in the Appenines...

I have loved every minute of it. It’s a place where you can’t ever imagine modern buildings or a paved road and the people here work hard at keeping it that way. Jobs and tasks on the farm are constantly changing because there is a lot to do. They are working on installing a new vineyard. So after we installed the irrigation lines, we installed more posts (made from tree trunks) and counter posts for extra support. We have cleared the path to Piedipaterno so it is much easier to walk into town. Irrigating the orchards is quite hard work. You work with heavy hoses on steep sloped orchards that are about a 30-35 degree incline. It’s taken about three days to finish irrigating. A lot of acreage. Digging trenches, cutting out the blackberry vines, removing huge rocks from the fields and placing in a pile (they used these to build their house and they have some places not finished). Darcy and Adolfo do their best to use all local materials. My job, every evening, is to feed the animals and milk the goats. Apparently I am one of the best they have seen. Who knew I would be such a good goat milker? I then take the milk to the kitchen and runt it through a filter to remove any grass and dirt then store it in big mason jars in the fridge. I’m proud to say I am just as good as Adolfo.

Saturday was our day off, because we had two new additions to the group arriving that day. Alexandra and Michael, from a farm 3hrs outside of Sydney, Australia. Myself with some others decided on our day off to go to Vallo di Nera, a neighboring hill town. It was about a 45-minute hike. Another charming town. We hiked along a river that is dammed in between Piedipaterno and Vallo di Nera for trout farming. It’s really the only fish available here. Seafood is very rare here even though the ocean is only 1½ hrs away because the roads are not wide enough for transporting and they roads are always winding through valleys. It rained this day and I liked it. We hiked to Vallo di Nera, partly in rain and sun. The river was so cold, coming right from the mountain streams; it must have been close to freezing. No feeling in my feet.

Piedipaterno, on the road to Vallo di Nera

A street in Vallo di Nera

Me in Vallo di Nera, photo thanks to Kristen

ice cold mountain river next to Piedipaterno

Sunday was a special treat. Sunday night, myself along with Jacek and Olga went with Adolfo, Ben, and Darcy to a town outside of Terni called Torre Osino (Little Bear Tower) because it has been the festival of San Sebastiano during the week and Sunday night, an Italian band (all friends of Adolfo’s) played traditional Umbrian music. They dance and play and sing music extremely specific to the region. They sing in a local dialect that most Italians don’t even understand outside of Umbria. Accordion, violin, upright base, mandolin, guitar, tambourine, and wooden spoons. They played for hours in the towns main piazza. We danced the local dances, some group dances and some partner dances. Ben loved dancing in Darcy’s arms the whole night. Everyone was listing and watching and dancing on the church steps or on the street. Everything ending around 1am. Darcy gave me so many cool facts about the area’s we drove through the little towns on the way home. Like there are Asian and French mummies in a cave near by that were people walking the silk road and never made it home after the Crusades. We past the largest waterfall in Europe, and the mom and pop pharmacies give you their home phone number just in case you need something in the middle of the night. We drove through little towns having tiny village festivals late at night that were illuminated by candles. Candles everywhere. The streets; lined with them. The mountainsides covered. A cave above the town flickering with an orange glow. Stunning. This place is stunning. Even in the dark. It is stunning. We got back to Localita Il Piano around 2 and had to get up early for work the next morning. Not easy.


Monday we continued working but that night was wonderful. We ate a garlic polenta with a tomato and sausage sauce, cucumbers with just a bit of their own goat milk yogurt with dill and mint, tomato and basil salad, Capocollo (like proscuitto but from the back of the pig’s neck instead of the thigh) with melon, and of coarse their red wine. The best part was that we ate outside. This is not the first time we did it but being able to open up their huge doors and move the table out onto their veranda running the length of their house that overlooks the garden, olive groves and mountains is just incredible. The weather is cool enough be not cold. While we cleaned dishes, Adolfo played the accordion. Incredible, he plays anything on that accordion. A Tango, Jazz, Classical, a Waltz, Opera, Christmas Carols, Traditional Italian Songs, and the favorite, a combination of The Spangled Banner and We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

Eating outside/Ben's high chair/Darcy and Kristen

Another perfect meal

Although the work may be challenging, it is so rewarding to see the work that I did make such a difference in these peoples lives. Like I said, I have loved every minute.