Adam and I spent much of today mowing half of the Aphrodite Field. It is a beautiful spot and something of a suntrap. The weather recently has been hot so the usually lush grass has all turned yellow. There is a perennial problem in this field of invasion by blackthorn. These thorny bushes spread by means of underground extensions of their root system from which new bushes rise some distance away from the original plant. There is an on-going tendency for stands of blackthorn to get wider and wider. Once they have colonised an area even if you cut all the above ground growth they will regenerate so it takes several cuttings to eliminate them. Where the growth is only first year it is possible to cut them with our mowing machine. Where the growth has not been cut for over a year one has to resort ot cutting each stem by hand, which is a big and arduous job, especially on a hot day. Although it is a lot of work, it a extremely rewarding as the field is beautiful, being surrounded by mature oak trees. Some of these trees are part of the thicket that surrounds the field, making it seem like a secret place and a few are clear to the base yielding fine picnic spots in the blessed shade. Scattered within the field there are also may trees which provide a sense of sacredness. The largest of these, close to the centre of the field is our Aphrodite shrine.
It is good working together. Given the difference in ages we are a bit like father and son, but, as two working men, we also share a fair bit of banter between bouts of hard work or over our snack meal sent along from the house kitchen by Elja. While we were working she came over to visit and brought our newest guest, newly arrived, by bicycle (!!) from Netherlands - a mere 900 kilometres of pedalling which made even our strenuous efforts seem less impressive. Today Adam was using a scythe and I was trundling along behind the machine. We got a surprising amount done and came home dripping with sweat but satisfied with our labours.
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