August always comes in with a variety of colors and changes throughout the homestead.
Our fig trees are on a daily full five gallon bucket harvest mode. We are attempting several versions of drying our figs to keep up with the vast bounty. It takes two days with our little dehydrator and about three days to sun dry.
The garden is still producing peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, tomatoes, okra and beans. We've picked a few apples and we even harvested a second round of mountain tea and lavender. Pumpkins and watermelons are still ripening.
We even popped our first round of popcorn from the corn this year. We have a few stalks that need to ripen but the rest are drying.
Art and I collected the thana (cornelius cherries) for raki. They will ferment for about 45 days or so before we can distill.
The pomegranates have doubled in size during the last month. The orchard looks more like trees and less like bushes. We have about forty trees with fruit this year. Next year we should see that number to be around a few hundred.
The walnut, olive, plums, persimmon, quince, dates, orange and lemon trees are still ripening.
Our daily walk around the garden includes taste testing the various grapes ripening throughout the vineyard.
We have the luxury of living close to many beautiful sites like the Albanian Alps, the beautiful Lake Shkoder, but we also live near the border of Montenegro. We enjoy the view of Montenegro mountains from our front porch. Montenegro is a small country with less than half the population of Albania. They have several coastline towns and villages along the Adriatic Sea. We've visited a few places over the years like Kotor, Port of Montenegro, Ulcinj, and Budva.
Last week we stopped by the Port of Montenegro to visit family and we were treated to a view of Montenegro via sea. We spent the day cruising the coastline and checking out the beautiful villages, old churches, forts, and castles that still remain.
Day trips from our homestead add variety and the options are endlessly dreamy. I love living where I can experience new food, culture, languages, ancient villages, and still sleep in my own bed.
Has Albania been added to your must visit bucket list?