Last week of relaxation

 This week,as the days cool down,we’ve been lucky to have nothing but time on our hands. The “to do” lists are finished, the grocery list is made and the time line for execution is ready. In three days time guests/workers from all over the coast ( and a few Arizonans) will start arriving for the magic of Olive Harvest. My mind goes to the stories I heard as a child of barn raising events. This must be the closest modern day people can come to the experience. Not many of us really need a barn put up today and truthfully I imagine it would be hard for most of us to come up with enough friends to help us all on the same day. Our friends Jody and Val are blessed with just that….friends who look forward yearly to the olive harvest. The date is transferred every year onto the new calendar and vacations and free time are earmarked for the event! In todays world the idea of working hard for no pay other than friendship and dinner isn’t exactly on top of most peoples list! For Al and I,the joy we get from that one weekend stays we us for the entire year! We are so very lucky to get this experience.

Today I thought I’d share a few pictures of our home away from home. 

The outdoor shower and tub. Nothing like hearing birds and squirrels chattering while you shower! 

The back of our caboose. Look closely and you can see the “tagging” from its previous life

Our front porch.notice the dog bed conveniently placed. We’ve been adopted by Chaka the oldest farm dog. She walks us to our home each night and often spends her evening watching over us. The least we could do is get her bed here and give her lots of pets every morning when she walks us to the main house for coffee

A peak inside… this is actually about the same square footage as our cruise ship room will be so it’s like a practice run! We’ve found it to be just the right size for us.

We don’t spend much of our day inside. Here’s  a quick peek around the places we can be found on any given day

Driving over the bridge can be scary but we are getting used to just closing our eyes and heading straight

The view of the barn from the caboose. There’s a creek somewhere in the picture but with a drought not much water is be flowing,in fact none. Perhaps we’ll get a nice rain the few days before we leave! 

Crossing the bridge brings us to the lion in all his glory. He was saved from demolition due to progress and Jody and Val thought he deserved a better life. Come to find out, one of their friends came by to visit and realized her father was the artist who created the sculpture! So restoration work will begin at some point to bring him back to a fitting life! Next to him is our faithful friend, Chaka. She was lounging while she waited to accompany me back to the house to work. 

 A charming view of the chicken coop, workshop and yard. We spend many hours and minutes here! It’s hard to be stressed when this is my daily life.

Isn’t this pictures of paradise!  The pool was hand made by the owners and when I’ve swam in it during a summer visit it was like heaven to float in! 

This is a sneak peak at the reason for our visit- the olive grove! 

Rows of trees

The trees are full this year. This is a bottom branch…looking upwards every branch looks like this. Good thing we have strong young pickers this year who will be able to climb ladders.

Look close… can you see the dark olives? Did you know the oil is made from all shades of color..from black to green and every color in between. 

All of this is what brings us together next week. 

For now, I’m continuing my relaxation skills and saving my energy for what is to come…a brilliant opportunity to experience community and friendship while working to help our friends. This is what real life is about. And I thank the universe for providing me the opportunity through such a small green hard ball called an olive!