every cloud

...this afternoon, I went for a walk through the olive groves to see the damage this terrible winter has done locally. I knew before I arrived that it has been unprecedentedly wet and unusually cold in this mountainous part of Toscana. I think I mentioned, way back when winter started, that the main bridge on the road up to our comune was swept away in a storm. Everywhere you go there are example of where the sides of the roads have either fallen into the valleys below, or the hillsides above are now sitting on the roads.

I now discover that similar events have affected the olive terraces and that rivers, which never previously existed, have sprung from the slopes and gouged new ravines into the landscape. The mule track has clearly been running as a torrent with the surface torn away in several places.

When I arrived down at the orto that belongs to our nearest and dearest neighbours, they were busy repairing and making good some of the damaged areas. We had a good long talk about the season passed and the one yet to come. I learned that there had been quite a strong earthquake a couple of days ago - no immediate damage done but earthquakes are common here and are part of the recipe that makes the land unstable and later collapse.

While discussing the hardships that have arisen, not only as a result of the weather, but also from the economy, their faces, instead of looking forlorn or downcast, developed into beams of personal pride as they delighted in telling me what a good year it was for the olive harvest. The 2011/12 crop had been great for quality but a very low yield. This season it has, thankfully, been great on both counts. This is so important in our community as olive oil is the chief source of income for nearly everyone here...