Spring Springing, Swallows Swallowing
I was sitting at my desk the other day when I looked out of the window and thought, ‘What’s that?’ Then I realised. A little later, I was in the courtyard, and I saw the same thing overhead; a massive flock of swallows. Where had they come from? Well, I guess they are migrating, and we get them here every year about this time, but I’d never seen so many turn up on one day. A few minutes later and they were gone, leaving only the usual few. Then I realised what was going on. The flying ants (or whatever they are) had hatched, and the swallows were up there living up to their name and swallowing them all. We were invaded by little lack bugs for a while, they dropped their wings and crawled off, or were eaten, and then that, too, was over.
That used to happen at the old house where we had a couple of families of them living in the roof. One or two days a year, in April, I would have to leave the saloni where I worked and keep the doors and windows open while the things descended from the ceiling and took over the room. An hour later and they were gone, leaving behind a covering of tiny wings. So, the dots you see in these photos are actually swallows (or martins) on their way to somewhere, stopping off for lunch on or above Symi. There are still some around mixing with our usual neighbours, the sparrows, pigeons, a few seagulls, some ravens from time to time and, again at this time of year, a few hawks.
Monday’s breeze blew into a wind in the evening but calmed during Tuesday morning to once again leave us warm and calm. The sun came out and the sky, although not yet the painted blue of summer, was reasonably cloudless though a bit pale. Spring flowers are out still, even the weeds are attractive at this time of year and our courtyard plants, such as they are, are coming along. The chilli is growing, and now I’ve separated some other plants and thinned them out a bit, they are also doing well, and the vine is growing at the rate of about two inches per day. Spring is still springing here on Symi.
