Mosquitoes

Why are there so many mosquitoes here? This is supposed to be a dry area, but is it really?

The village is built on rocks and caves and to have a good continuous supply of water you only have to dig about 30 meters.

There are many different kinds of mosquitoes over here : big, small, tiny, black, brown, light coloured…

Some species are active during the day, so when I choose a spot in the garden to have a rest, I have to be careful not to sit close to water. In the house, it is a matter of catching (and killing) them during the day which is not as difficult as they tend to be slower in the daylight.

Their number and level of activity rises together with the temperature. In summertime they are numerous and aggressive, in wintertime very slow and not interested in human blood.

Unfortunately, their disinterest only lasts a few months a year.

Fortunately, they do not carry malaria or any other horrible diseases.

They are only stinging and sucking.

Storm wind

I cannot believe the weather this year. We are currently experiencing nice sunny days with fresh nights while it is usually very hot by now. I am not complaining. I would like it to be like that for the rest of the Summer.

This weather comes with a strong breeze which makes the mosquitoes hide from it.

Last week the wind was so strong (it was actually a storm wind) that it made the pear tree and a few “umbrella” trees snap. The pear tree will have to start all over again, as the trunk broke at the bottom. The umbrella trees have received a bandage. Their trunks split in half because of the weight of the branches. They will probably heal.

There aren’t many tourists in the country, so we are using this calm period to continue the works in the garden and the house.

I’ve now got a stair and door towards the garden, so I don’t have to walk around the front anymore and the cracks between the tiles on the veranda and roof have been repaired. That together with cleaning and waxing sometimes during the coming weeks should make it all water proof.

The tiles/stones for the staircase are being cut at this moment and the kitchen cupboards are being made.

The bad news is… that the white chicken did not manage to have a few little ones. She has been eating regularly the eggs, except for 2 which were her own ones. At the end of the 3 weeks I did not find any left. Although she continues to sit on the eggs, I decided to take them all for our own consumption. She is now “persona non grata” for the rooster and the other hens being chased away every time she wants to pick her share from the food. They are probably disappointed too.

And since a day or 2, a few is calling for a mate near the house. That is very late in the season. Does it have something to do with the unusual weather conditions, I wonder.