Today we started the olive harvest. We managed to do the two biggest trees on the land, which are the ones next to my truck.They are very old and quiet majestic and I love having them next to me. But when it comes to harvesting the olives, we certainly have our work cut out for us.
The two trees took 6 hours to harvest, with a team of 7 people. There were 3 people were up in the trees and 3 on the ground. I stay on the ground as I need to be available if my girls need me, which they did quiet often today. In total, we managed to harvest around 400kgs of olives from those 2 trees, which is not bad at all.
Action Shot that's me in the red, working muscles I haven't worked in a while, no wonder I am aching.
The olives will be pressed for oil and it is one of the best oils around. These trees are in their natural state and are rarely pruned. I will work with them for 3 days and hope to get at least 25 litres which will last me for about 6-7 months.
My arms and neck now ache and I feel very tired, but I really enjoyed the physical side of the work. I know I will sleep really well tonight.
Two of my girls helping out. After beating the branches with long sticks, it is always nice to sit down and sort out the olives. The first time I done this, I remember I removed the leaves and all, not realizing that they are blown out in the mill. It is very meditative, especially if I get to sort them out by myself.
We were all pretty happy with the amount we collected from the first tree, I find it so satisfying to be able to start a job and complete it, something that is a rarity for me these days.
Wanted to finish off with another action shot of me, taken by my eldest daughter.This is going to be me for the next 3 days. I suspect I will be dreaming of olives for the next few nights also! And at the end of it all, I will have silky soft hands from handling the olives and the best olive oil around!
8 Pillars of TribeSteemUp
