening before. He’d relocated under the shading by the beach but he decided to move back to his cave as he said he preferred it there.
The remainder of my day was taken up with tinkering with the PTZ camera and stringing a wire for the lights I relocated yesterday. Now the laps are more protected from the elements and hopefully, the internal battery will have charged up properly now that the solar panel is not obstructed by the big carob tree. We will see how many and for how long the lights come on tonight.
The rice for the DDs is in the pot and cooking so I can hear the sound of the cooling fan in the inverter as the Pot cycles on and off. I’ve prepared some rice and spinach for myself which will go in when the Doggy Rice comes out.
I’ll leave it a little later before taking the dogs out as it’s Sunday so there are likely to be people loitering in the car park and walking their dogs. I prefer there to be no one so that the dogs can do their own thing without me having to keep track of them too closely. That said, it’s quite grey and miserable so anyone with any sense will be at home enjoying their fire or relaxing in front of the TV perhaps.
The Evening Walk is now in the past but I was wrong about people being still about. A pickup was parked in the beach car park and a Smart Passion on Alonáki Beach. The pickup left first and the Smart shortly after. Whoever was in the Smart was with someone else who didn’t appear to be travelling with him.
It was pretty dark because of the cloudy sky by the time we got out so we had a rapid walk as it was cold too. I even had a windproof coat on!
I walked back across the field and could make out the infrared light from the camera lens as well as the power light on the LAN connector. anyone lurking around after dark would most likely notice the camera which provides an additional layer of security. I shall probably ask Antonis to get Polychronis to deliver a roll of shading material which I’ll string on a wire between the two corner poles to prevent the dogs from seeing into the field. That way, they’re less likely to bark at anyone working or passing as well as the cats which have a lot less cover than previously so are much easier to spot.
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