Tuesday 14 August 2012

Back to Village Life.



It hasn't taken me long to settle back into my comfort zone. A bit of shopping, tidying and cooking interspersed with lots of reading, swimming, listening to radio 4, watching the Olympics, catching up with the blogs I follow, eating the grapes I thought I was going to miss out on, while tentatively checking my Blackberry to see if I've been called back to Scotland.  It was so hot on my arrival that I spent most of the first 3 days inside.  Easier to do now than in the past as, in my absence, two new supermarkets have opened in Mumcular, spurring Diasa to offer a new service.  All I have to do is phone in my order and they will deliver free of charge. It's a bit like having staff!  I soon won't have to leave the house at all, which in temperatures of 35 degrees plus, suits me fine.  Yesterday,  a cool breeze blew in and as we'd been so lazy, we decided to go for a brisk walk. I dissuaded 'the fit one' from an "over the mountain" hike and we settled for a "round trip to the next village" stroll along the edge of the forest.  Two and a half hours later, we hobbled back to the house with seized muscles and rubbed toes. We had to spend the evening horizontal recovering with very long G & Ts . The Olympics has got a lot to answer for.


Before we ran out of steam, it was gratifying to notice that in the 20 years we've lived in the village, the view hasn't changed at all.  If the new Government initiative to sell off secondary forest land means that we start to see some development, we can't complain as we've been very lucky to enjoy this peacefulness for so long.


Can anyone help me out and identify this bush? The fruit has a single large brown stone in the centre.

11 comments:

  1. Well, you know that the rewards for those long 2.5 mile walks with accompanying blisters are those long G & Ts. Have one for us and welcome home.

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    1. It was more like 10kms - 6 miles, hence the poorly toes.

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  2. welcome home! Your shrub is Styrax officinalis - common name Storax. Found around the Med east of Italy; it has only one representative in the region. It's Turkish name is Tespih Çalısı.

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    1. Hoş bulduk. I knew you'd come up with the answer. Thanks.

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  3. Welcome home. Naturally, I have no idea what the bush is called! I knew some clever dick would have the answer. How's John's tree doing?

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    1. John's tree looks very much at home. It only has one olive, but it's a big one!

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  4. Glad you didn't miss out on the grapes...and the new delivery service sounds great.....I wish Ayak could experience the same! J.

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    1. I was thinking exactly the same thing reading her last post.

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    2. Oh I wish!

      Suddenly I'm able to comment on your blog again. Blogger has been messing about again!

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  5. Welcome back, hellos from Istanbul:)how nice your view havent changed for so long, hope you get to enjoy even more. The plant looks curious, is the fruit edible?

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  6. Looks like an interesting bush. I asked my Turkish husband what kind it was and if he knew but and he didn't know...but then he comes straight from a city and the only place he probably went to was the beach at Cesme.....
    Wow sounds like a good delivery service, sure is good when the weather is not too good....and yes it is almost like having your own staff....
    ...have a great day!!!!

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