A Message for Martin

Martin Heap, from the UK, is upping his sticks and moving over here. He'll be here in a few weeks, but mentioned to me that he likes my bulletins about the weather. OK, Martin, well, in April it can change quite dramatically from one day to the next, but as a rule it's as warm as any British summer's day, which, as it happens, it's been today, March 3rd.

The above photo, not too good quality-wise as I took it with my steam-driven phone's camera, shows my lunch today. It was photographed out in the garden, where it was 24ºC while we ate those cheese and onion bread slices, with dollops of tomato ketchup, accompanied by a few crinkly crisps and a glass of chilled Retsina.

The blossoms are finally coming out on the almond trees, very late this year. Plus, while we ate lunch, not more than ten feet as we were from the bird bath, which is a plant pot tray on the floor in the corner of the car-port, a thrush approached cautiously, looking to have a drink. It obviously saw us and froze, even as we did the same. My wife was aching to scratch an itch on the back of her neck, but we sat there, knowing that only if we stayed stock-still would the thrush decide that it was safe to take a drink, which, happily for us, it did. It's only this past winter that we've begun to see thrushes here, which has been a complete delight.

Finally, at around 4.00pm we went for a half-hour walk around the olive groves up behind the house...

The whitish "rash" on the ground is in fact daisies in flower.

Don't they look just magnificent with their long shadows in the late afternoon sunshine now that the landscape is predominantly green for a while?

Well, must close as we have visitors arriving tonight, but just thought for Martin's benefit I'd give you a dose of a Rhodean early March day. I so often go on about Rhodean winters being like UK summers. I stand by it folks. OK, occasionally we get a cold spell, but today's weather would have had the beaches and pub gardens in the UK overflowing with folk wearing shorts and spaghetti tops, of that I have no doubt.

There is more rain forecast for next week. Bring it on. We had a flash thunder storm yesterday morning, just before I woke up, which was wonderful for the garden. By the time I finally came to, though, the sun was already out and the temperature climbing to the mid-20's.

There you go Martin. Hope the plans are progressing well.