Showing posts with label Springtime in the Cretan Countryside. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Springtime Travels to the First Day of Summer

Happy 1st Day of Summer,

my friends!

Honestly, it doesn't really feel like summer, yet, on the island, as it's been very windy and cooler than usual for this time of year, but I don't mind at all since, the older I get, the less tolerance I have for heat, (both the meteorological and the menopausal types!)

Blue skies, cool breezes and late spring temps, suit me just fine, especially when I'm out on my ~~daily~~ walks, and sometimes

I need to exert myself, pushing my body weight up those steep country roads to capture the pretties perched on those pointy peaks!

Many times, I am greeted by lovely folks who, having just witnessed my feverish climb to the floral finish line, suddenly sprint up from their seats to offer me a cool refreshment and something sweet - a hospitable gesture for taking such a keen interest in their village, and one greatly appreciated by the recipient of their generous reward!

Other times, I prefer scouting my surroundings during

siesta, since it's quiet and I'm basically the only one around,

the area absent of concerned grandmas gazing at me,

(as I risk my life trying to snap grapes from a rooftop),

and thus, having distracted them from their crochet!

That's about the time I make my way downhill, to safer surfaces, much like the serene scene in the video above, where amid a meadow of Queen Anne's Lace, I lounged and lingered in loveliness, as I joined the dainty dwellers in their midday dance, to the rhythm of the breezy, late spring beat.

Thank you all for your continued prayers, which are very

much appreciated. Hope you enjoyed my springtime

adventures on this first day of summer! What does the

season look like and feel like in your neck of the woods?

Thanks for visiting!

xoxo

Poppy

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Mosaic Monday

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Holy Week

St. Irene, the little church that stands next to our home, high above the Cretan sea.

Hello dear readers, it's Holy Week here in Greece, a peaceful and quiet time, when the Greek Orthodox Church relives the last days of Jesus' life, beginning Palm Sunday and ending on Easter Sunday.

Allium Subhirsutum dot the perimeter of an old Olive tree, softening its rugged, claw-like trunk.

Days are spent cleaning and preparing

our home for the celebratory feast.

A close up of Allium Subhirsutum, commonly known as Hairy Garlic.

Church services in the evenings, bring people

together in prayer and unity, at this most

solemn time, days before Christ is crucified.


The hilly meadow behind our home. A petaled path strikes one's curiosity to follow it.

We follow Him to His death on the cross, and mourn at His
funeral, in the Service of Lamentations, on Good Friday.

Fresh beginnings are evident all around the village. Here, new vine leaves bask in the midday sun.

Then, alas, at the stroke of midnight, on Holy Saturday,

we rejoice, 'Christos Anesti!' (Christ is Risen!), as our

hearts are filled with the joy and hope of His rebirth.

For a more detailed account of Greek Orthodox Easter,

please visit my first post, here. To my friends who

celebrate, wishing you a most blessed Easter.

Poppy

Sunday, March 22, 2015

A Springtime Story of Grandeur and Glory

Daisies arrive on the patio, completely unexpected.

Between marble columns,
burnt orange daisies secure a
hot spot in the siesta mid-day sun,
to bask in the warmth of its healing
rays - a spritz of springtime therapy
after withering away from winter's malaise.

A bubble of almond blossoms

bursts on to the scene, waking

olive trees and buttercups bored
with the usual. It shocks the serene by
splashing some rosy white on the green,
and suddenly, the meadow looks awesome!

From rooftop ruins, lemony daisies sprout
between wide cracks in the sandy stone,
cheery, open - air dwellers of a centuries
old home, which shows no traces of its
'once upon a time' life. A structural array
of climatic strife, this abode, a tragic
example of 'open concept' design, is,
alas, a model of rubble in rocky decline.

On ground level, a red poppy stands

alone, in a field of cliquey colour.

Crepe paper frail, its silky petals

shiver in the cool, March breeze -

surely, an SOS of a flower in distress,
in dire need, of some TLC, from its own,
faraway, siren hued sisters. I wonder,
will they heed its weak and woeful
whisper, before it wilts and shrivels?

Close by, predatory branches claw their way

towards an unsuspecting, naive bell. Can't

they tell that this metal's heavily guarded?
Why don't they back away, before it starts
to sway, and alert all those around it?

Echium plantagineum in purple, and more

daisies, this batch in butter and cream,
spice some life on the bones of a new build,

and perk up a faded patina in peach.

Yes, spring has arrived in the
Cretan countryside, bearing gifts
of bucolic grandeur and glory.
I am grateful for Mother Nature's
generous offerings, and her
miraculous, annual, dowry.