Birthday boy
This week: A little local difficulty; Birthday boy; Home maintenance;
As Saturday rolls around yet again, it’s been another busy week.
The pair of Kestrel Hawks which have been around since January are still here. This week they have been regularly calling and perching on the highest tree, with the best view.
This was the pair which raised four young (see issue 28). Once mated, they stay together as a pair for life. The young dispersed in early August.
I went over to Split on Tuesday, so a lot of my time on Monday was spent in getting ready for the trip.
From getting the ferry tickets, paying the annual insurance for my car, some bits and bobs for a picnic lunch and of course making a list of wants.
Tuesday was fine, sunny and warm. Coming into Split there were three hyge cruise ships lining up to berth. One was especially interesting being a five masted sailing schooner.
Named “Wind Surf”, I looked it up after I arrived back home.
Not as large at the huge Tui cruise ship behind, holding 3,500 passengers, Wind Surf “only” carries 386 passengers and 214 crew. It is electric/sail powered so reasonably environmentally friendly.
Unsurprisingly Split was very busy. Yet at the same time, when I went to one of my sandwich spots, the Brooklyn Bagel Company, a local franchise, the single member of staff told me although the town was full, the cruise passengers don’t spend anything.
This franchise was going to close for the winter in the next couple of days. I bought a Sesame seed bagel with a local fig and honey, cream cheese filling. During the time I was in the area, I didn’t see another single customer.
I got most of the supplies which were on my list and I was back on the ferry home at 14:30.
This week has also been the time for the annual technical inspection of my car. This also needs some planning and preparation.
Then having brought my supplies home, I have spent time using some of them, fixing things like some rainwater guttering that I needed parts for.
I did come back with some flowering bulbs as well. At Bauhaus, staff were just setting up the display of autumn bulbs. They had some Wood Quill, Scilla siberica, which I haven’t seen here before. They are the Mediterranean equivalent of the northern Bluebell bulbs.
In the garden my Autumn Crocus / Autumn Daffodil, Sternbergia lutea are in flower, brightening a shady corner.
This year I have had the best ever crop of pears. Being invited to dinner with neighbours, I took Poached Pears in a caramel sauce, with whipped cream and topped with a Red date from the garden.
Looking ahead, we will have some rain in the middle of next week, so I will plant the onion sets I bought on Tuesday.
There are always jobs to do…
A little local difficulty
Back home at 16:45, the sun was shining and it took only minutes to unload the car.
I decided I would plant the Broccoli I purchased in the Split green market, but first I had to do a little preparation.
Bringing the mini tiller out again, I carried it up to my vegetable plot. I then ran over the unplanted area where weeds had started to grow.
My reasoning was that it was much faster than hoeing. However there was a problem.
Since the rain last week, once again my soils have baked in the sun and as soon as you get down 10cm, the land is like concrete.
The mini tiller just does not have the weight to make any impact. It did nicely turn the top layer over and removed all the weedlings.
With no rain forcast for another week, my concern was that unless I broke up the hard layer, the roots of the new plants would never be able to penetrate the soil.
I needed a novel solution, so after raking the top layers level and creating a furrow where the line of Broccoli plants would go, I used a hammer and a 25mm Ø spike to drive holes into the soil. This was not as easy as it sounds, however I managed it.
I then planted my Broccoli plugs in each hole and watered them in. This meant that the soft topsoil was also washed in the holes around the plugs and so the roots have a pathway to go deep and find the nutrients they need.
In due course, once we have had some substantial autumn rains, the hard-pan will soften, but by that time the plant’s roots should have already found their way deeper into the soil.
This reinforced my suspicion that this particular plot has never had any mechanical machine on it. Forty or fifty years ago, if it was dug over at all, it would have been done by hand.
I still intend to plant my own seeds, once the daytime temperature drops, so I don’t have the seedling failures that I had this summer.
Birthday boy
It is hard to believe that it is six years since I went to collect my new car (well new to me) from Zagreb. This means that is was due for its annual insurance and Government mechanical check this week. The car is also now 10 years old.
I spent all of Thursday morning getting it ready. After a good wash and a dry with a chamois leather, I applied a coat of Turtlewax hard polish. I always apply a coat of polish before our wet season starts.
Next was a check of everything that I could. The lights, tyres, brake pads, lubricants and I filled up the windscreen washer. Nothing was amiss.
This was followed by cleaning all the glass, inside and out and finally a vacuum to remove the inevitable dust and debris that my shoes bring into the footwell.
I was at the test centre, called “tehnički pregled” in Croatian, which is in Vrbanj, the next village, at 06:45 and I was second in the queue.
This is the only test station on the island, so is quite busy as it handles private and commercial vehicles. That was why I went early!
The check is a “drive through” process which starts with the engineer doing a walk round, followed by a test of the front and rear brakes on a rolling road.
Next is a test of the front suspension and steering alignment followed by an underside inspection and the boiling point of the brake fluid
The following test is of exhaust emissions and the last is all the lights.
My car passed the test with just one advisory. This was that the tyres are 7 years old and although they still have more than the legal minimum depth of tread, they should be replaced based on the age. At 8 years they must be replaced.
I got my new window sticker, which is the way that vehicles here are identified as being insured and have passed the Government test.
The cost of the test was €129 and my annual fully comprehensive insurance was €260, so €389 or around £400 and I’m fully road legal for another year…
Home maintenance
I am already thinking about the maintenance I need to do ready for the winter.
The way the days pass – at warp speed – it will only be six to eight weeks before I will need to light the wood stove for my central heating again.
Last weekend I cleared away the summer growth of Pasion flowers from around my external flue. I knew at the end of last winter, I would have to replace part of the outside flue.
When I cut the dead growth away, I was surprised to see just how much of the steel flue pipe has corroded away. It was not that bad in February!
I am presuming that the corrosion has spread over the past seven months that the woodstove has been out of use.
While I was at Bauhaus in Split, I tried to get a replacement pipe. They didn’t have any in stock. Apparently they get the wood stove materials in stock in October.
I started removing the old flue which leads to the chimney fan.
What I discovered was the whole flue has completely corroded. The easiest way to remove it was by splitting the seam with a screwdriver. Most of the flue just fell apart in my hands.
Why the flue has corroded so badly, so quickly, I do not know, but the steel is paper thin. When I say “so quickly”, I installed this system in November 2018, so just seven years ago.
Starting early to get the flue ready for winter is a good idea!
It is much more comfortable working in September when the weather is fine and warm. As opposed to when it is already cold and getting dark early, and you need the wood stove to be lit…
I need to order some parts on-line and when I am in Grad Hvar next week I will go to a different builders merchant and see if they have what I need. NCG