And whatever else comes along...

Busy times around Bella Baita these days. We've had a cool watery spring that has held us back from getting out garden in and so we are trying to make up for lost time or as we used to say in my part of the midwest, make hay while the sun shines. Having said that, our mountain garden tends to get put out quite a bit later than the valley as our temperatures and weather is just so much more unpredictable, so in some ways we aren't so terribly behind. Although when we go into the market and there is so much there early on and even all through the winter, it kind of makes me wonder how mountain people really did survive in the mountains in the old days. I am sure that some years, they didn't. In our little neighbor hood they use to keep a few cows or goats, so they had butter and cheese and lots of savoy cabbage, leeks and potatoes, now repeat. Springtime must have been such a welcome relief with dandelion, nettles and various other greens and porcini mushrooms poking up through the grey earth with a splash of color and enlivening the daily cooking pot after what might have been a long long winter.
This year we have entered a new phase by becoming members of Wwoof,  World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. That's a mouthful for sure, but it is a win win situation for people that could use a helping hand with their agricultural endeavors as well as provide room and board and useful experiences for someone wanting to live, learn and work close to the land with people wo are already living this life. It can be experienced all over the world. The organization started in the UK in 1971, by a woman  who wanted to have access to the countryside and thought others like herself might want to do so as well. You can read more about the history of Wwoof here. Her idea took root, evolving and spreading thoughout the world creating a world wide network of people dedicated to sharing their knowledge, work and homes, striving to not harm the environment but to sustain and nurture it along the way. We have some ideas ourselves about how we want improve and expand our gardent as well as incorporating a few animals and an extra set of hands is most welcome.

Rachel replanting peas

Rachel is our first helper on our new venture and arrived a week ago today. She has already made herself an integral member of our family and we're happy and honored to have her join us here at Bella Baita. She's hard at work with Fabrizio down at the garden right now as I write this post. I'm in charge of keeping everyone fed and fueled up, so I need to sign off and get that done now. I just wanted to make sure to welcome Rachel and share with you my readers some of the things that comes along on our way.  Rachel is here for about a month and then we have another young American coming our way and possibly someone else after that. Still to be determined. It another set of interesting people that we are happy to meet and share some time with. Maybe one of these days you'll find your way to our door as well. More stories to follow as we work our way down the road. If you want more specific information about the Italian program that we are involved with you can check out their newly revamped website here, Wwoof, Italia.

Cin cin..trying porcini and quince paste for the first time