Eucalyptus: A Breath of Hope
There used to be a beautiful row of eucalyptus trees along the way between our village and the next. Not only felt heartbreaking to see more of them having been cut out during the past year, but now…
Nature
Mullein, The Great
As the weather so the landscape is offering a bit of summer blending into automn on the last day of September. A few drops of rain, yet only the ones sitting on the leaves, and taken into dance by the wind. That’s why a Sunday walk at the foothills of the White Mountains of Crete is …
Run with wolves, dance with bears
On the way to meet another beautiful soul sister, I had a little gap in time… so I followed the road signs leading me to a special rescue place which gives home to retired circus bears and other animals no longer needed elsewhere. Observing the animals reminded me how much we alienated ourselves and our …
A visual review of Lavandula Angustifolia 2017
It all started with an invitation of doing some picking at The Lavender Way on one of those sunny days towards the year end. Warm hugs and soul talk with a cup of tea. More precisely, the inimitable Earl Grey with a bit of milk & honey as served by Gill, the Lavender Lady. As …
Life, Death & Rebirth of Cypress
Fires reaching wide and far burn down the work of centuries. However, the plant kingdom is so strong in survival. New sprouts come along and give a momentum for the old furrowed trunks. Each is a piece of art in creation. Pictures taken at the White Mountains (Lefka Ori) of Crete, at an altitude somewhere between 990 …
Golden Green of Cypress
Cypress keeps me amazed. Each and every individual encounter with this impressive evergreen tree pulls me to reach out for a gentle touch. He is caring and never lets me go empty-handed… generously sharing his pure, woody, strong yet gentle aroma. Some pictures here that I recently captured on a hiking tour in the mountains …
Herbal Living (-Room)
What a week! Here is the herbal waiting list for today. They are sitting in my directors chairs and giving me guidance. Directions in life? Fairly sunny and clear. And the best is yet to come! Patiently waiting to be distilled: Lavender (Lavandula heterophylla) Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) How come? Better to ask where did they come …
Green eating olives: fresh pickles
It’s the days of olives. And the beginning of the olive season where you would hardly miss people on Crete doing the harvest all day long for possibly continued weeks, or even months if with such a huge land. The experience can be exciting when you are a fresh adventurer, or something less wanted if your …
Green eating olives conserved with lemon juice
As soon as I finished preparing the black olives in salt (see my post Preparing eating olives: the black guys), I continued with the green ones which go though a different process and consequently will taste quite something else too. As before, we go and select the most perfect olives, making sure they are intact and no worms …