The Oracle at La Gavina

Today was a rich day - rich like creamy gelato, full of substance and good stuff. It was my first day on my own with Sergio and Lorena. In the morning I continued to fill the wall that Sergio and I have been rebuilding together. Although it was nice to have Emily's company until now, it's nicer to work alone here (or with a quiet Italian man who only speaks in profundities). While I work I'm surrounded by all kinds of sounds which include a chorus of birds, crickets, and the swift movement of scampering lizards. It's also very hot now, and the sun is strong. It makes the work harder, but it also makes me feel like I'm rolling around in Tuscany's lap which is a good place to be. The grass smells sweet here, too.

After working on the wall, I repainted the wooden welcome gate at La Gavina. Sergio and Lorena use Sunflower oil to coat, freshen and darken the wood. It smells good and Lana was licking it off of the gate as I painted it on. This kind of work I can manage - actually it's right up my alley - not too heavy, but manual nonetheless. While I worked the couple who stayed at the B&B last night emerged with their son who must be 4. He was afraid of Lana! Incidentally, he had a run-in with two (large - 4 ft., 3 in. diameter) snakes this morning and those didn't bother him in the least. How interesting. I explained that Lana's not scary even if he's afraid of dogs because she's not really a dog, just a lady trapped in a dog's body. I think that really confused him and around now he's probably asking his parents about the she-dog. Oops. Once finished with the painting, I hung the laundry to dry. Then I sat down to draw a bit.

At breakfast Sergio and I talked about agriculture, and how quickly the climate and the terrain are changing. He said that from one year to the next they can no longer predict what they will be able to grow and how different types of foods will react to the evolution that seems to be happening faster than ever. He said that they experiment a lot, but what works one year may very well not work another year. They also have a problem with certain birds eating fruit off their trees - this is a new problem now because these birds used to have to migrate for part of the year and now they live locally all year round.

After lunch I sat down with Lorena while she cleaned some lettuce for tonight's B&B guests. She asked me if I feel ready to leave. I said I am because I know that the time is right but I will be sorry to leave her and Sergio, which is how I feel. We had a long talk, and she explained to me how it came to be that she left her city life to live at La Gavina.

Lorena grew up in Crete Senesi,  and her father was a farmer. Her father hoped that she would leave the farm and work in the city. After school she took a job at the bank here, Monte de Paschi, which is the top one around. She knew when she took the job that it wasn't the life she wanted but she thought it was the right thing anyway so she did it. 22 years later, she was still at the same job. Around then, she found a lump in her leg. Doctors wanted to operate to amputate her leg, but she felt convinced that it was a benign lump. After endless tests (which she insisted on having), this was confirmed. The only problem was that she still could not walk. A friend told her to go to a massage therapist, and after some time there, and with alternative medications, the lump got smaller. At that point, though, she decided to change her life. She felt that she hadn't been listening to her instincts, or doing what she needed to do, and what she wanted was to be working with her hands in some way, to be doing manual labor. Three months after her first visit to the massage therapist, Lorena quit her job at the bank. Within a year later, she and Sergio bought La Gavina. To me, Lorena seems like the wise woman of Siena, or the oracle at La Gavina.

Before dinner, Doro and Cece came to visit with Emeliano, their father. Doro and I prepared the pasta for tonight's dinner at the B&B. After that, Lorena and I finished making dinner together. We made two types of bruschette (traditional and one with ricotta and olive tapenade), two types of pasta (tomato sauce/butter & sage), turkey, and English soup for dessert. Tonight's guest are from Holland, and they speak English but not Italian, so I served and acted as the resident translator for Lorena. Sergio was out today and tonight buying bees so that La Gavina can begin making honey again! (They stopped doing so for a while because the bees were in trouble - I think that there was a disease that killed many of them). Sergio usually serves dinner and speak with the guests but tonight it was me. That was fun. I'm also so happy that Lorena let me make the pasta for dinner!

So, tomorrow is my last day at La Gavina and I will be sure to post with a final note.