In Moldova Autumn or Toamnă is not considered to begin with the equinox, but is the months of September, October and November. This is a time of preparation and transition to Winter.
September is an extremely busy month. The grapes are ready for harvest and collecting grapes becomes a major preoccupation of the people some of whom even take time off work to gather the abundant fruit. Grapes are not only eaten daily, but more importantly the fruit of the vine is made into wine. Every house produces its own wine, be it red, white or both. My host family did their grape gathering and wine making the last two weeks of September. Unfortunately for me I was away at PC PST Phase III training and missed being part of one of the real Moldovan traditions. When I arrived home, there were empty barrels alongside the house as the wine had been moved to the cellar for fermentation and storage. The family's red wine is quite good and I am amazed it is so drinkable so quickly. They willingly share the wine with guests and I often enjoy a small glass with my dinner.
As an aside, during PST Phase III training, I stayed with a widow in Mileștii Mici. Olga takes care not only of her own large house, but looks after her 89 year old mother who is ill. From the pictures in her home, Olga was a beautiful young woman, but now after the hard life and work of Moldova, she appears older than her years. As I observed her daily routines and benefited from her attention, I was once more moved and truly humbled by Olga's kindness and generosity to me. Her daughter, who lives in Orhei which is a city to the north, came to stay for a night, and the next day the two of them went early in the morning to collect grapes in a nearby field. Thereafter, in a huge barrel next to the house, Olga by herself went through the process of making wine. I had brief glimpses of her at work before and after my classes. Although I did not see or taste the final product, I suspect she made a very fine house wine.
The grapes and other fruits including apples, pears, cherries and even watermelon are also gathered or purchased for making suc or juice. Large jars are filled with fruit and water, and stored in the cellar to be drunk throughout the winter.
Conserving or canning also preoccupies the women and households throughout September and October. The vegetables from the garden including beans, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, squash and tomatoes are prepared and conserved in small, medium and large jars. And more vegetables including cabbage, carrots, onions and tomatoes are purchased in large quantities for a good price at the market for conserving. People take advantage of the harvest when it is available before the higher prices of winter. The hours spent preparing and canning are amazing and nothing goes to waste!
September was beautiful for the most part, sunny and warm. October brought rains and with the rains muddy roads. I marvel at the way Moldovans seem to be able to walk the muddy roads without having their pants, socks and shoes look like a splattered mess. I on the other hand have not yet figured out how to avoid mud spatters everywhere!
Frost also arrived in October for a few days requiring my host lady to cover the plants and vegetables in the garden not yet harvested. Fortunately, the frosty nights were few. November has been cold with a number of nights and mornings below freezing. There has been a little more rain and a few days of incredible winds. The winds seems to occur when it is dry so that the roads look like a cloud of dust swirling along. It reminds me of pictures from the dust bowl. Walking is a challenge and avoiding dirt and grit on your person and in your eyes and mouth is generally not possible.
Although the cold has definitely settled in, there have been a few warm days and many days of sunshine. There are grey dreary days just like in Northeast Ohio, but I sense more days with at least a little bit of sunshine. I hope that the winter has more sunny days too.
In Moldova time changed on October 25 as we fell back or set the clocks back one hour. Almost immediately darkness began descending shortly after 5:00 p. m. The hours of daylight are getting much fewer as we head toward the shortest day which I believe will be December 22. With very limited lighting on the main road and no lighting on any of the other roads in the village, I try to get home from work earlier rather than later and usually need a flashlight to navigate the uneven dirt road to my house. The nights in November are cold and long. And as Autumn comes to an end, we are waiting to see what winter brings to Moldova this year.
I hope you enjoy some of my photographs of Autumn 2015 in . . .
