Father's Day

So, as most of you know, it was Father's day two Sundays before! I don't know how popular this event is in your own country, but here in Greece it's somewhere in the middle! Most of us know about it, but don't always remember it on time.

I usually remember it every year. This one I wasn't aware until Sunday morning as for the last couple of weeks I am knuckle down on exploring and studying Blockchain games, projects and Cryptocurrencies, but fortunately - what a coincidence - I had scheduled to visit my (divorced) parents on the village they are both living! And - also fortunately - I remembered the event on time to wish him for it! 😺

Most of the times that I am visiting my village (or any other rural/ nature environment for that matter), I come up with a great "harvest" of photos! The same happened this Sunday and I decided to share my day and my photo safari with you! 🌞

My father owns a Shell franchise gas station and that's where I went to see him, his wife and my step-siblings!

It may have started as a gas station, but it quickly escalated into a beautiful coffee - savory - chill out - groceries place, mostly for the villagers, but as it is on the road to well known beaches of Halkidiki, passengers may also prefer it for a stop, a coffee and some supplies instead of big and impersonal chain shops!

Knowing my father well and that he is a restless, resourceful and creative person (and taking a hint by the alley on the back of the station 🙃), I can tell that more things are going to come sooner or later!

And let's not forget the beautiful scenery with the flora, flowers and my father hiding somewhere between them and the umbrella covering our table! 😹

The bees on the Silver Linden

So, up to the next section of the title, the Silver Linden Tree (Flamouria - Tilio) and the dozens of bees on it!

The Silver Linden's flowers are an exceptional herb for making tea with soothing properties! It contains flavonoids, tannins and caffeic acid!

Can you spot the bees on the following photos? I can't say that my phone is ideal for so up close and personal photos when I'm not already up close and personal with my models, but hey, I gave it a try! 😜

No collage for these ones, as even the most eagle-eyed of you would never be able to see the little ones if I mix them!

And while we are looking at the sky, here is a bonus! A composition of the day moon behind the wires!

A Green Lacewings

While we were chilling, chatting and drinking our coffees...

.. some movement catches my eye on the left arm of my chair! I look and what did I see?

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A Green Lacewings modeling for me! ! 😹

It's funny how long can it take to google search for the name of an insect, a flower or a tree and how many irrelevant (or relevant but not to your interest at the moment) things you can find, but finally I managed to find what I was looking for! I didn't know how this little fella was called and in general when I am taking photos of the nature I like to take the opportunity and learn about them and also share what I have learned with you!

So, here are the things that I have learned about the green guy there! He belongs to the family of Lepidoptera insects and is not dangerous to humans, but a great foe to other insects & pests!

According to the article Know your Beneficials: Green Lacewings they are an asset for garden keepers and on the article ARE LACEWINGS HARMFUL TO HUMANS? you can learn even more about them, their benefits and their dangers!

A Tomato Hornworm!

The same can not be told about my other model of the day! The creature at whose sight I couldn't decide if I'm gonna exclaim "Aaaw, it's so cute" or "Eeeewww" is coming for your eyes only on the next photos! 😜

On the close up ones it reminds me of a Hippopotamus! 😹

This one was easier to reverse search by image on Google! It's called Tomato Hornworm and according to The Big Bug Hunt website, it weakens plants by removing foliage, and in some cases chews holes in fruits.. 🙀

It didn't share the good fate of its lepidoptero friend though, as my father smashed it with his foot.. RIP!

So, that was all for today folks! I had some more photos to share from my mother's place where I went afterwards, but as the article is getting pretty long already and I want to give justice to them too, they will come on a future one!

I am leaving you with a photo that was already included in a collage above, but I like it enough to add it on its own too! 💚

Stay happy, healthy and close to nature as much as possible! 🌞🌳🍀🌎