Late summer / begin autumn
September 2023. Panic.
There are still no olives on our 75 olive trees!
While we hoped to be able to press a double yield of extra virgin olive oil this year compared to last year.
But we also learn something new every day.
An olive tree only 'performs' every other year. One year of olives, the next none or hardly any. Unless you water all your trees daily, which we don't do.
Phew, our trees are not sick and we are pinning all our hopes on next year!
The almond and carob trees, on the other hand, are doing well!
For those who don't know what carob is, here is an interesting link:
For the time being, it is still too warm to harvest between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. We are happy to wait until the evening hours for this. Our guests usually enjoy a nice meal out and we use that time to collect, sort and package all the fruits.
Our local cooperative is happy when we arrive with the harvest so that other people can be made happy with our yield. Carob beans in particular are popular as animal feed, but also increasingly as a cocoa substitute.
I have already tasted cake with carob instead of cocoa and you notice no difference in taste. Perhaps the solution to the global cocoa shortage? Anyway, we leave those kinds of questions to people who obviously know more about them.
This year we are also making our own fig jam for the first time! Of all the types of jam we serve for breakfast, fig jam is the most popular. Our friend the local butcher also goes to work for us again to make a delicious Fuet sausage with truffle flavor from time to time. Delicious!
Over the last few months we have also made some small changes in our B&B that benefit our guests.
For example, there is a motion sensor lamp at the door of the rooms so that no one has to look for the keyhole at night.
There are also electric radiators in the bathrooms and in the outdoor bar (also with new azure blue bar stools) so that you can sit outside for a long time even in 'winter'.
We have provided bedside reading lights for the evening readers and we have also purchased 2 extra Google Chromecasts for the avid television viewers.
Some things have also remained unchanged, such as the delicious glass of freshly squeezed orange juice from local oranges for breakfast! The soft towels to dry you off after that nice shower after a day outside and not to forget the inexhaustible enthusiasm of your hosts! See you soon and don't forget:
ENJOY LIFE!
Toon, Sanne and Koen