Last Dance
- Kim Malaj
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
A little raki brewing from our grape mash after we finished the last round of drying persimmons. It took four days to finish off the mash to make about 50 liters of raki. If you've ever had raki you know it is a sip not a shot kind of slow burn liquor. Very similar to moonshine that my late great Hatfield ancestors cooked up in the hills of North Carolina.
We had a few wonderful visitors stop by and tour the homestead and had a few guests stay over at the Orchard Guard Tower. We've already received reservations for 2026. If you love fireworks Albania and Montenegro put on a quite the display to ring in the new year. We are hopeful to make it up the hill to take in the full 360 view despite it forecasted to be below freezing.
Our newest little piggies Mister and Roger have become quick friends with Camel.
The chickens have been busy this month EATING. They've gone through a record amount of grain/corn even after eating all the grass and bugs around the homestead. We've been slowing culling the roosters as we still havde a few too many. And the egg production has kicked back in a little more each day.
We've been taking stock of our homestead goodies and have created a list of Veri True Harvest products and prices. If you weren't following last months post Veri means north in Albanian and we are in northern Albania. This will change a bit seasonally but it's what we have available to date.
Art pulled the remaining dead plants from the garden leaving it nearly bare minus a few greens like the spinach, collard greens, parsley, kale and of course the garlic and onions.
We did harvest the remaining lemons, oranges, and mandarins. The loquat trees are so far surviving the frosty mornings. True test will be this week when we are well below freezing a few nights in a row.
Next up is the trimming of the vines and trees but that will be on hold until after the new year. We are ending the year very chilly and rain/snow forecasted by the end of the week.
We did have our first major accident and our little jetta may have had it's last dance. I was driving and was struck on my side. All driver side airbags deployed including the one in the driver seat.
I got to experience Albanian public healthcare first hand for the first time in seven years. A short ride in the ambulance to the local emergency room in Shkoder. I had a quick CT scan to confirm no major bleeding and IV with fluids and meds for nausea. Just a minor concussion from smacking my head on the window, big saving grace is that the fleece lined beanie I had on cushioned the impact. And for those wondering about costs of the ambulance ride and hospital visit, ZERO. Thankful the other driver's passengers had no major injuries. We are still navigating the insurance agent assessment and police reports from the accident have been delayed a bit with the holidays. Maybe it can be fixed...hopefully. It has less than 60,000 km (39,000 miles) and is paid for.
And on a blessing note. We've opened our online Art Gallery to share our many photographs of the homestead, birds and hiking adventures we've captured over the last seven years. You can purchase a custom piece to fit your home from ours.
And speaking of birds. We've had a few new arrivals this month. Meet the firecrest.
And a dunnock.
Plus a few of our favorites have returned for the winter. Goldfinches, long tailed tits, chaffinches.
And the sparrowhawks and buzzards are in full hunter mode.
And the prideful Albanian bird, the golden eagle, graced our orchard. It swooped over our little piggies grazing the orchard. The wing span was massive.
Happy New Year to you and yours.