It's very, very, very HOT here. Mid-day is spent almost entirely indoors. Weeding and watering the garden takes place after sunset.
I'm expecting friends from California on the 4th of July and have collected some garden furniture for the barbecue and bush burning festivities planned for that evening. Have invited friends from the village as well as friends from the valley.
On my birthday I was taken to Monte Argentario on the Mediterranean coast and had a lovely meal overlooking the sea and the island of Giglio. The restaurant is called il Bottegone di La Fonte di Marè. A panoramic view framed by umbrella pines and great
fritto misto. (Photo by Zak.)
Finally got to see Ester again before she left for Catania. Great lunch and a very l o n g nap at Paolo's in the cool cantina.
Had dinner at Carmella and Eugenio's again - like having family in the village. Also went down to the Estate Medioevo (medieval summer) festa at Bagno Vignoni with them one evening.
After getting serious help from Gary and Zak re: detailing the cleaning of my great little car, we went to Il Conte Matto (the crazy count) in Trequanda for one of the finest meals I've had here. Perhaps even better than Rosa del Trinoro in Castiglioncello del Trinoro or maybe just less posh and expensive but really superb!
Off to Siena questura in the morning to see if the PdS is ready. No one answers the phones there.
Tomorrow is the summer solstice. I watered my garden this evening and when I came back in to read I was starting to get annoyed with the jays who were making a racket. There seemed to be some mewling kittens, too. I jumped up and went down to the garden which annoyed the jays but sent them packing and I searched for the kittens but without success.
However, there is a new resident in the garden and we hung out peacefully together in the light of the nearly full moon and the diminishing twilight. Il riccio or the hedgehog. She (?) seems to have a hiding place behind the irises under the pergola of uva fragola - and perhaps there are babies in there with her. She certainly wasn't alarmed by my presence as she ambled toward her den. A welcome guest!
These are the last days of spring here in the Val d'Orcia now that we are heading into summer.
I had a bat flying around the bedroom last night and he(?) was welcome since bats eat bugs. I think he flew in the top floor window, came down the stairwell and then flew back up and out. No problem.
I spent the hours from 7 to 9 a.m. weeding the garden today and then trotted off to the Post Office with my 2004 tax return after a shower.
Going over to Montepulciano today to meet and greet some tuscanhouse guests at a lovely place nearby.
On the evening of June 7, we had a spectacular storm that I watched with friends from their balcony here in Castiglione. It came from the east, unusually, and we could see lightening from Pienza to Radicofani as the clouds rolled toward us at sunset. By eleven in the evening some of us made a mad dash to close the windows we'd left open as the storm broke over us.
There's been a second trip to the nurseries near Montepulciano where I've purchased a Japanese maple among other things. The garden is really taking shape.
On June 10 I met up with Cristina and others for a SlowTrav GTG at a park in Siena. Nice time, especially with the children there.
This week I became the proud owner of a great used car which was such a deal that I could not have possibly passed it up.
My routine was broken up by taking a wonderful trip up to Lucca for three days with G & Z. We were scouting new villas for them to represent up there and were guests at another where I had a beautiful room. Nice break.
Lucca's villas are very elegant, but I was glad to return to the Val d'Orcia.
Today was homebody day: filed my 2004 taxes and had the assistants from the geometra's office in to measure for new windows.
Oh, I forgot to mention that I had my first scorpion in the house last week. He (?) was behind the sponge above the kitchen sink and was pretty docile... an exquisitely constructed creature that I was sorry I had to do in.
Having arranged for a plumber to put a tap in the cantina and having purchased an extremely long garden hose, having arranged for all the huge piles of branches and clippings to be tossed over the wall into a waiting truck on the road below and having planted more lavender and rosemary, I have managed to break the mini-drought and summon drenching afternoon rains for about four days running. (If you need the bus to come quickly, just light a cigarette. Same principle.)
Looking out the window was like gazing at a Chinese painting.
I had a visit from my late friend Maggie's husband and his friend and was heartened to see he's coping with the loss.
One evening, my neighbors had a wonderful dinner party and no one left until one in the morning. Another night G & Z had me up to Chiusure for a delicious Indian curry dinner and yesterday my friends Amy & Alfredo (what generous friends! They showed up with a huge basket of produce from the commune including fresh eggs!) lunched with Paolo and I up at the Rocca.
I ran banking and shopping errands and will spend this week urging my geometra to start bringing in contractors, but I must say it's going to be piano, piano and that's OK with me. I am very comfortable and the start of renovations is going to change all that. But they must get started.
