The wildlife of Kefalonia

Today's post is a little about the marvelous wild - and not so wild - life of Kefalonia; being a tad nature crazy, we try not to miss an opportunity to photograph it! And there was plenty to shoot. Surprisingly though, a lot of it was rather fast moving in the heat!

Beautiful Scarce swallowtail butterfly. They fluttered around the whole Greek island. The British subspecies is confined to the fens of the Norfolk broads. This is partly due to the distribution of the sole larval foodplant, Milk-parsley. The continental subspecies is less fussy and will feed on many kinds of Umbellifer, such as Wild Carrot.

There were lots of lovely wild cats, very curious and very hungry. This was one of the downsides to the island, there is no spaying or castrating, so the numbers of cats, kittens, dogs and puppies grow in the spring and summer, when the tourists feed them, and then die of starvation and/or disease in the winter months. Shame really to think these lovely cats are doomed.

Ants are everywhere, in great numbers. Worldwide they are a very successful species. BB found a large dead centipede in the swimming pool and wanted to bring it home. However, as it was dripping wet, I laid it in the sun to dry and within minutes it was being carried off by these ants, using 'co-operative transport'. Love their little pointy bottoms! The Mediterranean Tiger centipede is the largest in Europe and can grow up to 150mm in length. They are nocturnal and venomous and can give a nasty bite.

Lots of damsel and dragonflies

And bee hives, seemingly everywhere. No sight of people keeping just one or two in their back garden, more that a few kept 250 plus hives. Interestingly, by late August most of the wildflowers had been burnt to a crisp by the Mediterranean heat, so what were the bees foraging on?

There weren't many wildflowers at this time of the year, but here's a honey bee on a thistle

The beaches of Kefalonia are nesting grounds for Loggerhead turtles. They spend most of their life in saltwater and estuarine habitats, with females briefly coming ashore to lay eggs. Along some of the local beaches these nests were cordoned off to prevent disturbance. Loggerheads are considered an endangered species and are protected by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

We saw several turtles in the sea when we were out swimming

The island pollinators are heavily dependent on the exotics planted in gardens and hotel grounds

Sleepy head!

This brown butterfly fell into the sea :o(

Little rustlings in the undergrowth turned out to be these small brown lizards.

Cats, cats and more cats!

This is Cheeky, who every day lived up to his name.

The ants provided much amusement; this was a 30 feet long trail (before heading off into the bushes) of Harvester ants.They carry amazingly large loads of seeds and such back to the nest.

Cicadas everywhere, the noise so characteristic of the Mediterranean!

This is the European hornet, Vespa crabro.

Caught up with a local beekeeper who kept 250 hives in his 'spare' time, he's also a mechanic! I bought some of his excellent Thyme honey.

BB feeds a bite of apple to our neighbour horse

Pretty livestock, being looked after by the traditional shepherd, who each evening herded the flock from one field to another

This is Spotty, he's very sweet natured.

This is Jasper, getting a little too comfy on our table!

Xylocopa violacea, the violet carpenter bee, is one of the largest bees in Europe. It is a solitary bee and makes its nests in dead wood. They are incredibly pretty bees, but a little intimidating when they fly close by.

The Oriental hornet, Vespa orientalis, is a hornet which looks very similar to the European hornet, and is quite common  in the Mediterranean area. It is a rather large specimen!

Lots of pretty bugs and beetles hiding in the foliage.

A group of 'our' kittens arrive to dine on left-overs!

So there you go, a sample of the amazing non-human life on a very special island!

Hope you are having a peachy week!

Oh, The Places You'll Go!

 

Have you been here? 

On a very wet and windy Sunday afternoon, I searched for some video clips for Sam who is a huge fan of Dr Seuss' hilariously silly rhymes. I came across this fantastic clip, and it made me smile...LOTS!!!
How bonkers, how fab, I want to go there...

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

It's Dr Seuss' "Oh, The Places You'll Go", filmed at The Burning Man festival. This is a week-long annual event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, in the United States. What an appropriate setting for this fabulous story!

It's opener there
in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And then things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.

OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights. 

Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!

A perfect video clip to brighten a dreary Autumn Sunday afternoon...

That ever so lovely island

Well, what can I say about our rather lovely holiday this year? Other than what a fantastically beautiful, if a tad hot, island! This year saw us taking a couple of weeks off to totally de-stress on the mountainous island of Kefalonia. The island (Κεφαλονιά in Greek), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece.

Blues skies and Bougainvillea

The Greek island has many wonderful beaches with fine sand and turquoise waters specific to the island.

The island is said to owe its name to Kephalos, the first king of the area during the Palaeolithic era. Kefalonia participated in the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars on the side of both Athens and Sparta. Throughout history the island suffered heavily and frequently from invaders and pirate raids. It has been under Frankish rule, then consecutively conquered by the Normans, the Orsinis, the Andeans and the Toccans. Later on it was dominated by the Venetians and the Spanish, with the Venetian rule ending in 1797 when the French arrived. They were later defeated by the allied fleet of the Russians, the Turks and the English. After a huge popular demand, democratic elections were organised in 1802 and a new Constitution was established in 1803. Kefalonia fell again under French domination in 1807 but the new Constitution was maintained. After the Treaty of Paris, in 1809, the Ionian Islands came under the rule of the English again. Kefalonia was finally united to the rest of independent Greece in 1864, the same time as the rest of the Ionian Islands. So the people of Kefalonia have seen many nations come and go, and yet they remain a stoic, relaxed and happy people!

Splendid clear waters with fish nibbling your toes...

Feeding the fish!

We dived down to collect urchin shells, and even cheekily stole this one off the back of this spiky fellow

Beautifully clear warm seas

Olive trees everywhere, olives being the main commodity of the island

Fishing boats in the harbour of Katelios

On the way to Poros

An evening stroll to the beach

Two of my very lovely boys!

That's probably enough for now! There'll be more to follow, so watch this space....

Paralympic fever!

Yes, I know it's been a while since I posted, but I have been away to a extraordinarily pretty Greek island and I will tell you more later! In the meantime here's a flavour of what's going on in London as I type... the Paralympics!!

Nothing but smiles and cheer greeted us as we headed to the Olympic Park. Over 20,000 people volunteered to help out during the Paralympics, and they certainly did a fantastic job of making everyone feel welcome. BBC report

Huge billboards and maps over the park made it easier to navigate around the various venues

The massive tower in the middle of the park stands 115 metres high, the Orbit is the tallest art structure in Britain – offering stunning views over the Olympic Stadium, Olympic Park and the whole of London. The red glow it emits at night can be seen for miles around

The stadium where the athletics took place, one session in the morning and another in the evening

Happy, happy people servicing all sorts of food; pasties, jacket potatoes, curry, salads etc at the many food stalls dotted throughout the park, but  not cheaply I may add though!

View through to the Aquatics Centre

Beautiful flowers everywhere on a hot, hot day!

Glimpse of the Royal  barge Gloriana  moored at the Olympic park

So much colour everywhere!

Various forms of entertainment were laid on to amuse the visitors

Olympic mascot

In the Inspirational Garden, good luck messages and wishes to the Olympic and Paralympic athletes from Park visitors  where strung up along willow walks

This one caught my eye, how lovely!

Serious support for team GB!

Park Live, where you could see the all the action live on huge screens

The Velodrome in the background where the cycling takes place

Though the building (named Beatbox) looks like bloody shards of broken glass jumbled together, there's more to it than its crystalline structure—it can be played like a musical instrument. Built by Coca Cola for the Olympics, anyone who visits the pavilion can remix songs by moving and touching.

Various musicians and bands played throughout the day

Time to enter the stadium and watch the sport!

BB posing next to the Olympic Torch

And off they go! We saw field and track events such as long jump, running, shot put, discus and more

Everyone cheered enthusiastically - no matter what nationality was on the track

80,000 people celebrating the most courageous and dedicated athletes - the audience gave quite a roar !

And of course plenty of Mexican Waves!

But the atmosphere was particularly electric when a British athlete won a medal!!

It was an absolutely fantastic experience! I'm so glad we went; the mood was warm, positive and moving...

Being a parent of a disabled child, I am particularly thrilled that the event has been so well supported and I have to say I'm pretty pleased to be British. We have done an excellent job at promoting acceptance of our differences and disabilities  - and  - watching the most spectacular closing ceremony tonight (sadly at home and not in the stadium):

It truly is a celebration of our human spirit!