Monday, 15 September 2025

Tis The Season

 

Not a good season for grapes. 

Those on our vine that didn't turn into raisins were sweet but there weren't many decent bunches. 

The vineyards down in the fertile plain near us had mixed crops. Those that were well looked after, de-leafed, fertilised, watered and kept weed free had an average harvest. So they say. Everyone's an expert here and everyone knows their neighbours business better than their own. 

Making wine is hard work if you want a few hundred kilos of your own vintage to drink with friends over the winter. 


We finally stopped at the top of our road and collected half a dozen figs from the branches hanging over our neighbour's fence.  They were small and sweet.  We should have picked them earlier. There were a dozen at least squashed on the tarmac


Vaso and her son were collecting carobs from their tree one morning.
Vaso once collected carobs from all the neighborhood trees for her goats. She gathered them all, often bent double, not wanting to leave even one languishing on the ground or hanging from the tree. She then hauled the heavy sacks up the incline to her house, without breaking a sweat. 
Now it's her son who's in command. They gathered a small bag for the chickens and left the rest to rot. 


Another neighbourhood tree. 
The pomegranates are still small and unripe. I'm hoping for a bag of these in a few weeks. 



The white bougainvillia is starting to blossom .  The white flowers should bloom into November. 


Our 'new' water feature. 




8 comments:

  1. Was the summer's extreme heat the cause of the poor harvest?
    I like your water feature! Very Greek 😉

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    Replies
    1. It was the heat they say though it didn't seemed prolonged this year. Just long enough to burn the young grapes

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  2. JC asked my question - was it too much heat? I'm thinking of trying to grow pomegranates here… maybe not enough heat🤔

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    1. I think pomegranites need a long dry summer. They seem to be growing nicely this year. But need a little more time. October I should think.

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  3. It’s not sounding like a good year for wine at all
    It really is lots of hard work for not much in return.
    The younger generation just isn’t as “hungry” as we were. They really don’t understand being so poor that you literally need all the free stuff you can get to help you survive
    Unfortunately the way the world is going. They will soon find out

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    Replies
    1. Most of the grapevines here are family operations. As the older generation dies off so will the vines be ripped out. I've already seen that happen. The supermarket is close by.

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  4. I really enjoyed seeing the pomegranates growing. I don't think I had realised they grew on trees.

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    Replies
    1. They're not a common fruit but are prized here. Supposed to cure blood diseases. That red colour lol

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