Saturday, January 28, 2017

Orange: Fruit, Felines and Flames


Bright, orange-y  combs and wattles adorning our resident roosters  commanded my attention this past week, demanding  I put them on top of my very long 'to do' list, and thus, making it a priority to find them their new place on the kitchen's open shelving, as promised. I'm glad they put the pressure on, since it gave me the chance to do something fun and creative after two weeks of tedious cleaning. Orange, from the fresh and flavourful to the furry and flaming, would continue to entertain and delight that day!


On our afternoon walk, Liberty and I spotted a Mackerel Red Tabby taking shelter from a sudden hail storm. Unlike the rowdy roosters, this ginger critter had a modest gentleness about it. Keeping a low profile, kitty hid under a metallic umbrella, while we pretended that its striking stripes went unnoticed and continued on our way, apart from pausing for a few seconds, daring to snap this pic from a distance! 

 

When we arrived at my aunt's house shortly after to pick oranges,  thankfully, the hail had stopped. We were pleasantly surprised and grateful that the previous day's gales hadn't succeeded in too much of the sweet citrus fruit falling to the ground, where it risked rapid rotting. Other trees in her garden boast branches of clementines and lemons and we'll be back for them!


Arriving home with our basket of pretty, perfumed produce,

A crackling fire calms the soul and soothes achy bones from days of damp and cold

we scurried to get a fire going, (our first, 
since we'd been back), as the house felt cold. 

Olive trees huddle together, awaiting confirmation of a rumoured snowfall.

We wondered if there was more snow on the horizon. Apparently, 20cm of the white, powdery stuff covered the landscape a few days before our arrival, causing chaos, since Cretans are never prepared for such uncharacteristic, wacky weather conditions!

Freshly squeezed orange juice is enjoyed daily, thanks
to these beauties, bursting with a sweet, robust flavour

What the islanders do expect from their typically mild winters is to harvest sweet citrus fruit! Lemons, oranges, clementines, mandarins and grapefruit blossom in the spring, scenting the air with the most intoxicating fragrance, a combination of floral, citrus and freshness - one of my absolute favourite scents. Most varieties are ripe for picking at the start of December, just in time for use in traditional Christmas cookies and other festive treats.


 What colour is winter in your world?
Thanks for visiting!
Happy weekend,
xoxo
Poppy  

 

38 comments:

  1. Always fun to catch up with you, Poppy. Snow and citrus fruit harvesting together? How magical! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ooh those oranges look so good. I adore the fresh scent of oranges and lemon too. Winter is mostly white in my world. A mild winter here but non the less predominantly white! Glad you could find your roosters! The fire looks fantastic- what a nice treat to come home and enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fresh oranges...there's nothing sweeter! We drove by the groves here in Florida this week and the trees were loaded! It's cloudy here today...which is unusual for us! But nice! Hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Looks like you live in a very beautiful place :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh Poppy, so glad that you are back home to your lovely house. What ever happened to the kitty you had around your home? Did he come back?

    The photo's of your walk with your daughter are stunning. Everything is so pretty.
    Today was an amazing day - still a little chilly, but going up into the 70's. It's always cool at night, which makes for great sleeping under the flannel sheets. I don't want to get up in the morning LOL. I seem to be always cold since I am on blood thinners.

    I do hope that you are happy my dear and that you are enjoying getting your home back in shape. The roosters are always so good to see. You know how I love my roosters.

    Take care of yourself and daughter and enjoy yourselves.

    Hugs to you dear friend,
    Mary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mary,

      Thanks so much for remembering and asking about our beloved and beautiful Prince Richard. He just disappeared one day. I drive myself crazy fearing the worst, as he loved us so much, too, and would have never deserted us. We miss him so!!

      Hope you are well, sweetie. Thanks for stopping by!

      BIG hugs,
      Poppy

      Delete
  6. Oh how wonderful to pick your lemons and oranges. I bet the smell is so wonderful. Loved this post Poppy.
    Hugs,
    Kris

    ReplyDelete
  7. You know I love my citrus Poppy, and I'm so jealous you have all those oranges at your fingertips. You must be so happy to be back amidst all that loveliness...the sun, the mountains and your pretty abode, and sharing it all with your darling Libby.

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a neat post!

    Poppy, my post before my last one you have got to see. It's about a huge huge blizzard when I was a little girl. Seeing is believing. : - )

    Your oranges look soooooooooo tasty and good, what a neat neat thing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Beautiful post Poppy... your view to the mountain covered with snow is magnificent and wow (!) those citrus fruits you have, you are lucky!!! The olive field reminds me of my neighborhood in Andalucia.. now is the harvest time there.. Glad you are back in Crete! Enjoy your weekend too!

    Take care dear friend!
    Mercy

    ReplyDelete
  10. After years of not being able to eat oranges, I have now found a new love for them and can't get enough of their juice. How lovely to be able to go pick them. Unfortunately the color of my winter here is brown :-( Waiting for more white to come!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Poppy it is so good to see you back and posting about Crete. It really has been wacky in Greece this month. My husband told me the olive trees and oranges may have frozen. Brrr... Stay warm. I bet this is not what you were expecting in Greece. This weather is more suited to Canada.

    ReplyDelete
  12. No wonder we seem like soul sisters with our shared love of chickens...:) I've been MIA and I have missed you and your lovely stories and photos. Loved your orange theme today and so happy to share company with you again. Love and hugs!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. oh the vista of those protective mountains!
    and picking oranges! not from a store bin. but from the trees!
    and the crackling orange fire warming that cozy room.
    poppy's HOME!
    XOXOXO♥

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh Poppy we are in Hawaii where this weekend the celebrations for Chinese New Year are underway and guess what? It is the Year of the Rooster! So when I opened your post I thought, what a timely photo!! Everything is rooster here this weekend!! So glad you are home. Wish we were there as well. xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  15. What color is life in winter? Blues - the sky and the ocean provide the most color at this time of year.

    I loved your oranges - I grew up in a California orange grove - sweet memories!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi! So glad you are back in Crete! I hope you will find another cat!!!
    My granddaughter Poppy is doing very well.......sob! Graduating from high school in June. And off to Stanford in September. She was just a little girl.......
    I have missed you!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I have always been a sucker for the color orange, passionate about it to the point as a teenager of getting my mother to let me paint one tiny wall in my bedroom orange and having my friends sign their names in white paint on it.

    But the orange of your local citrus is the best of all! And you'll be harvesting some of your aunt's clementines shortly--my favorites! Savor one for me, dear Poppy.

    Love your resident roosters! If we decide to have hens again I want a rooster among them this time.

    Love to you,
    Dewena

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Poppy,
    I'm so happy that you have joined our merry Mosaic Monday crowd this week and brought a some of the wonderful citrus fruits of Crete along with you. We shall be visiting Crete in May, can't wait, but until then I shall visit your blog to get a weekly dose of sunshine. By the way GREY is the colour of winter in Normandy interspersed with some blues & greens when the sun shines.
    Happy MM.

    ReplyDelete
  19. This Canadian girl can only imagine being able to pick oranges and lemons fresh from the tree. I could almost smell the scents in my mind's eye. I hope you don't get the predicted snowfall (you had enough of that while in Canada) so it doesn't ruin all that glorious citrus. Stay warm!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Glad you are settling back in well. The basket of oranges is a delight to behold!

    ReplyDelete
  21. What a beautiful array of pleasant shares in this post Poppy and I still swell with smiles as I look and read and realize that you are back on your beautiful island home. Clementines, lemons so refreshing and I can imagine them in many food and drink preparations as well. The colour of Winter here is how can I say...drab brown mud, with grey skies and a touch of sunlight coming through every once in awhile. Yet this Thursday I shall fly to sunlit beaches and my youngest daughter's arms. One week of fun in the sun...so looking forward to it all. Hugs my friend~

    ReplyDelete
  22. Winter here on the west coast is very grey and dreary. Monotone. Very unlike your vibrant colours on Crete. How I love seeing those bright citrus trees dotted with orange! Such a welcome sight. I'm glad to see that you are getting settled in your new home - the red sofa beside the fireplace looks cozy for these cooler days you're having.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Poppy, your header photo is beautiful! And all the things in your photos are bright, lovely and heartwarming! Thank you so much for sharing. :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. Some lovely photos Poppy! Well, this year the winter is green here, its been snowing twice...I longing for springtime now, but I guess there will come snow in february (I hope NOT!)
    Have a happy week, take care...
    Titti

    ReplyDelete
  25. Dear Poppy,
    How lovely must be to have an orange winter!! Lots and lots of fresh fruits to harvest and to have a nice perfect glass of juice... Great time and love the roosters in your beautiful decorated home!
    A very warm ambiance to enjoy this winter! Have a pleasant day and week, too! best regards!

    ReplyDelete
  26. I love your orange winter -- we are in Florida, so that could definitely be a color for us as well. My cottage walls are even painted sunrise color -- a kind of peachy coral ....

    ReplyDelete
  27. Those orange laden trees at your aunt's are beautiful and a delight to the eyes in our white world here. We may get a few cm. of snow tomorrow to start off February. We haven't had much snow this winter in our area. The orange flames of your fire look very cosy and inviting. I'm glad you are settling in. Have a wonderful week. Pam

    ReplyDelete
  28. What a dream to go to the garden and pick oranges!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Hello Poppy! What a lovely contrast those gorgeous citrus fruits are against the snow covered mountains! I love me some roosters and chickens as well. And I see that you are back in beautiful Crete! Wonderful post filled with images of your beautiful world and colorful speech! Hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  30. I never get tired of seeing your gorgeous photos of Crete! You have some of the most astounding scenery and views I've ever seen. And how lucky are you to have all that fresh fruit at your fingertips? I eat an entire grapefruit or several clementines each day in the winter - my faves!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Orange is such a happy color and just the right one to lighten up the short and often darker days of winter. Like you in Crete we're picking our citrus fruit here. I sure enjoy fresh oranges a lot. This winter has been colder than the previous ones, but also with a lot of rain that resulted in partly heavy flooding. Four years of drought seem to be over, at least in this part of California. The snowpack is bigger than usual as well - this is good. I love your pictures, especially the little cat!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Orange and yellow can make up a winter here also! I am charmed to be visiting here once again into your world Poppy. Traveling this way is such a treat. Thank you for sharing with us on the Art of Home-Making Mondays at Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Well your post is a sight for cold winter eyes! We are in the dead of winter here, getting a bunch of snow the last few days - and I do so love the snow. But I have to say, your vibrant colors are just gorgeous, love the orange in the winter, how wonderful to have such abundant fruit in the winter. Did you get the snow? I can only imagine what jet lag must feel like, it would be a tough journey having to travel that far! Seems like you are settling into being back in Crete, glad that Liberty is with you to help settle in! Enjoyed your vibrant post today :)

    ReplyDelete
  34. Oranges right off the tree are amazing! Thanks for sharing at Home Sweet Home!

    ReplyDelete
  35. The picture of the "huddled" olive trees is gorgeous! To me, they are the most romantic, historic and beautiful of trees.

    ReplyDelete
  36. It's funny to see orange trees, and then read that it snowed! Love the photo of the olive trees with the mountain in the background - gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  37. I think our two worlds are much the same in Winter....citrus of all kinds is bountiful on the trees and the trees are blessing us with the sweet fragrance of new buds and flowers that will, hopefully, bring us a bounty of fruit next year. Each year we have lived in our home (almost 6 now), The Man has planted, babied and cajoled citrus, fig and peach trees to provide eating enjoyment by us and other family and friends. The aroma of citrus is almost intoxicating as it wafts through the open doors and windows in the evening. How nice that we can share this similarity during the Winter-Spring season. I hope your Summers are not as brutal as ours!

    Warm hugs,
    Carol

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment. I really appreciate hearing from all of you! Have a great day!