9 luglio
Today was another great day on the farm… I just love this work! Woke at 6:00 to a gorgeous, fresh, almost cool morning with all my doors and windows open. I could have used more sleep after wakening at 2 or 3 am to the sounds of merriment in the pool that is just across the road behind my second story room. Being high, the sound carries too well and the conversations going on at that time of the night just aren’t that interesting…
My writing bench in the cool, shaded secret garden
I’ve been setting my alarm for 6, since I have been assigned to work from 7 to 1 each of the three days I’ve been here, but I’ve been waking around a quarter to every day. Out of bed, splash my face with some water, put on sunscreen, pull on some shorts and a t-shirt, downstairs to make the huge pot of espresso, pour a cup with a little warm milk, try to eat a little breakfast, back upstairs with my coffee to finish getting my shoes on and out the door to the wall where the interns and volunteers gather to get work assignments each morning.
What a change from my usual routine before work when I’m at home… I can barely make it out of the house in three hours—I’m not exactly sure how that happens, but it involves much more bathing and skincare and hair products! Not to mention the myriad tasks that I do throughout the morning. It is definitely easier living out of a suitcase, but not quite as satisfying.
Fridays are group project day for the interns and I was asked to join in today. The wall where we meet is located behind Pulcinelli, where the work vehicles are kept, and where there are small shops and workrooms, and where there is a small garage where the little electric trucks are parked and recharged. We met with various other workers and managers, and then walked up the steep, narrow road that leads up to the grain processing and storage area, where there are a few pens of Cinta Sienese, or the belted Sienese pigs (maiale), the traditional pigs that the farm uses to make lots and lots of prosciutto and other products (I think I wrote a bit about this in the last day or two). There are various storage and maintenance buildings, and when we arrived there was a maze of old pig pens that aren’t currently being used. The project was to clean the area, and to pull down lots of fencing so that the pens could be reconfigured. The area is thick with trees—lots of oaks and others that I can’t remember—and there was an assortment of various junk—slabs of wood, lumber, old metal roofing, wire fencing around the pens and feed area, and lots and lots of brush, downed trees, and logs along the sides of the roads. We started out by splitting into two areas and cleaning stuff out and piling wood and metal into a big trailer. Then I was asked to go to a pile of small trees and brush and was instructed in the use of a small, curved machete—actually, it’s straight, with a small curved end—and quickly got into cutting branches and piling brush into a large pen that would later be mulched. After a bit of this I was asked to do my originally assigned task—helping Julio to bring the ground feed around to the various pig pens and to some of the cattle. I was surprised at the number of pig feeding areas there are, both up on that hill, and back down on various little roads off of the main road leading from the highway to the tenuta. For most of the time I rode, standing on the steps leading up to the tractor cab, leaning back and holding on to the door and on to the inside handle. The door was open, so I tried to not let it get hung up on branches and such as we drove along. When we got to a pig pen Julio would fill a bag from the silo attached to the back of the tractor, and I was up in the cab pulling the lever to let the feed flow from the silo to the bag. I am sure that if he had a guy intern with him that he would operate the lever and let the guy fill the bags, and I offered to do that but he said no… I got into one pen with smaller pigs to open a chute, but wouldn’t have wanted to get into a pen with the bigger pigs—some are just huge, and I can just imagine getting knocked over—the result would be somewhere between just feeling really stupid, to getting stepped on! But, the interns say that they are really docile, and they pretty much do what you prod them to do. I got to herd some of the little ones into a chute by waving and saying “vai” (go!) loudly… hahaha… Connie’s first day as a pig farmer!!
Anyway, during the pig rounds we also went to the pens where the cattle and the hay and feed for them are… most of the cattle is out grazing, but there were two bulls in pens who are being fattened up for steaks… I tossed hay into their trough with a pitchfork… it sounds so silly describing all this, but it is truly the first time in my life I have done anything like this!!
We went back to the rest of the crew at about 11:30 and I finished off my time with the rest of the interns, cutting and piling shrubs and branches… by 1:00 I was ready for another batch of leftovers—we were still eating pizza as well as the food from last night.
I am not sure if I mentioned this yet, but a highlight for me is wine on the front balcony of the main villa at 7:00, followed by dinner with all the guests and interns, and most of the staff at 7:30. Wine for the evening is Spannocchia's excellent white and red table wines. I have really enjoyed these dinners and have gotten to know some of the group which is a graduate class from University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The class of 8 is lead by Charlie, who has been a volunteer, or wwoofer at Spannocchia for over 6 years. The class is on cultural and food sustainability (I forget the exact name, and don't have Charlie's last name!) so we have a lot to talk about. They are enjoying lots of activities led by Charlie, Spannocchia staff, and others who Charlie knows and has invited to present to the group. They will leave on Monday and I will miss our conversations.
Interns at Dinner (Cena)
Saturday, 10 luglio
Now, I am off to Siena for the weekend. I’ll stay in the P. San Francesco apartment and am really looking forward to being in the city, walking around, cooking my own dinner, having internet access, and just being away from everyone for 2 days. I realize that I am really, really used to being independent, to having my own clean kitchen, and to having the freedom to come and go. I love all the parts of my farm stay, and really love doing the work, but I really miss my independence. Oh, how I would love to have my own house here, either within walking distance to the city and to the train or busses, or with my own little Smart car:)
Ciao, tutti!
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