First, this is Mauri's post with lots of pictures and something about circles. It's on FB but hopefully still opens ok: HERE
Olive trees need to be pruned at least about every 3 years or so, in order for them to bear fruit. If there are too many branches all growing leaves and little offshoots of new branches then the tree puts all its energy into the new bits and doesn't have enough for the olives. Also the olive trees are often hundreds of years old, and have quite thick chunky bases, which generate 'new tree's' from that base, so you could have a few trees growing from one base, and that can also take a lot of energy. Olive trees are beautiful and majestic and just full of character. Each one is totally different and they seem to almost be moving in slow motion right in front of you, they look as if their limbs are doing a slow beautiful dance. You don't really get furniture or planks made from Olive trees because the branches and the trunk are never straight, I think they grow the way they dance! The wood seems quite dark on the outside, but inside, it is actually quite light, like creamy butter, but it's very very dense. If a branch is cut with a saw, then you can see very delicate little circles, on the buttery wood, which look as if they've been drawn with a pencil lead. I have some pictures!
So Mauri had arranged for some expert olive tree cutters to come and trim the tree's, and that has taken a few days because they haven't been cut for quite a few years. Now it will be easier to maintain them. It is hard to explain how they cut the trees and what is involved, but there is a saying that says you need to prune your trees so that 'a swallow can fly through them' meaning that the shape to aim for is one that allows light and air into the center of the tree. From what I could see when I was watching them, it definitely seemed like a fine art, involving a sort of intuitive sculptoring of the tree, and I am sure they were carefully sculptoring both the tree and the light and space around and through the branches
Now the men are almost finished, they just have a little bit more to do, and hopefully next year, olives will start growing! In Italy, or at least in Sicily, there is the option of a wonderful sort of arrangement between locals where if you have Olive Trees, but you are not in the business of farming, then what you can do is: You can come to an agreement with a local Olive Tree Harvester, who will harvest your olives for you, during harvesting season, and then as payment, you give him half the harvest. So there is no cash exchanged, its a kind of a bartering system. I think it must be quite ancient and I do like the idea. (and certainly nowadays, with Italy having one of the most excruciating tax system in the world, especially for small businesses, then it makes sense to use alternative methods of earning your keep, where possible!) Maybe Mauri will do that next year, we shall see! it will be amazing if we can harvest olives and make Olive Oil. Mauri told me that some years ago, his family used to do this, and they had enough olives to have olive oil for the family for a whole year! imagine, home made virgin olive oil from the land!!
While Mauri was working on the land tidying up the cactus's, building steps and walls, me and Babacino went and collected some nice oranges and lemons from around and about, for pudding. Delicious, once we added a little bit of sugar!
I also made a little Mandala, to celebrate autumn and the olive trees. I think my hands needed to express something. And I also had circles on my mind, as I often do, these days.. or at least in the last year! I am still sort of swimming around the images and the experience of the olives trees. It is a strange concept to think you know a colour quite well, like olive. But until I had actually see an olive tree in real life, in its true setting, and was able to touch and smell the leaves and the tree, I don't think I ever understood the colour olive. It is a strange retrospective realisation, and now I understand why some people travel the world to write books about colour!
This is a little thing I wrote to one of Mauri's little writings.. that I'm putting here to store it, and because it links in, circles do that it seems!
I think that circles don't really break, they just have a rest or turn into new circles. Maybe each season has its circles, some we see, some we don't, and the best are the ones we make or the surprise ones we find on our journeys if we keep journey-ing. Jung: “In the products of the unconscious we discover mandala symbols, that is, circular and quaternity figures which express wholeness, and whenever we wish to express wholeness, we employ just such figures. ”
So, for now, I am learning about how to feel about the colour Olive!
Here are some pictures, and of course, you can see how Babacino has been growing. He is now 73cm and 7.3kgs!! Thats 5cm and 500 grams in one month, not bad for a little rainboy boykie!
Tomorrow we are going to Ficuzza, me Maur and Babacino, to the Eco Trail. And, cousin Aldo is coming along, Tata, Adriana and also Vincenzo and Titziana, and then we are having lunch. It will be a memorable jaunt day for sure. Yay!
I think the pictures explain themselves but if not, just imagine!:)
