November was stunning. We had mostly warm beautiful blue skies and sunny days. A vast changed to last years three week gloom and rain start to November.
We were not idle on those brilliant days. We spent time foraging rose hips (we dry for tea), harvested the remaining veggies (peppers and eggplants), squeezed and freezed a lot of pomegranate juice.
We did experiment with the pomegranate juice and made a molasses otherwise known as shega pekmez. It came out thick and tart, great for baking like a cheesecake or salad dressings with a vinaigrette. But for the amount of juice vs return we may stick to mulberry pekmez in the future.
We had the chance to show off our corner of the world is to a new visitor including a day trip up to see the Albanian Alps, chased a few waterfalls and even saw some snow. She was our first to test out our new Orchard Guard Tower and we've got the stamp of approval including a very comfy bed review.
We have a few fruits still hanging on including our solo orange plus the loquats are just flowering. So far surviving the few frosty mornings.
Ending this month with a nearly naked (leafless) garden and orchard. But the fall colors were stunning.
November has been an amazing bird watching month. Found a cute little wren that we've been missing for months but finally caught it hopping around the orchard. Plus our Black Redstart and Blue Great Tit birds are back for the winter. And the big birds (hawks and eagles) were hovering over the homestead almost daily.
In publishing news, They Say It's a Myth by Kim Malaj came out on November 26th. My seventh fiction novel and third that offers a glimpse of the KC northland in Missouri where I grew up in Who Is Maggie, Twisting Hercules and They Say It's a Myth. Our catalog for Homestead Albania Print and Audiobooks has grown quite rapidly over the last four years. What book was your favorite?
Plus we've selected a few bright stars to be on your wall or desk calendar 2025 at our little Etsy shop. If you are looking to shop small this holiday season consider Homestead Albania.
Our chickens and ducks have gone nearly dormant for egg production this month. We are lucky to find one every other day at this point but we did process one of our pigs to restock the freezer this last week. We made bone broth, fergic (little bits of meat and fat with onions slow cooked for hours) great with eggs, and canned the melted fat. Fun fact the pork fat is one of the best nutrient dense foods (according to one article). And according to my sister in law, a chicken hanging out on one leg is a sign of snow. Not ready for snow here but the mountains look pretty snow capped.
Wishing you and yours wealth, health, and happiness as we enter the final month of the year.
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