Spring gets seriously underway, finally

 

Spring seemed to hold it's breath for awhile as it's been cool and slow coming, until it seemed to not be able to contain itself anymore and has gone into fast forward. These are our wild cherry trees out front of our house. Lovely aren't they?

I'm still working hard to revamp our web site so have been absent from consistent blogging lately.  I thought I would share a few spring images from the neighborhood to celebrate this verdant time of the year.

Anyone know what these are specifically? I always call them spring orchids, due to the leaves which are like the more recognizable orchids that will be coming along shortly, like these below.

Little wild orchids are just so exciting to me and I love their appearance every year. We have quite a few in the neighborhood. I will be looking forward to the progression of the spring wildflowers.  What are some of the harbingers of spring for you in your part of the world?

Happy May Day or Labor Day

Although May Day has been celebrated in a variety of ways as a bit of homage to spring with May pole dances and that sort of thing. May Day here in Italy is a bank holiday celebrating the common worker and an opportunity for the political parties, in particular the Communist party to have a bit of a rally. It's been a long holiday weekend with all our local second home owners, spending the weekend in their "Baitas" working in the garden, putting out the flowers, tidying up the yard with general maintenance after the winter. Our 2 local Osterias have been busy all weekend with large parties and the 1st communion luncheon season commencing, so the activity level in Serre Marchetto has gone from sleepy to buzzing. Tommorrow everyone is back to work and our tranquil little borgata goes back to sleep till the weekends again.

Venti Cinque Aprile

The 25th of April is a bank holiday here in Italy which commemorates the liberation of Italy by the allied forces during WWII. I have been struck whilst living in Europe, repeatedly, by the fact that the wars of Europe are never very far from the surface of the collective European memory of the suffering and hardship that war brings to the innocent. It's always a humbling and reflective moment for me who has been privileged enough to live free. I just want to give thanks to so many who have sacrificed their lives so that I am able to enjoy another beautiful spring day in our Italian alps. So, I've been thinking about another liberation day that was celebrated here in Italy this year and wondering how to put it into my blog. This celebration took place 12 April 2007 in Corleone, Italy. It was a town celebrating their liberation from the shadow of mafia violence and intimidation with the arrest of Mafia Don Bernardo Provenzano, who had eluded capture for 43 years. "Some 150 local students staged a “freedom run” from the centre of the Sicilian hilltown - made famous by the Godfather movies - down to the broken-down farmhouse where the Mafia chief was caught on April 11, 2006 after 43 years on the run."
Read the rest of the article in the online UK magazine "Italy".

Corleone is the nondescript Sicilian town that gave its name to the protagonist in Mario Puzo’s epic novel, The Godfather

It's been a fascinating story that broke last year upon his arrest. I was struck by how modest his life on the run was, as they showed the "farm house" where he had lived for many years which wasn't really much more than a shed. Far from the images conjured up by the movies of a comfortable, luxurious lifestyle. Hardly! They showed how he made his own cheeses and tried to make most of his own food to keep from being poisoned. He never used phones, only messages sent by messengers. His identity wasn't well known as it emerged that he had had facial surgery to disguise his identity and then later killed the doctor who performed the surgery to keep his identity unknown a number of years ago. Ruthless man and system quite a relief for the locals indeed. Read more about his capture here.
So here's to freedom for all and a lovely spring day!