SPRINGTIME IN MACEDONIA

It's springtime in Gevgelija and it's absolutely beautiful. The sun is warmer, the breezes gentle (unless it's a windy day, in which case it'll blow you away!!), and all the traditional signs of spring are evident and I thought I'd share them with you!

First, as you can see, the flowers are beautiful! These flowers bedeck a stone wall on my way to school, and actually hide a yard that contains nothing but tulips and daffodils. The roses are out now; it seems early to me but I'll take it! We saw kiwi flowers today and the figs are starting to get plump on the trees.

And the storks are back!! Gevgelija and the surrounding villages are so proud of their returning guests.We have seven nests that I know of within five minutes walking time. The parents find their nests from previous years, do a little remodeling, place a stick with green leaves attached to serve as a warning that this nest is taken, and then sit and hatch four eggs that will become loud, chattering, indignant babies in about six weeks.We haven't heard them yet but have been told that we will! We also have like a zillion birds of eastern Europe that we haven't seen or heard before...it's wonderful!

And along with baby storks we also have puppies! There are a lot of street dogs here..they pretty much just sleep wherever they want, whenever they want on the streets...and sometime this lack of supervision can result in...pregnancy! This sweet little black lab mix who lives on our street choose to have her NINE babies in our back shed.  They were absolutely adorable but no one in their right mind has nine children at once, and after watching her trying to take care of these babies we know why! Now the babies have a new home and mom has a new yellow tag in her ear that means she's been fixed..and I'm pretty sure from some of the eyeball rolling she did around her pups that she's okay with that!

And last but not least, the fruits and vegetables are beautiful..and inexpensive. This display on our table is from our friend Maria's green grocery. Just about every other corner has at least one green grocery and the produce is lovely. It's a variety of fruits and veggies from Macedonia, Greece and Turkey right now. And like I said..cheap. These cost just under three dollars and are delicious!

Not sure what summer will be like but I can tell you that Allan and I are already looking forward to the next lovely spring we will experience here..come join us!