The first rain on Kea confirmed the coming of our 21st fall on the island!
We were very grateful not only for the much-needed water, but for the comforting, cool temperatures after a very hot summer. We still have some vegetables, and hope for a few nice oranges, soon.
We started to get ripe, yet small fruit from the arbutus bush, and soon we will be harvesting the first oranges.
The few, aromatic quinces we got are ripening in a basket, and are soon going to be used in meat and vegetarian dishes, also, of course in our cakes as well as in jams, and spoon sweets (fruit preserves).
A low layer of green grass now covers the property, and our rose bushes are filled with tiny oblong red berries, and the big carob tree is filled with foul-smelling flowers buzzing with bees –an unexpected end-of-season treat for them. In Crete, where carob trees are ubiquitous in the rocky mountains, I heard that the densely-flavored carob honey is considered the best for melomakarona, the Christmas cookies.