Autumn/Winter season has started very well for us here in Esentepe. After the fantastic lightning and hail storm on Saturday, it rained a lot here in four days. For those who may currently be on holiday here, it may not be as fun but for us who live here, it is wonderful. We hope that it is a sign that the land this season will get plenty of water, partly because it is becoming greener and partly to all the reservoirs are being filled.
But what Cypriots think about most is all the goodies the rains bring. Mushrooms, the delicious pine mushroom and false saffron milkcap are much loved by all but at a high price so it is best to purchase them when in season. The mushrooms require a lot of rain, alternating with sunshine. Later, the wild asparagus that is both tasty and nutritious. You can see when the season starts for all types of people go deep into the bushes which grow in the most incredible places, to pick them.
I was fascinated by this when I was first there. I followed were the people had gone, I went and looked to perhaps find an explanation for what they were doing, but did not see anything. It took several years before I got an explanation and got a taste of this delicacy.
There also tends to be plenty of fish in the sea after these storms and we usually feast on fresh fish and Kalamar (calamari with a long body and short arms, not what is commonly called the octopus with eight arms, squid in English).
Then the caper season begins, first with brittle leaves and then the seed pods.
Yesterday morning I managed to catch some nice cloud images. The photos were taken at the same time and you can see how fast they change from black to sun to black again, all in the space of an hour.
