Back to Oliena

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After two days of good sunshine in Esporlatu pruning olive trees and cutting some fire wood the rain is back here in Oliena. The plan to plant potatoes is now postponed; we might need to wait until the middle of the week. Also the extension can not be completed as we need a good spell of dry weather.  In Esporlatu we worked non- stop for a day and an half managing more tasks than planned. This demonstrates how working together often achieves more.

The olive trees have been pruned. A meticulous job. every plant needs individual assessment and attention.

We had some problems with the chain saws at the beginning, but nevertheless we managed to cut down 4 trees and chop branches to a transportable size. Lots of  broad beans and peas have been planted around the cultivated part of the land. I spotted two amazing lemon trees  which had lots of fruits. Graziano (my brother living there) gave us a full crate of lemons to take back and 40 eggs from their chickens.

The hills around. Paradise of oak trees.

The surrounding area is covered with oak trees and many shephards keep both sheep and goats. The little town of Esporlatu has a population of a few hundred and is slowly dying. No jobs around here and young people can only go away for better opportunities leaving the old people to look after the place. Little villages are disappearing in Sardinia. It is a shame that investment is not there to keep them alive and the place is just beautiful.

The trees we cut were selected. My brother's knowledge as a ranger helps and of course we do not cut trees unnecessarily. These ones were dying and some were creating access problems. Other trees will be planted nearby.

Some winter wood...

When back here to Oliena we decided to clean the wine barrels. Another job to be done and often people leave this kind of task for when they cannot do anything else outside.  The rhythm of life here is very different. Plans are not necessarily  kept as things change all the time and people are mentally trained to adapt to sudden changes. As many things need to be done, there is no risk of boredom.

Transferring the wine in order to clean the barrel.

Even when there is an hour to spare, a visit to a relative is an opportunity not to be missed. These aspects of relationship are considered very important and old people are always visited for a chat and kept in a good spirit.  In an hour's time we are going to see my Aunty Maddalena who lost her husband not long ago. She will be pleased to see me. 

Lemons to go...

Hopefully the weather will improve for the rest of the week so we can go ahead with the vegetable garden and the extension.