They are doing fine

The 4 remaining hens are fine and growing. As we are having very nice autumn weather, they do not have to look for shadow all the time and stroll happily along the garden looking for food.

The rooster is the only one that has the courage to come until the gate in front of the garden. Yesterday, I noticed he picked some flowers. He looked at me and went, as if he knew he was doing something wrong.

He is always hungry. When I’m in the garden he comes towards me and follows me around until his urge for food is so big that he goes and finds some himself. That is usually very quickly.

He starts answering the other roosters in the neighbourhood. It is very funny, as his crowing are a not more than an attempt. He still needs a lot of practising.

The disease that the other hens caused to die is one that is known by the villagers as long as they live. And they say that once the chickens survive they will not get ill anymore.

Life in the garden is booming. It is probably because it is quiet and I’m not using any pesticides.

A lot of lovebugs live on the plants. Butterflies everywhere. The neighbour’s bees are very happy with the basil. And, recently, I discovered a lizard that is changing colour.

The first time I only saw the tail and it was green. I thought it was a snake. It crawled through an opening in the rocks of the path towards the showers and toilets and then I saw the head peeping through the hole. Then I knew it was not a snake. It was the typically naughty inquisitive look of a lizard.

The next day I saw it again, it had the same colour as the red earth. Since then I did not notice it anymore. It is always there, but most of the time very well “camouflaged”.

New tomatoes are growing (very green right now). I’ve taken out half of the eggplant plants (too many eggplants). And the okra plants are about 3 meters high.

It is not necessary to water the vegetables anymore. The nights are cool and moist. I do water the trees still once a week, as they do need to recover from the dry and hot summer.

The remaining mango tree is looking sad still, but starts having new branches and leaves. It looks like the worst is over, meaning that the young trees will get stronger from now on, except for the peach tree which is ill again.

Peach and cherry trees are very hard to grow here. It is almost impossible. I’d like to have a “tut” tree instead (mulberry).

Simone, a German traveller, that came by with her husband for the second time on her way back home, brought me seeds of yellow flowers she found in the Palmyrian gardens. She will send some more seeds from home, as she has got some that she cannot use because the flowers don’t grow in her garden. And she sees that this particular kind of flowers grows very well here.

I gave her some okra seeds that she will try to grow. She likes to experiment in the garden with different kinds of flowers and vegetables.

They were very enthusiastic about Syria and are thinking of coming back in a few years.