Week 17

Nursing Fluffy back to health has taken up a lot of time this week.  He is getting so bored and he really wants to be let out, but his wounds really need to heal completely.  Even the vet said he was in a very bad state when he examined him, and we were worried he may have used up his proverbial 9 lives.  We were wrong, luckily, and now it is just a waiting game until we can let him out again.  

The weather has been very bad, lots of rain and again, my plants have had to be moved around a bit to avoid getting completely washed out....

We have booked a train trip next week and we are very excited!

It will go from Chieti, and then into the National Park to Cocullo for the Serpent Festival Parade, an age-old Abruzzo custom.  You can read more about this strange festival on Life in Abruzzo.
I am not sure I like the idea of snakes all over the place, but I am hoping to take some interesting photos and then I can add them here.  

I have learned a new word: ophidiophiliacs (snake-lovers)!

The grass has been growing lush and below is the freshly mown lawn with resident feline ambling across......

The figs are developing nicely...

The rosemary bushes dotted around the garden are also getitng bigger...

I throw lots of it into everything I cook!

Some of my containers below, I have to check them every night for snails, which I remove and throw back into nature... the slugs are added into the blue pot and then emptied out later.....

Some of my seedlings and young cuttings are getting ravaged by snails as seen below...... The many sticks are to deter the cats from using the area as a litter tray!  They seem to be able to squeeze themselves into such tiny spaces!

Below some more tubs, with Mini Me loitering in a suspicious fashion ......  You can see some cherry tomato plants right at the front.

We currently have ant invasions on a large scale, so I am dealing with this problem, again at night, when they are most active......

It is all go here, nature wise, and I am enjoying this chance to settle back into the gentle and peaceful way of living here in Abruzzo..... 

Below you can see Freddy and chick hovering in front of the door whilst it is pouring with rain outside. 

 
I have not attended nor presented at the 7th Virtual Round Table e-conference this year, but I hope to catch up with some of the talks as soon as I have a spare moment :-)