THE MUD

NOV. 18TH 2012

Just when I thought I have pushed my body to its' limits---it rains.  Which makes mud.  It rains about only 3 times per year here.  The soil in the olive garden is rich and fluffy and soft.  Add enough water to it and what you have is a heavy paste that clings to your shoes/boots and ultimately adds about 3-6 lbs. to each foot.  So walking in it becomes very tough.  Then add the weight of 2 buckets of olives, each weighing between 40 and 50 lbs and you've got a struggle.  All of this is apart from getting this mud all over yourself; in your hair, on your face and all over your clothes- within the first 1/2 hr.  The first day of this (after getting 1 1/2 days off to rest) I wore my garden shoes.  After about 1/2 hr. the mud had started to come to the top of the shoe and up my leg.  The second day I wore my rubber boots.  It takes at least 1/2 hr. after coming home to rinse and rinse and rinse the mud out of my clothes.  I hose my boots off at the farm.  And it's kind of reddish in color so stains my pretty pink shirt.  Next week should be better after having a couple of days to dry out.
Today I have off.  Andrea and I rented really nice mountain bikes for the day.  We will ride to the train station for Monopoli with the bikes and ride along the sea back down to Carovigno.  I know it will not rain.