In ritardo

A good crop of garlic which I dug up today which will go and dry out in the boiler room for a few days. Normally this would have been harvested a few weeks earlier, generally around the date of the summer solstice.

Lets hope we are not picking the olives in December as that could be a bit unpleasant.

Governing Italy

We are currently being governed by an coalition enforced by President Napolitano in the absence of any clear majority or any alliance following the last elections. We have lots of promises of measures to relaunch the economy but very little action.

Having attended a concert at the major arts festival in Spoleto the other night, which whilst being well attended, the restaurants were in the main deserted. This in July and in a major Umbrian town.  I have no solution to this but as someone rightly said recently attitude counts for a lot and we just need to be more positive. As for our Government we wait.

But maybe I am looking in the wrong place. As five-time prime minister Giovanni Giolitti (1842-1928) supposedly said when asked by a journalist whether governing Italy was difficult: “It is not difficult, but it is useless.” So maybe it is up to us.

Lav en der

Madly trying to get all the grass cut in the grove this week as next the temperatures get into the late 30°c
which is game over time.

Now enjoying a glass of chilled white and watching the insects attack the lavender hedge. To abuse a Genesis song, summer's here dum di dum di dum dum.

Eating ahead

I was planting some leeks this morning and admiring the fine tilled earth and the lines of young leeks when I thought of how nice they will be with a bit of roast pork crackling an all. Yum can't wait. I can almost taste it. They say as you get older time passes quicker but does dreaming of food yet to be eaten make time pass quicker?

Anyway, I cannot believe that it is almost July and that there is only 4 months until we start picking the olives. That is scary.....but there will be roast pork and leeks.

Olive pollen and other notes

Olives produce a considerable amount of pollen as you can see here collecting on one of our solar panels.

When olives flower and  are pollinated the flowers drop to the ground leaving the tiny olive fruit behind. Those flowers that are not pollinated are left behind on the tree and burnt by the heat of the sun.

Ci siamo

At last the rains have subsided and we have bountiful sunshine which in turn means the olives are flowering. The flower buds have turned from a mid green colour to a yellowy green and are now opening.

The trees produce a significant amount of the flower and so the pollen coats everything in a fine yellow dust.

Now we wait to see how much fruit sets and then a longer wait until the harvest which is normally in late October early November.

Business idea No 4597

Hey, how about hand made soap. Everyone needs soap and everyone loves something that is hand crafted and not mass produced.

So how about soap made from donkey's milk as I saw recently on a market stall. I think not quite frankly. Not sure why just no, no, no.

Probably will be voted product of the year..........um no.