Welcome
back! In the last three series we've trekked up hill and down dale
and frolicked with the fishes in the Libyan Sea. And now for
something completely different...a tour of the upland villages of
eastern Crete taking in the beautiful scenery and amazing wildlife
along the way. So hop in alongside me and we'll pootle along the
coast from our base in Ferma,
take a left in the village of Galini and head up into the hills. This
road meanders along the edge of the Eden
Valley and in places the outcrops of rock hang suspended above
the road in a most unnerving way. If we bear right here, through the
olive groves, we'll make a stop in the Aschlia valley. I see that the
carob picking season has begun so lets halt under this carob tree at
the side of the road and sit upon the wall awhile.
Carob
harvesting involves hitting the tree with a stick to knock the pods
down whilst trying not to damage the delicate flowers which appear at
the same time. When you've picked them all up, you dry them in the
sun and then you're ready for a spot of kibbling. This is the process
of separating the seeds from the pods (the broken bits of dried pod
are the kibbles). Then you take the seeds, roast and peel them. The
naked kernels (embryos), peel (endosperm) and kibbles are all used.
The embryos make a gluten free, protein rich flour; the endosperm is
used to make a gum that, amongst other things, puts the jelly into
cat and dog food and the kibbles make a caffeine free chocolate
substitute. Useful plant the carob.
Talking
of harvesting it looks as though the blackberries are beginning to
ripen and the butterflies are taking full advantage. There's a
Clouded Yellow darting about, one of the blues just settling and a
Speckled Wood patrolling up and down. Another Speckled Wood has just
joined the company and the two of them are haring around the bushes,
us and the car. I think that our guy is chasing off a pretender to
his throne. Meanwhile, on the car, we have a Seed Bug that I haven't
encountered before. An all white car and he's chosen to land on the
black trim between the windows. Insects are cold blooded of course
and black absorbs the heat so maybe he's been foraging about in the
shade and has taken this opportunity for a warm up.
And
harvesting of a different sort seems to be taking place on the wall
behind you, just look at that crowd of Lepisiota ants swarming over
that dead mantis. Yes, you're probably wise to get up – I've warned
you about wearing shorts before on these trips. Where would we be
without these ladies though? They're the undertakers of the insect
world. All ants are eusocial which means they are born to perform
different tasks,
they have more than one generation in the colony and they cooperate
in caring for their young. Not totally dissimilar to ourselves really
which may explain why both ants and ourselves are such highly
successful animals. Some may say too successful (in both cases).
And
at this point I suggest that we do a little harvesting of our own.
Just a little way up the road is the village of Charred Oak, or
Schinokapsala as the locals insist on spraying it, where Nikki keeps
a kafenion with a magnificent old grapevine which should be laden
with fruit about now. Ouzo and a bunch of grapes on a shady terrace
overlooking the sea; what could make a better end to the first leg of
our journey?
Have
you ever wondered why bottles are hung in trees like that? Insect
traps maybe – but there's no way for the insects to get in. Bird
scarers? - there's no fruit to protect. The answer is much simpler –
they are weights. Trees have a tendency to grow upwards so if you
want a tree to have shade giving branches at a convenient height you
weigh them down as they are growing. Simple but effective.
The
Extra Bit
There's
a lovely bit of action going on down here on the floor; we've got a
seed bug and a jumping spider on a collision course and they haven't
seen each other yet. Now they have. The spider stops..adjusts...and
pounces. And almost in the same movement.. jumps back again. I
thought he was being a bit optimistic although I've seen them take on
flies bigger than themselves. Perhaps it was the warning colouration.
Photographic
Bit
Many
of you have asked
me what
photographic equipment I use so here's a quick rundown on the cameras
used for each picture. For details of aperture settings, shutter
speeds etc. my pictures will be on Flickr
within
a few days and that has all the geeky stuff.
Picture
1 Nikon Coolpix S33
Insets Nikon
Coolpix S33
Picture
2 Fujifilm FinePix S2500HD
Picture
3 Canon EOS 1300D
Insets (Butterflies)
Konica Minolta DiMage Z3 (Blackberries and Bug) Nikon Coolpix S33
Picture
4 Nikon Coolpix S33
Picture
5 Canon EOS 1300D
Extra
Bit Canon
EOS 1300D
Pictures
were edited with FastStone Image Viewer and combined with Microsoft
Paint.
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LINKS:
Share
your nature thoughts, photos and comments on Naturalists (the
facebook page that accompanies this blog)
See
detailed pictures on Flickr
Explore
the region with the #CreteNature interactive Hiking
and Nature Map
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