"The olive tree is surely the richest gift of Heaven, I can scarcely expect bread." ~ Thomas Jefferson

2013 Olives
So here we are, two nights before olive harvest, wondering if we will sleep for the next two nights, until we know if we have the minimum weight of olives to be able to go to the mill.  That is the first major hurdle.  Once we know that, we will know how much of our next year will fall into place.  

 Without going to the mill, there is no chance for EVOO certification, no chance for competitions, no chance to go forward with marketing, because we won't have anything to sell.  Everything hinges on how many olives are on those trees.  

 In the next few years, there will be a time that this will not be a worry we have.  There are 120 new olive trees being planted next spring, so then, there will be new challenges, but until that happens, and until Friday night, we will be experiencing the angst all small farmers experience, worrying about cold temperatures on their crops, worrying about yield, working hard to sanitize hundreds of bottles in a day and a half, sanitizing the fustis, the half-ton bins, doing all of the work needed for a successful harvest, just on the chance that the planets align and someone is watching out for us up there.  

 Keep your fingers crossed!

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