A warm February morning with white fluffy clouds
floating across the Reedbeds ,the water of the Salt lake gently laps the shingle sand banks
with no more than a murmur. No sound of summer cicadas or quadbikes whizzing
along the wide flat pathway. The clouds role by as if someone has puffed them
out of Bubble pipe and let them go.
The few Flamingos that remain are far out in the
centre of the lake still only knee high as they sift for food. Occasionally you
hear them chattering to each other. A large caterpillar crawls in front of us
as butterflies flutter across the wild yellow flowers. The flower heads all
face the sun and follow its path as the day progresses. A few solitary bees
take nectar from small delicate flowers that nestle on the bank. Behind us smaller
ponds are home to ducks
and ahead brightly coloured geese fly off as they see us coming.
Two awkward young Flamingos strut around on the
path, occasionally wading out into the water long enough for us to pass and
then walking back out behind us. These juveniles don’t appear to have their
pink plumage, just pale grey underwings rather like baby seagulls. The grey
rooks seem interested in them and close by an Eagle sits on the fence a large
bird of prey that I wish I’d photographed. They don’t seem to be part of the ‘In
Crowd’, but I’m not an expert in bird behaviour.
It’s such a tranquil place, not a soul in sight
but clear in the distance the Greek Flag merges into the blues and soft ochres
of the landscape, gently asserting this is our space, our Greek heritage.
