Summer left on our first day in Greece. We might have woken to hot and dazzling sunshine, but by lunchtime the storm clouds were building over the strait. And then came the deluge, torrenting off the pantiles on our cottage roof. Maria, the cottage owner, said it was the first rain in months and after the broiling summer (that we’d only just missed) the olive groves and vineyards were desperate for a good watering. So it was hard to feel too hard-done-by as, before our eyes, the parched Kalamata land sucked up the downpour.
The thunder racketed around for a couple of hours, and finally rumbled off in late afternoon, leaving us with still threatening clouds but, by then, a pressing need to stock up on provisions. We had been told that the nearest supermarket in Harakopio village was an easy two-mile walk. And so it was: a tranquil path between small farms and ancient olive groves; no traffic; only the scent of damp leaf litter and sometimes the delicate fragrance of tiny cyclamen along the verges. There was farm clutter of course along the way, but that goes with the territory. Hens scrattled about under the trees and handsome dogs kept watch over their people’s domains. There was a rather nice horse. Now and then the sun almost shone and I fell in love with gnarly olive trees that looked at least as old as Odysseus.
Tish Farrell 
What venerable old olive trees, Tish! And a new one on me….scrattling….most descriptive
🙂 🙂 I think I’m a bit of scrattler.
Couldn’t find Scrattle in an English dictionary, but the American Merriam Webster had it…..
Ha! Who knew. And did it mean, well, ‘to scrattle’ 🙂
Scratching about, yes
Oh good. I was suddenly worried it might mean something untoward across the ocean.
Fortunately not!
Love this green series, Tish. Green looks so fresh after a good rain.
Thanks, Amy.
I love olive trees and there are some beauties here….and although you missed the sunshine, you did get wonderful skies…There’s always a trade off:).
Oh yes, I agree. There is always a silver lining. I wouldn’t have enjoyed being roasted 🙂
Wonderful images, Tish – I always think of Greece as brown, not green…
but you’ve certainly found wonderful greens, perhaps thanks to that Deluge;
rain always seems to make greens greener!!
I think the rain perked things up, but that corner of Kalamata did seem to have quite a lot of evergreenness, what with the olives and the cedars and tracts of phragmites grasses.
Love Greece and would love to return one day, your images capture it well rain or not.
I didn’t expect to love it so much, having thought I’d left my heart in Kenya. But it tugs at my sense of longing whenever I think of it.
Nothing like a fresh rain to revive the green!
And quite good for humans too – nice gentle rain that is, and preferably in summer 🙂
♥
Lovely memories, hon! Must be nearly time to make a few more 🙂 🙂
That’s a v. nice notion, Jo.
🤗💕
Beautiful olives and a walk I wouldn’t mind doing to reach the supermarket.
I agree with Jude, what a glorious supermarket run it would be.
A key factor though – there were six of us to carry home all the must-have goodies!
Very good point! In Portugal we use rucksacks and a trolley.
Trolley is an excellent idea.
Portuguese use them all the time, specially at a farmers’ market. Makes so much sense!
And a supermarket full of delicious Greek food and bags of herbs.
Stoppit!
😂
This is a lovely post Tish; a beautiful weaving of narrative and colour
So heartening to hear it hit that kind of spot. Thank you, Su.
oh that tree, how amazing they have left it there
It is a wonder, isn’t it.
Those olive trees are so beautiful, I would be totally waylaid from the shopping expedition by the need to photograph them over and over!!
Hi Sarah. It was a walk with much waylaying 🙂
What a sweet memory. I could imagine being there and wanted more of the story. The olive trees reminded me of walking high up above the villages of Cinque Terre in Italy through the olive groves there.
Alison
Olive groves are amazing places, aren’t they.
Great post and fantastic images. Plenty of exercise with those groceries in the walk home.
Thanks, Pete. It was a good hike home with the goodies!
Dear Tish,
we love these autumn colours in Greece. We lived on Ithaki, yes, where Odysseus was at home, for over a year and so your pictures reminded us of this time. So typically Greece …
Thanks for sharing
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Glad to bring back happy thoughts of Greece, Fab 4. That must have been a very nourishing experience.