The end of summer is near.....

It has been a while that I wrote here on Hive. So many things to do here and around @BabetterPlace.

In the summertime it is the place to be for friends and families, besides that also the garden is the most busy time in the summer time, I was too tired to get motivated to write.

The last days of August…
Normally a very hot period, but last week we were surprised with several storms and cold weather.
Not too bad for me, I like it when it cools down a bit. But the heavy wind and rain has destroyed my (flower) garden.
Sunflowers on the ground my flowers flattened, I feel sad.

Bit by bit I try to get the jungle a little back in structure, at least the paths have to be clear again.
I cut flowers to make bouquets and bind them as good as possible so the bees and me can enjoy the flowers a little longer.

For the soil and plants, the rain was a pleasure, it has given them a lot of nutrients and it looks like they enjoyed it. My pepper and eggplants are doing very well! I can harvest daily fruits from them.

This year I have many more varieties of tomatoes than last year. Look how many different colors and shapes are growing.

I harvest many, but I had plant also many plants. I had expected a good harvest.

And with an abundance of tomatoes and sun I made Sun-dried tomatoes! It takes some hours to dry, but after that with olive oil and herbs in jars I have a perfect way to conserve the tomatoes for the winter.

Also for the first time in my garden life I was able to harvest pumpkin patission. It was given to me by my Bulgarian friends – it is another type of pumpkin. A nice way of exchanging. And my cat likes to be a model on the picture of course!

I had many visitors, family and friends - it is fun and wonderful to have them around here to spend time together. We don’t see each other often but it also made me tired, out of my own rhythm and jobs. Trying to keep up with my garden, that really became a (Flower)jungle. I am canning veggies in jars, planting my winter garden for the next season and cutting some plants to be able to reach my fields.
The first broccoli, cauliflower and cabbages are planted!

Beside gardening, I went together with a friend to a wonderful place on the other side of Greece where she participated in swim contests @LakePlastira. While she was swimming 8km I was touring around the lake. A true paradise, completely different than the sea area of Greece. It gave me the feeling of being in Switzerland.

The start of the competition

With other friends we went to the waterfalls, kids are playing with the dogs and enjoying the cold water from the waterfalls.

Beside my gardening jobs I run my own company BabetterWay and have my non-profit organization BabetterCare which provides help and care for stray animals and find adoptions for them in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Investing is sterilization actions etc. In another blog more about them.

Days are full and filled with joy. The garden keeps me active, calms my mind and gives me a strong body.
Now after all this writing it is time to enjoy the sea, I missed swimming and the sunsets.
Many more beautiful days will come here at BabetterPlace

In the evenings I barely can keep my eyes open, my bed calls for me early at night, after dining and drinking wine. I sleep deeply to wake up with the sun.

Have a beautiful night
And Sleep tight