Belt tightening

Today I went to my local hardware store to buy a ladder as we start olive picking. Normally for this I would get an invoice but today I was told they could not give me an invoice. This is a common situation at the moment as small businesses concentrate on cash only to stay afloat.

Indeed the olive mill that I use has not had there POS machine working for over a year now and I would bet that a lot of mills in Umbria are having the same problem!

One result of this is that even more economic activity has become 'nero' Or under the counter and so the government is able to collect less tax. This could develop into a vicious circle.

It's getting close to picking time

The olives are starting to change colour from green to a deep purple color. We will start picking towards the end of next week to enable us to have olio nuovo for the olive oil in Trevi on the 1/2/3 November.

You can get a glimpse of what's on from the website www.festivol.it

If you are in the area then come along and have a taste of our olio nuovo.

Nocturnal feasting

Our neighbours grove this morning after a visit from a sounder of wild boar looking for their favourite roots and bulbs.

Meanwhile our two guard dogs, Ugo and Winnie, slept soundly and undisturbed....................

L'Artista

Sand and Sea - RKWilliams

Rachel has also updated her website and is showing the work she has produced over the last 6 months or so. Have a look at www.rkwilliams.com

Olio Nuovo is coming

We are getting very close to this years harvest. Trevi our local town has an event on the 1/2/3 November to celebrate the new season olive oil. If you are in the area then Casa Margherita will be offering tastings of its olio nuovo at Festivol and would be very happy to see you.

New websites

Start of a new week and there are a couple of new websites to have a look at. The Casa Margherita website has been refreshed  and simplified. Have a look at www.casa-margherita.com.          

The second site is completely new site for the Italian market only.  Have a gander at www.oliopaterno.it                   

Today Sunday 4th August

Yep it was hot. Late thirties but felt even hotter. You can feel the heat coming off the land in this photo. In the evening the heat will drop and the building release the latent heat they have absorbed all day. High summer.