The heat goes on

The summer heat is something you expect in Bulgaria if you have done your research before moving out. You fit your days around it if, like me, it's not your thing. Being British means it is always the main topic of conversation, we can't help it. But there are so many compensations to the weather over here. When it is behaving properly we have long summers and short sharp winters. Great, better than eleven months of damp and cool temperatures. Of course since we have been here were have had one very hot, dry summer, a mild dry winter with a couple of cold spells and a wet and humid spring and summer,  not really 'normal'. But back in the UK there has been two proper summers, something unusual these days, and we missed them.

So although it has been wet, it is sticky and very hot and nights have been a bit of a trial. I cannot remember when I had a good night of sleep, temperatures in the high twenties in the bedroom even with window and door open and fan on, drying out the mouth and eyes. There are times when one of us has come down with the dogs just so that the other can get some sleep. The dogs, though the door is open, choose to suffer the heat upstairs rather than lie on the cooler tiles a few feet away, and they pant, and wriggle, and tap feet on wooden floor when they can't get comfortable. But they are happy if one of us is downstairs. You can actually see from Dave's sofa all the way into the bedroom, but although they don't go near the bed, they just want to be there! It is thundering as I write, whether it will come to anything remains to be seen, but by half way through the afternoon Bonnie is starting to get anxious as that is when the thunder usually starts, and if it hasn't, it might. So just in case, at the slightest whiff of wind or rumble of lorry or plane, she will start worrying.

However the rain is good for the garden so can't complain. Dave has not had to water too often this year as yet, though it is still only a week into August so time for a dry spell. And the paddling pool is always there to cool us off when it is too hot, a top up from the well will cool it down quickly. Even the dogs have had baths to get rid of as much hair as possible. Though Bonnie looks a bit reluctant she really enjoys the scrub and hose down afterwards and is quite willing to have another go. Bella, on the other hand, plays wimp and needs to be carriesd to the 'bath', the concrete trough which some might remember as Dave's first cooloing off place last year before we splashed out on the pool. I'm sure they must feel much better though, and a good groom a couple of times a week with the furminator keeps the loose hair to a minimum.

Don't worry about the face, she loves it really.....

....unlike Bella, such a wimp. This is the same dog you can't keep out of the dirty, fast flowing river!

I'll have another go....

Cool

Still being daft

Bonnie managed to get hold of a creme brulee ramekin and got caramel all over her nose......

....but Bella helped tidy her up. Such good natured girls

We have at last started to clear out some of the excess courgette plants and even pepper plants. The courgettes have loved the rain and the plants grew to a ridiculous size with huge fruits as we couldn't keep up with them, so three have made it to the compost heap. The peppers are different, some of them are very dirty with rain splash and it seems to have stunted their growth and some are turning yellow, so time to yank them out. We have far too many anyway.

Enormous courgette plant, pulled out three of these. The okra to the right is allowed to stay for the flowers, they are huge fruits

It seems melons have been doing well too, which is no surprise as they are related to courgettes and cucumbers. Some of the three we were given last week made it into the dehydrator. We have given up trying to use the sun this year as the weather is too unpredictable, so electricity it is. We  filled the trays with the two types of watermelon and some of the floury melon (which I think are just over ripe) and the resulting chewy and crisp morsels were a bit of a revelation, sweet and tasty and moreish. The chickens and geese had a good share too as there was no way we could fit it all in, but as we have been given another four huge melons there will definitely be more made...after the tomatoes are done. I might even do some pears as Venka has sent some more over. Of course all this means more heat.

So juicy, there was no way I was doing these in the kitchen

Surprisingly yummy

And four more!

A bag of apples from the dairy lady. Dave will take her a jar of raspberry and apple jam we made with them

We have had a little help from the wild birds this week. Attracted by the sunflower heads we have had goldfinches dropping down to clean up the bugs from the brassicas. I hope they keep it up, we don't use chemicals to help as we don't want to harm beneficial insects like ladybirds and hoverflies, never mind the bees. I have to say though, although they are stunning birds, I am not happy that some bee-eaters are hanging about, I never see them but can hear them most of the day. I hope our bees are left alone. Another reason for not spraying is we have so many butterflies, and although the cabbage whites are not welcome except their caterpillars feed the goldfinch young, other butterflies are a delight, even the ones which alight, joined together mating, on Dave's shorts. We even found a chrysalis attached to the side of the pool. I have found a picture on the computer but unfortunately it doesn't say what it is. More research needed.

Goldfinch on the kale

Mating butterflies, an unfortunate place to land for a photo!

One flew off and left the other alone

Chrysalis on the pool

The chickens are busy cleaning up the dead cherry tomato plants on the wall. It gives them something interesting to do and their noises of contentment show their happiness. Strangely they don't come over on to our side off the wall, but will go under the fence any time given the opportunity. I just wish they wouldn't go into the goose pen, it causes a heck of a commotion and the gander has been known to grab a chook. Horrible creature.

This is the really skinny, nasty bully ex-batt that I was thinking might have to go as she wouldn't let others feed, but she has feathered up and filled out and is quite charming now bless her

Dave has finished his painting of the clouded leopard. There has been a change of plan as to it's future. On Googling it seems someone else has done a painting of the photo before. Dave did ask permission to use it from the photographer but will not be able to enter the exhibition with it. So, as there has been so much interest, he has decided to try a silent auction linked to his website http://dcbartworks.webs.com/  but if it doesn't reach it's reserve it will go on our wall. It is a beautiful picture. I want it.

40000 page views

On Friday 1st August my blog reached 40000 page views. A huge thank you to those who read regularly, and big welcome to the new followers. It is so good to know people are still enjoying my amateurish attempts at writing even though I do sometimes repeat myself. Especially appreciated are the lovely comments and even suggestions and advice I get. So a warm thank you to you all.

So, onward to my next milestone, 50000. We are still being inundated with food and I can't see it changing any time soon. This week we have had lovely, sweet juicy pears, beautifully presented, from Venka. Yet more tomatoes and cucumbers from behind as well as, at 6.30am yesterday morning, Angel's smiling face appeared over the wall and he was clutching a watermelon for us. Baba Danke had another loose lucerne delivery and Dave went over to move it into the barn for her and recieved more melon and a bottle of melon drink. They may not see me when Dave does things for them, but all the neighbours send something for me as well, so I got a plate of melon and a drink from Baba Danke and some sweets from Angel when Dave cut their grass.

Such juicy pears, dripped all down a clean t-shirt.

The first melon present

And my bottle of home produced juice from Baba Danke

So though I wasn't going to make any more chutney, another batch of spiced tomato was set on the burner and the oven was filled with large tomatoes, roasted, skins removed, more jars for the cellar and small portions of sauce for the freezer for pizza. Also another batch of bottled plum tomatoes from our own which, thank goodness, are nearly finished. Also made some summer fruit jam as we have only plum for the sales. This had a few plums, apples, cherries, a little rhubarb and I splashed out on a kilo of raspberries (�2) Also bought some peaches at the market, they are a bit big and delicate probably due to the rain, and bruised easily, but lovely mixed with the melon and our hoem grown raspberries, too nice for jam. The largest peach was over 13 ounces.

Dave, with a little help from me, has at last got the weeds under control. It has been a battle, I try to keep food plants free of weeds but the bigger areas have been cleared by Dave who works all though the hottest part of the days. A bit worrying, but he would rather do that than get the blood sucked out of him in the evenings, which are not much cooler anyway. The weeds and insects slow down as everywhere dries up in the heat, which is mid thirties every day, but as soon as we have a storm they are back big time. But he has got as far as the squash and peppers now, which is brilliant. The squash are still growing like crazy but they keep the weeds down a bit. The courgettes are branching out too, they will be cut back or removed any day, just keeping one which we can keep under control, for baby courgettes, and one which can grow bigger fruits for Venka's animals.

Dave has found the strawberry patch! A few gaps but we will fill them with runners.

Nice and tidy, cabbage, leeks and broccoli, with sprouts, kale and cauli at the far end

Most of the plum tomato plants are out now.

Triffis courgettes...they are travelling!

The melons planted late have half a dozen little orange fleshed fruits. I have to admit I am not a fan of the long yellow melons popular here, I find them rather unpleasantly floury and would much rather have a small, firm but jucy cantaloup. With a little drizzle of our own lovely honey for extra flavour...because we can! The peppers are turning red but with all the peppers being sent round they are drying on the plants as there seems no point in bringing them in to chuck on the compost heap. The squat peppers for pickling are dropping fruit, but I think that is because there are just so many on the plants. The chillis (what are we going to do with them?) are also growing many fruits. I am going to have to put a facebook plea out for people to take them off our hands as the car boot sales will be finishing by the time they are ready to pick unless they get a move on.

Our lovely little melon

I'm sure we weeded the peppers last week....

Squat peppers falling.....

.......but there are plenty still on the plants

Dave's odd shaped chillis, they are supposed to be hot.

The mixed squash plants we put in for ground cover around the septic tank are migrating and we are seeing several different shapes and colours. I keep meaning to do some Googling to find out if they are edible, the packet of seeds was in Bulgarian. Not sure what I will do with them if they are. If they are strictly ornamental we will decorate the wall with them until they go over. The runner beans are growing seed as are the French beans, but the French are also still producing lots of beans. For some reason we have not had many visitors to take them away lately. Can't think why haha.

The beans keep coming

The evenings are still very fragarant with nicotiana. I can't believe they are still going strong, what amazing  value they are. The cosmos have come up to join them and take over from the echinacea which are slowing down, The crocosmia are flowering well and will no doubt spread every year, I had forgotten Dave had bought yellow and red. And both lots of cannas are flowering well, the yellow ones we got from Morgan's Plants are on their third spikes and the red ones Venka gave us have caught up. We have ordered a yellow one for Venka as she likes our's so much. We have been very lucky that all our 'mixed' plants have been just that and not all the same colour. I love penstemons and we are lucky to have three colours, three shades of pink.

The cannas Venka gave us

Flowers everywhere...no straight lines here

Yellow canna, on their third spikes

Crocosmia...and I have just seen a huge weed I missed

The dark sunflowers have done very well. The bees have loved all the sunflowers

The mid pink penstemon

This rose has done well this year

Oh dear, one of Dave's precious peaches

I don't like okra, but being part of the hibiscus family they are worth growing for the flowers

The countryside in general is still looking incredibly green given the temperatures, with plenty of wildflowers and masses of fruit on the trees bordering the roads. There are still the small wild plums in different colours, apples and pears are swelling, cornus and sloe are huge this year. The road through the village is lush with flowers and grape vines (hardly any grapes this year) and also peach trees.

Verbascum, lovely in the countryside

Salvia

The little true blue daisies of wild chicory

The main road to the village

This mare is looking rather thin and wormy now. Her foal still trots along side, no doubt wrecking it's legs with all the trotting on the roads. Yet another horse destined to be lame all it's working life

We have had a nice Sunday day off today, no car boot this week. Strange that even though we don't go out to work, Sunday is still Sunday. I am still not sleeping well so was up late this morning (nearly 7am...shocking!) and had plenty of time to make Sunday lunch for a change. There is no meat left in the freezer, but we do have some trout which we got on offer a couple of months ago, so I filleted a couple and topped with breadcrumbs, almonds and lemon zest and baked them. I have had a similar thing at the restaurant in VT, and in memory of that we had sauteed potatoes and onions, salad and home made herb and lemon mayo. Yum. Followed by creme caramel. I would like to thank my generous (sometimes) hens for the donation of plenty of eggs this week.

And talking of hens, they are doing a good job of tidying up the cherry tomato plants on the wall, kindly picking the red tomatoes as they ripen. The plants are done really, the roots squashed into the troughs so there is no room for compost, and I was going to chuck them on the compost heap. But if it keeps the ladies happy they can have them a bit longer.

Top hen Cagney searching for ripr tomatoes

That necklace of pale feathers belongs to Tilly....

....and here she is. A friendly soul

The six young cockerels seem to have settled into their new home and are showing the big boys how to find bed at night. It is a shame they live so far away as we still have a boy who has started crowing and a younger one we thought was a girl, but is now growing tail feathers and comb. They could have gone with the others. Knowing our luck the very wild chicks, with their Shumen mother, will be mostly boys. It has been that sort of year. I don't know how they have survived so long, they are always in other people's gardens or in with the geese. Looking forward to the day they can't get through chain link fencing.

So, I have promised myself I will get down to replenishing the cards so I had better get down to it, only another week to the next car boot sale.