The dreadful fires of August have, however, abated and in Northern Greece there has been sufficient rain to prevent any further outbreaks.

The weather has stayed warm and, at times, very humid and the harvest of seeds and nuts seems to be a good one.

Chondrilla junceum - growing in a dry river bed, amongst a tangle of stems, this compositae was struggling to survive and flower in the dusty conditions.

Compositae - growing above the Katharo Plateau, I found several of these little flowers, none of which appeared to have any leaves. I was, of course, not able to identify them!!!! Compositae are my own particular nightmare.

Compositae - hiding in the shade under a dense hedge, another pair of compositae.

Ecballium elaterium - The Squirting cucumber – this strange plant disperses its seeds by squirting them quite long distances when the ‘cucumber’ is disturbed.

Green Lichen - on a photographic trip into the mountains, I was fascinated by the many colours of lichen to be found on the rocks and I wondered what colour dye this particular lichen might make. Sadly, I have no idea what it is called.

Heliotropium hirsutissimum - growing on the edge of a potato field outside Malia, this sweetly scented annual is covered with fine, dense hairs.

Lichen – bark - beautiful colours, shapes and textures attracted me to this lichen, which completely covered the north facing aspect of the bark of a stand of trees.

Potentilla reptans - (creeping cinquefoil) – this European species was found by the roadside just outside Malia.

Red Berries - the signs of autumn are everywhere now and along with the ripening grapes, red berries can be found in scrubland and on mountainsides all over the island.