I show you the photo below not to demonstrate my support for the 47th President of the USA. Not to show how think I am these days although I am now able to wear a rugby short from my London Irish days and it is loose. No, it was to show that while you shiver back in Airstrip One, the sun was shining here in Greece. Day three was uninterrupted and we made good progress. But pride comes before a fall.
By day 5, Sunday, it was raining intermittently. We soldiered on but a birthday lunch up in the higher mountains with mad lefties L&G was a welcome break. We got back from lunch and did another tree or so but then the rains came again and were just too heavy to bear. By the time I recorded a podcast there was the most dramatic of thunderstorms. IU uploaded it and then the internet went, then the power and soon phone signals were lost.
All returned but the sheet lightning over the mountains and crashing thunder continues well into the small hours. And boy did it rain. And those storms have intermittently continued ever since so restricting our labours. I write on Tuesday morning as there is no way I am going out to get drenched. On the plus side:
The rain will be welcomed by my trees so helping them for next year. Moreover heavy rain since October is replenishing the aquifer so reducing the chances of water supply problems in the summer. And if it rains nobody harvests and so the press has cleared its backlog of bags which should me we can get a quick turnaround later in the week with what we have. On the minus side, we are now at c280kg. Even if we get some work later today and two clear days thereafter I doubt we will get much past 400 kg. That might yield 56 litres, 20 for us, 2 for the press and enough to sell for 100 Euro. Tim reckons my maths is optimistic. We shall see.
There is one tree right at the bottom next to the snake tree, dubbed the golden tree. It alone will yield tens of kg if we can access it. There are a few other silver trees dotted around. We are not beaten yet.
All returned but the sheet lightning over the mountains and crashing thunder continues well into the small hours. And boy did it rain. And those storms have intermittently continued ever since so restricting our labours. I write on Tuesday morning as there is no way I am going out to get drenched. On the plus side:
The rain will be welcomed by my trees so helping them for next year. Moreover heavy rain since October is replenishing the aquifer so reducing the chances of water supply problems in the summer. And if it rains nobody harvests and so the press has cleared its backlog of bags which should me we can get a quick turnaround later in the week with what we have. On the minus side, we are now at c280kg. Even if we get some work later today and two clear days thereafter I doubt we will get much past 400 kg. That might yield 56 litres, 20 for us, 2 for the press and enough to sell for 100 Euro. Tim reckons my maths is optimistic. We shall see.
There is one tree right at the bottom next to the snake tree, dubbed the golden tree. It alone will yield tens of kg if we can access it. There are a few other silver trees dotted around. We are not beaten yet.
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