………..of many seasons in these parts, that’s how it looks as I make my weekly journey over the mountains to Hania and back. It’s certainly winter time when I glance over to the mountain tops, a recent cold snap gave a good covering of snow on the higher levels, now slowly melting away. However, it can only be autumn as I drive past the many trees flaunting the colours of that season – rusty reds, ochre, browns, yellows. All these flashy trees seemingly reluctant to drop their coats and take a winter rest.
Along the roadside there are bushes bulging with fruits I know not the name of, probably not edible otherwise they’d have been harvested and transformed into some form of preserve the resourceful locals are renowned for. Why are the goats not eating them?………..obviously not edible then.
So what season is it for the orange trees I wonder, branches bending low, laden with fruit, a few already dropping onto the road? Probably it’s orange season in this part of the world, kind of obvious………the olive trees are also ready for winter harvesting and on fine days there are workers everywhere collecting the year’s crop.
Back in my garden there’s confusion for this British minded woman. Definitely autumn as I wait for the right moment to gather up the 10 gourds I’m so proud of growing (or is that facilitating? After all I don’t actually ‘grow’ them do I??). Not time yet, apparently the stems need to dry before I cut them from the stem, but what a mess, from only a few seeds planted some months ago there’s about 100 metres of growth and most of the leaves are now a not attractive dirty, crispy, earthy brown.
The stems must remain, according to the instructions (when did I start following instructions?), so I’ll do just that even though I’m impatient to collect the massive gourds and prepare them for the art project they’re destined to be (don’t ask, still working on that one).
Then I turn to another part of the garden and see, as if spring has arrived, the nasturtiums making great headway, another turn and there are roses blooming, tempting me to think of summer…………..aha, but no chance, winter is truly upon us, there’s a harsh north wind making sure we layer up and take shelter wherever a wood stove is burning, and drink hot mountain tea with honey and lemon…….or (perhaps better) warm raki with honey and lemon – that’ll surely keep the cold wind from mind.
And just in case I’m tempted back into confusion, there’s no doubt at all what season it is once I venture into a large ‘we sell everything, especially if it’s plastic’, store in Hania where it’s been Christmas for weeks now. So……… ‘tis the season to be merry, to keep warm, take a few moments to think of the year past and I, for one, will be kept warm internally remembering the times spent with my very large family of friend-guests.
Flora, December 19th 2016
