Sunday, April 3, 2011

Olive Branches

Well, really, olive trees.  I bought four young olive trees (about 3 feet high) from craigslist.  I need to plant them today.  I am pretty excited to find a variety that will do well up here.  Apparently, they are tolerant of vog, too, which is great!

The young couple from whom I bought them said they've brined a few off their own trees, and they are delicious, but they haven't done any pressing for oil.  I will need to do research.  It is going to take a good 2 years until we get olives, so I have plenty of time to learn.

I never did get to the marmalade yesterday - I realized I had only two weekends left to do taxes.  So while my husband dug out the chicken run and raised the roof on it so we don't have to bend down to get inside, I tackled the taxes. I think I would rather shovel chicken manure, frankly.

It's funny, because since he's been home for a few weeks, he's been helping out with feeding in the morning.  This is a big help, because going to work with mud (and worse) splashed on my pants is less than professional.  Before feeding for a week or so straight, he thought I was exaggerating the ram issue.  Now, I notice that bitter tone that always creeps into my voice when talking about dealing with sheep when Elvis is around is creeping into his.  We absolutely didn't pet or coddle our ram lambs, so they are, thankfully, a little wary of us.  Elvis is affectionate, unafraid, and inclined to ram at the smallest provocation.  

Today is the church and Confirmation classes.  That means the whole morning is pretty much gone (only a month and a half until the actual Confirmation!) and I have to hear people complaining about that...and then have to come back and finish the taxes and fiddle a bit in the greenhouse and grade papers.  What I really want to do is take a nap!  9 weeks until summer, and hopefully, my son will have his license so he can drive himself to pre-season cross country training....and no one is dying to go to summer school, or anything like that.

10 comments:

Lisa Mi said...

Olive trees! Olive oil would be divine, and in Hawaii! Then you could infuse it with other flavors from Volcano,or not. As usual, i am in awe of everything you're doing! Hope to visit soon to see all the new additions.

Leigh said...

I think it's so great you can grow olive trees! I bought my DH an olive seedling for his birthday, but it will have to live in a pot. :( If we can get some olives to brine, I'll be happy!

Sounds like you need a good long nap. You've really got a lot going on.

NancyDe said...

Lisa, are you coming over for Merrie Monarch? Are you competing this year? Olive oil looks complicated, but I am sure we'll figure it out after some trial and error - if the trees do as well as the seller says they will! They are harvesting some, so it should be doable.

Leigh, I always need a nap - but the baking and the laundry (and the grading) always need to be done, too - always a toss up. Sleep only wins when I start to do stupid things due to exhaustion.... I read that olive trees do okay in pots, actually.

Grandpa said...

Are they cuttings? I wish I can grow Olives here. I'm trying Avocado too.

NancyDe said...

Grandpa, I suspect they started their lives as cuttings, but they are rooted saplings now.

I have tried growing avocado from seed, but the grafted one from the nursery is doing better than anything "home grown". My neighbor throws his pits in a big bucket of compost, hoping something will grow - they tend to get about 4 feet high and then die.

I love olives/olive oil and avocado, so I am hoping for success someday!

NancyDe said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lisa Mi said...

Nancy - I think I will be in next year's MM, if the old bones & brain can still handle it. The men are competing this year. I'll be going up with the halau, so I'll play it by ear as to schedule - I'm told we pretty much follow whatever they do. So, unfortunately, my visit will probably be later.

NancyDe said...

I thought if you, or your halau, were competing, you wouldn't really have time....

Every year I tell myself I am going to get there early enough on Wednesday to actually get in, but I never do. One year, I went as far as to stand in line for an hour and a half, but didn't make it in after all.

I thought I would make it over to Oahu for part of Spring Break, but it didn't happen.

Chai Chai said...

Olive trees sound wonderful. With all the volcano's in Italy it makes sense that the vog wouldn't bother them.

Our Killarney is like your Elvis, dangerous while trying to be lovable - not an easy problem to deal with.

NancyDe said...

Chai Chai, when I read your post about Killarney I thought he sounded like Elvis... sometimes I am not able to respond on blogs because my internet slows down and it won't process the request.