S P R I N G - P R I M A V E R A

it is the last day of february and - we heard it from some italian bee-keeper - the last day of inverno/winter. it was a gorgeous day today, just right to make a 1-hour trip further into the mountains to meet Alvaro from the Cooperativa Monte Azzurri. we learned that the bee-hives are quite different than Jon knows them. but nevertheless we ordered 2 "familia" and the hives, all with the help of the cousin who was happy to help us out with his english knowledge.

- i know we are too lazy with our italian lessons -.

so, in 1 month we will have our own bees. here in le marche is also the bee deaths syndrome, we just hope our environment is healthy enough for this busy workers.
we drove like always the road passing "san angelo in pontano" and there is the most beautiful view down towards our valley. the mountains are still white sugared and the fields are turning quietsch-green. our house is always easy to find, because of our glowing white gas tank, tiny in the picture. (click on the picture and it will enlarge) but visible. look down at 2/5th from the right upper edge. where this little flat, dark caped mountan is. look down from there for almost the half of the picture, there is our house.


i started to find evidence for spring and there are little flowers poking through to the sun, the chickadees sing their special spring songs and we saw many old guys in the trees pruning the heck out of the branches. (they do have a strange way of pruning/butchering) they cut off almost everything growing and leave 20cm stalks, also cut, they do this with street trees, fruit and whatever. i will check what happens to this amputated branches. i still go with my learned german pruning. will see. the trees we pruned so far were soooo overgrown that we will not have much of anything the first 2 years.
we had a nice walk yesterday down to the creek, with the help of a tree trunk to the other side and than through the wilderness, on trails more for the wild boars than people. but we got up on the other side of the valley (the house is in the upper/middle of the picture) and found our waterline!
or the one that was in use? or will be? coming from gualdo and there is also path - Basilio drove it regularly with his motor scooter - from our house down to the creek and up the hill. there are 300 meter difference in elevation to climb up. a total mystery how he did that. but he was telling he was the only one that time who had such a wonderful motorized vehicle and helped the neighbors with getting stuff from town.