What birds like to eat

So… the hottest period of the year has started. 36° C in the house late in the afternoon. The only way to spend a good night is to sleep outside. It also limits the number of hours I can spend working in the garden. I don’t succeed in getting up at 5 AM. That’s a nice time to spend outside working. It is too early for my system, though. I can’t manage before 7 AM on a good day. Maybe I need some time to adapt.

I’ve been putting plastic bags on a stick around the melons and watermelons to keep the birds away. As by coincidence, they started growing. Birds like picking them when they are very small.

I’ve also put plastic bags on the sunflowers. Birds like eating the sun pits. Will see in a few days whether that’s effective enough.

There are many birds nesting in the building. The cats can’t reach their nests, as they are hidden in holes high on the walls.

Last week I noticed the birds were mating again. They have 2/3 nests a year around here. A lot of chirping each morning until it is too hot.

Too hot to move around or make any sound.

In the evening, a dog is howling like wolves. It is very close. It seems to be a mother dog with some little ones. Sometimes you can hear them. I might have a dog very soon J

Soon Ahmed will arrive to play the game on the mobile. He fixed a rendezvous yesterday at 10 AM. Asked whether he could come around at 9 AM, but I told him it is too early for me. He would like to come around every day, the whole day. Doesn’t want anything to eat or drink, just sit down and play the game.

Rahaaf comes along and although the game is interesting to her, she doesn’t argue with Ahmed. Leaves him playing, while she tells me what is going on in her life, eating watermelon.

I wonder how they would react to a dog in the garden. For Muslims dogs are the lowest of creatures. They have to wash 7 times after having touched one. If I have one, I will have to teach it not to be touched. That doesn’t seem to be difficult. I am even told by a biology student (Belgian) that a dog prefers not to be touched by nature.

And I think it is true, because around here dogs don’t react to you or come to you when you call them. They stay and sit on a safe distance.

Busy little creatures

Ants are amazing creatures. There are millions in the garden and I like to observe their activities when taking a rest.

They are busy creatures and very helpful. Always running around, climbing up trees and plants, they are looking for something to take home. They eat the tiny animals in the leaves of the plants and trees. When many ants are up a tree, you can be sure it is having unwanted visitors.

When watering the sunflowers, I noticed that ants are good swimmers. They are not afraid of water and from time to time one goes into the fresh water to drink from it.

I often spot one “hanging” on the bottom of a leave. I guess they are watch outs. As soon as something useful is spotted, the whole colony comes into action to form a line and carry the loot home.

There are many different colonies in the garden and I wonder whether every colony has its own territory. I also wonder whether battles take place to defend the territory or to extend it.
Haven’t seen anything that looks like a battle.

How do they choose their spot to live? And when is a new colony formed? Why? Who is the brains of the colony? Do they have a queen, like bees do? Where and how do they store the goods?

I will keep observing them and ask around to find someone knowledgeable about the subject.

Zucchin, zucchini

Nothing but zucchini… I started giving them as a present when visiting. People are surprised that I have so many and that I can grow them. It is a matter of giving water every 2/3 days. But it is not easy to pick them. They hide in these huge plants with big stems full of tiny thorns. My arms are showing the marks of this success.

The garden looks quite good these days. The hot peppers, courgettes, tomato and okra plants have flowers and some sunflowers are taller than I am. Still 1 month to go and the figs will be ready to be eaten.

Electricity is available for future campers and at night the garden can be illuminated by using a switch behind the front door.

The sign board to direct the campers towards our place is ordered. Now that I think of it, we need a bell installed at the gate. It is about time to do that.

The best thing that happened this week is that on Friday’s the floorman showed up with his tools. After 2 days of work, half of the veranda is “tiled”.

It was no fun this week with the wind blowing heavily - due to a cyclone in Oman, I heard on the radio – and some of the sand spread over the balconies and veranda finding its way into the house.

The morning of the day the storm wind started blowing I put most of the carpets “over the wall” to leave them in the sun before putting them away for the summer. A few hours later even the heaviest carpet was lifted up. It landed on the sand. And it is very heavy. I cannot lift it on my own.

Am vacuum cleaning a lot.

The wind is gone now. Good… I was, much to everybody’s astonishment, complaining that it was too cold at night to stay outside. It is probably me. When others are complaining it is too hot to do anything, I usually find it quite warm, but nothing to complain about.

The real hot days are starting soon. The veranda will be ready just in time to be able to sleep outside. I am very pleased about that.