February came with sunshine, flowers, and new guests. We were busy bees this month here at Homestead Albania.
Our Orchard Guard Tower was occupied by a few guests and they may have been bitten by the homesteading bug. Check out their review.
Art lead our guests on a snowy hike towards Mount Vajush in Lepushe. He has done this a few times over the years but this was the first in the snow. He came back excited to see the drone footage and it did not disappoint. What do you think? Would you follow Art up a mountain covered in snow?
Second video is the contrast of the hike during different seasons.
And we managed a bike ride to the lake the following day. The migratory bird action at the lake was stunning.
We wrapped up our first visitors of 2025 Art started working on the spring garden after he finished the vine clean up. He reallocated chamomile from various parts of the garden and replanted in our bed for herbs. Art tilled the rows and started to clean the weeds from the spring onions and garlics. It's too wet to plant any additional plants but we are getting one step closer.
Art didn't stop there. We visited his cousin's new home and property at which he received some tree cuttings. Art has maxed out our garden with trees so he has moved on to grafting new varieties on existing trees. He's grafted new plums, apples, cherries, pears, peaches, and mulberries this month alone. So if you stop by and spot random trees with plastic wrap, not an accident just Art's tree obsession expanding.
After the tree grafting, yard clean up and garden work we ventured up the hill and explored the caves within the mount. We have two small caves on the south side and four large ones on the southwest side.
We've been actively discussing converting one of the caves into a livable space. After exploring them a bit further it doesn't appear that any are suitable to convert with out a giant chunk of change. Oh but wishful thinking is fun and so is hide and seek. I've suggested hosting an epic game of hide and seek here at Homestead Albania. Nothing solid yet but if you are here in Albania this spring and want to participate let us know.
Our trees have been popping with color and change with the warmer temps this February. The cornelius cherry (thana) trees popped last month and the plum blossoms have opened. The peach are nearly ready to burst as well. Our pear, quince and chestnuts are also showing signs of life.
And our loquats have survived the frost.
And a big milestone for our publishing journey. We completed the audiobooks for the novels in our catalog.
Our bird's eye view of our homestead this month.
And speaking of birds. We had a few show offs here at Homestead Albania.
Speaking of all stars. Our chickens have been busy laying eggs. We've had multiple days with 15+ eggs. We've also dispatched a few too many roosters her but Earl has survived the call. And we also added another pig to the mix.
And drum roll please. Our nephew Mateo invited us to his movie premier, The Passport in Shkoder.
Art and I happily accepted. The movie was great and it's third appearance on the big screen. So proud.