9 Degrees

Yesterday and Friday’s frenzy to get the walnuts collected off the ground was no false alarm, no jumped up coup de théâtre, but the real thing. When I walked the field today the walnuts that in such profusion had rained down were largely gone. Deer and boar had had their feast.

I gathered hard inside the fence in the grove proper. Another 40kgs I’d say. Hulled and cleaned. Here in the pic but a part of them brought into the warm of the house to dry. The Boss had misgivings but don’t we all.

We’ll have to work out what to do with them but you don’t worry about that when collecting the bounty of all the work clearing and cutting under the trees. I’d say we have at least four or five times our previous harvests.

We had the fire on for the first time. A miserable cold wet afternoon. Meant to turn fair tomorrow with cold nights until Wednesday. I’d best do a last pick of tomatoes and peppers, pull in the ultimate melon and coil the hoses away. All my bitching about summer’s heat seems now a bit de trop. But it was like that.

Warm weather after all this rain should bring the porcini on. Always another harvest to think on. This generous land that picks itself up after the summer dry and sets to work producing the grape, chestnut, funghi and olive harvests.