tomatoes-pomodori-tomaten, squash-zucca-kürbis

all our working and preparing is rewarded: the tomatoes are ripe and in abundance. Jon tried several kind and we are testing them everyday. tomatoes on bread, in soup and sauce, fried and boiled and many already in the freezer. we could not find any ziploc-bags. and got some ordered in germany - actually 3000, they come in 1000, and we had to order for 100 euro and than we thought some smaller ones would be nice too. seems we might have enough for this life for freezing tomatoes.

than there was the time of plums. our direct neighbor came and got as much they could use off the trees and we could have the rest of them - that was a LOT. these took the last ziplocs we had left from usa. and i made several plum cake or original name: zwetschgendatschi. seems a perfect recipe, everybody liked it.

it is also the time of harvesting the grain and we saw how they do it on this steep land. knowing how the harvest looks alike in iowa - this is really a different way of working. the complete machine levels out to the ground in every direction, and this is very steep terrain.

our first squashes are getting ready and that means we have to get them before they turn in baseball bats, (zucchini) somehow they like to be that way and hide, until they are huge.

we are now over a year in italy and lived through all the different seasons and states of nature. but it is so different than last july when we arrived. the soil is still moist and Jon even thinks to till one more time. our Alfredo said it was extremely rainy this winter, spring, the grain suffered a lot through the humidity. the birds like it, a couple started a new nest just 3 days ago, so they think they will have enough food for their babies. hope that comes true.
we found some little eggs under stones in the soil and put them in bucket to see what is coming out and we saw the birth of a tiny little lizard. they are soooo cute. no picture so far...here it is:

this is a later editing: i forgot completely to talk about the 2 white ducks. when we showed our runner ducks (in italian: "pinguini") to our dear farmer neighbors, they were astonished about them and that they will not fly away. ( they do not fly away, but for sure they walk away, especially if it rained. than they can find water and do not have to come home to get a drink. several times i saw just the tiny head of our male duck "Udo" lurking far away, out of the tall grass, close to the woods and the potential preditors. long talk--- Vera said she has a present for us - 2 ducks - i said i do not really want any more ducks, i was already very busy with my shy little friends. but she said, she is tired of pulling the duck-feathers, chicken feathers are so much easier. i looked in their little box, and in their friendly little faces with their interested blue eyes and just had to save them from the frying pan. these 2 ducks are the opposite of the runners: relaxed, interested in what this humans do (Tolle says ducks ---he might not know about my 3 pinguinies--- and cats - are the perfect zen-masters) they do not freak out when we have to grab them. i think they actually like it - not that they purr :-) - but they wanna be around us. and because their favorite place is on 2 rocks with a great overlook of the(ir) territory, i called them the queen and the princess.

our duckies are still very good egg layer, average 3 eggs a day. the white ones ( Princess - the sweetest and Queen) laying bigger and whiter ones than Nancy and Molly. but our Udo (drake) is a real pain to the white ducks, he always chaises them around and with their short feet, he always gets them and pokes the little girls. the funny thing is their reaction after his attack. they are really upset, stretch their necks and it looks like they are shouting, but no noises are coming out of their wide open peaks. they call this ducks here: mute.

the other animals we are working with, are the dogs at the neighbors vacation rental. mostly they are very nice dogs (and owners). some are too lively (dogs) to have them with lots of people and crowds. so this is the perfect situation for them. off the beaten path and lots of space and freedom. in most bigger cities in deutschland there is a leech-law and have big dogs just run and play is not that common any more. we like our house keeper job. we come in contact with people we never would otherwise. so many different ways of seeing/dealing with the same given environment. very interesting for us and our learning about love and acceptance. we could not ask for a better situation. we are very happy with our life in italia and this wonderful friends we meet here.