September comes with the peak of fig, grapes, apples, cornelius cherries and end of plums. The fall pears, jujube dates, quince, pomegranates, walnuts, chestnuts and persimmons are just starting to ripen plus we have a few lemons, oranges and mandarins that will be ready next month. We've spent the last three days hand picking grapes, crushing and removing the stems and managed to collect 400 liters of grapes (another 200 liters started) brewing up some mushti (sparkling grap

August was here and gone in a blur. We've been busy hosting guests in the Orchard Guard Tower, an engagement party (congrats to Art's cousin Denis and Melisa) and had a few relatives drop in from out of town. We are lucky to have some big fans of our little corner to share in the abundance of love flowed over to the food forest. We've been picking figs, apples, plums, and grapes all month and still have so much more. The weekly decisions on what to jam, dry or juice became mo

Woah! July came and went in a flash of guests, harvests, and new shelf staples. Art and I were interviewed by Kevin and Wendy for their YouTube channel. Big shout out to Secret Destinations with Kevin & Wendy. They create content with transparency of their expat journey and passion to help others planning to make their big bold move. Garden and food forest were in peak harvest mode. The pears, tomatoes, peppers, watermelons, figs, and zucchini kicked into overdrive. Our garde

June for us was full of ripe, sweet and plump wild yellow and red plums, near perfect potatoes, and juicy pears. It's the first year we've had a zero frost damage and a successful harvest of wild plums. We've made several rounds of plum suko (juice) and wild vanilla plum jam. Plus an amazing bounty of picking and eating straight from the tree. For several visitors and guests of the Orchard Guard Tower it was their first time trying these varieties and they came back for more.

It's been a little sticky around here. Would you stick around for mulberry season?

A question that I often answer with a resounding, yes! I can see the appeal for the city dwellers... socialization, shopping at your doorstop and a variety of events. But what they miss is the peaceful serenity of a pollution free morning of coffee on the front porch overlooking the vineyard with the melody of the birds and chickens. Spring offers a variety of florals and unique aromas. Plus the lambs baaing from the neighbors adds to the rebirth of the season. We love walkin

March came with warm temps and loads of sunshine but also some very curious pigs. Let me set the scene. We were busy weeding the garden until about dusk and I went to feed and let in our pigs. And they were not snorting impatiently at the gate. I called for them and nothing, no pigs. I hollered at Art and after zero signs of them after searching the woods, hillside, fields, and door knocking on the homesteads nearby. We went to bed without the pigs tucked safely inside their

The hens are laying again. We are back up to 17+ eggs a day. We also had 11 new chicks hatch and then a sparrowhawk decided to have three too many snacks. Art had to build a new chicken run over the mama hen condo to protect them from aerial assaults. The enclosure was a success. It prevented another attack and all eight chicks are accounted for. Mama hen is recovering from the trauma. Art continued building... a frame for a new greenhouse to add to the garden. The frame is

We've taken this month to evaluate what's working, needs work or can go. Three major things that made the list is the Orchard Guard Tower, pomegranate orchard and the old pear trees. We've had many conversation about where and how we would be build another cabin on the property. We love hosting and could see some potential of one additional cabin on property. Orchard Guard Tower The problem is where in the garden/vineyard could we place it. An ongoing discussion but the needs