Russian Summer at Dacha

Russia is always associated with cold and harsh winter. What about summer? Have you actually asked yourself  what is it like in Russia during summer? You're probably thinking about white nights but it doesn't occur to all Russia. 

Russian summer is quite hot. This year's temperature ranges from 26-38. Russians are known for having a "dacha" which means a summer house. Every family has a dacha located somewhere in the suburbs far from the vicinity. It is a place of exile from the stressful and chaotic city. It is a place of relaxation, a place to spend holiday at if not travelling.  It's sort of wild life without the comforts of the city.  It's a place where you wont see beautiful Russian women with make up in stilettos. You'll see them in their most comfortable homey clothes. Kids without their computer games, instead bikes and balls. Men without attache cases and hdtv's instead fishing rods and rubber boats. In other words, summer at dacha is a life with nature.

Dachas are usually a wooden house with wild garden around. Most people grow vegetables and flowers in their dacha lands. Berries and apples grow by themselves. At the end of summer there is such an abundance of harvest, starting from wild berries and fruits, grown vegetables and flowers.

Here's our dacha and other neighboring dachas.

That's my mom-in-law and I picking shadberry from the yard. 

Green, red and yellow apples all around. We didn't have to pick them from the trees, they fall when they're ready.

Black currant - the most expensive in the shop and the healthiest of all berries. It has the most amount of anti-oxidant. They smell really good when put on a hot tea. Leaves can be used as aroma to the tea as well.

Wild plums. I love them. It's sour, sweet and juicy.

Raspberry is my favorite. I like how it looks like and I like picking them. It's a little difficult picking them though because it's very delicate plus it's shrub is really short. I get scratched a lot but it does not stop me from liking it :)

Red bird cherry. It's not so tasty as Manjurian and sour cherry but also rich in vitamins.

Sour cherry is the 3rd kind of cherry we have in dacha. This one is most generous one in terms of bearing fruit. This year we got about 7 kilos of it. We made jam, juice and we still have more in the freezer. :)

Grapes are not yet ready.

Watermelon can't grow in suck lands but we can buy them from a small shop close by which sells the most common necessity for a Dachniki (a person who stays in dacha).

Sea buckthorn only bears fruit if you have both the male and female plant. 

Malt - source of beer can also be found :)

This is my partial harvest on the first day :)

Now, that explains my disappearance once again. I got myself busy for few weeks :)))