Farewell September! Thank you for the memories. We filled the month with special moments and time together. What could be better?
We spent just about every weekday morning at the beach. The few tourists that were here in August had returned home, the kids are back in school here and that meant just a few of us regulars there every day. We feel like we have been accepted a bit this summer by the locals at the beach. There are three or four other couples of mature age that arrive at the same time each morning and set up in their spot. All of these couples then walk the beach…back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. We do not. We set up in our same spot and we sunbathe, we talk, we read, we swim, we snorkel. We do not walk the beach (that is saved for the rest of the year). This means that they walk past us constantly. This is our fourth summer here and we have seen them each year. Well, this year we they started saying hello and good morning to us. WOW! I know it is a simple thing but they must have figured out that we are here to stay. As the summer progressed pleasantries were exchanged and we figure next summer we’ll be friends. lol. They are all characters and we feel a strange kindred connection with them.
Just look at that crystal clear water!
A week ago Thursday was our last morning on the beach. Our last swim. The beach bags and snorkel masks have been cleaned and stored away until next Summer.
The weather changed to Autumn quite drastically on Friday. As much as we are sad that Summer is over, we know that we made the most of it. We did what we wanted to do when we decided to move here. Beach in the morning and work/write in the afternoon. No guilt.
September also saw us both celebrating our birthdays. We celebrated at two of our favorite restaurants. We toasted to being healthy, happy, and living our best life.
With the weather changing, we had some firewood delivered. We used to go to a nearby town and load up our car every two and a half weeks. However during our lockdown a few of our neighbors and us had firewood delivered by this other company and split it between us. Now, you may be wondering why I’m telling you this. Well, when he delivered our firewood this time he also gave us a bottle of wine from his family vineyard. HELLO!? Just how much better can life get?! They also have olives, olive oil, and vermouth! Gosh I love it here! So, as much as we love the beach we were looking forward to having a glowing fire in the fireplace.
The vineyard is entering the next cycle of life. And with the wind from last Friday some of the vines have already lost most of their leaves.
It has been a horrible year for the vineyard. In twenty days in June, what looked to be one of the best years ever became what would be the worst in twenty-five years! The region had so much rain that the vines were hit with mildew. Not a big deal for those vineyards that are not organic but for many vineyards such as the one where we live…there is only so much you can do to prevent or fix issues. That meant devastation. You can read a bit about the beginning of this in my post The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly I will be writing more about this year’s harvest in the coming days.
September was always the month that we would come here for vacation. We love the weather, less people, and well everything. It is always a special time for us and holds so many precious memories. Four years ago on our vacation was when our adventure of moving here took shape. So, cheers September, once again you didn’t disappoint. See you next year!
The Winery Woman 