The road home

I took the car down to Stefano. Easy driving down but warmed up on the walk back. This is my favourite corner before you turn into our track. The cool in the woods is like water itself. Saw a lovely buck fallow deer here on Saturday with a big spread of antlers in velvet.

Later Tito and Mattie came to fit mosquito screens - zanzariere. Nine windows and a door. A couple more to do. Makes such a difference.

I’m reckoning the summer growing campaign will be over by mid August if this heat keeps up and no rain.

Had my first outdoor tomatoes today. And a bucket full of gherkins. Temps forecast up to 34c again. The irrigation and pumping systems are working well, just in case you were asking.

In peasant preindustrial italy they’d neither wire nor twine to spare. Vines were bound to stout poles with twisted willow wands. Our two neighbours still do it (extra).