The Olive Saga

This year, whilst admiring the bounty of the trees in our garden it made all possible sense to honour it completely so it was easy to decide to take over the once done by someone else task, of picking the olives to get our own olive oil made. 

My dear friend Joana also felt the same way about her mum's olive trees, which were beautifully full and ripe and were not being picked by anyone else this year. So we joined forces and for the very first time decided it is our turn to tend to this generous harvest.

We asked our friends to come and lend us a hand and just like the trees' abundance so was the help we were offered. 

Logistics could have been an issue, as we needed a lot of bags, baskets, nets, olive picking forks, gloves, saws, cans and cars to transport it all... But none of this was missing since one way or another someone had what was needed. 

Meals were also a cause for organization, since picking olives and at the same time providing meals for over 10 people had to be synchronized so as not to take up precious time needed for the harvest and still be as delicious and loving as we always enjoy to provide. Yet, this too got itself organized in our natural flow, seamlessly and perfectly.

And so it was that with enthusiasm, inspiration, joy, love and endless gratitude we started out our 3 days of olive picking with a team of 3 (Pedro, Joana and I) that unfolded into 4, 5, 6 and then 10 on the first day, 6 on the second and 11 on the last day to pick what came to be over a ton of olives!

There were moments when it was a bit too hot, sometimes we felt exhausted but then we just bounced back into the flow of it and with each other's joy we pulled it through so that what we had initially thought to be no more than 600 kg turned into double!

Ah it felt so good to caress the olives, the branches, the leaves, to feel the land whispering life and the whole atmosphere of heartwarming enchantment, just like a team of human fairies tending to the elements of nature in order to keep the balance of giving and receiving in its dancing infinity.

On the 4th day we rested and on the 5th we gathered all of the dozens of bags brimming with happy olives into our cars, with Pedro taking the greater part in his pickup and off we went for our first experience at the olive press.

Woah! There sure were lots of people there! All waiting to hand in their olives too. The staff were in such a good mood, it was a pleasure to watch them work with precision and efficiency, no rush, just flow.

And so we waited, patiently, happily and gratefully for being at such an abundant place where the fruit of each one's orchards is transformed into golden green elixir. Like a huge alchemy production line where the land's grace is honoured every single moment.

We were number 6.... And the number was still at 83 so we left some of the olives in large crates, came home for lunch and then went back for more waiting. The straw bales seemed to me like the perfect place to sit and then lie for a short nap, feeling the serene breeze on my skin, the scent of the olives filling my nostrils... Hmmmm the soft comfort of a natural "bed", nothing else to do but enjoy the experience fully.

Our time eventually came to pour our olives into the big machine that sorts out the leaves and washes them before they can go into the olive press. 

Five big crates were filled, the cans and large bottles handed in and 24 hours later 150 litres of olive oil awaited us! 

Wow! Is all we could say and the peace in our hearts, coupled with the joy, love and gratitude overflowed with warm smiles of "Thank you!" and "We made it!".

Now, this olive oil is special. It is special not only because of all of the love we poured into it together whilst picking and tending to the whole process, but also because it is made from at least 3 qualities of olives from 2 different areas, so its colour, taste and consistency is very unique.

I continuously experience this magic of blending together and always it yields more than any kind of exclusive approach. A constant materialization of Human and Divine merged into a whole new landscape of possibilities that neither one could be without this blend. And so it is with friends, family, the land, life, all. When coming together as a new collective one, we always bring forth the most beautiful and bountiful loving miracles of creation.

Now back to the olive picking saga.... After collecting the olive oil there was still work to be done. Washing the bags and nets, collecting the branches off the grass, preparing them for cutting and later on in the year the trees will have to be pruned once again, so the sequence of bounty continues. 

And amidst all of this, the persimmon trees kept on yielding so much fruit, that my creative taste buds were delighted to come up with new ways of conserving them for other times of the year when there are none. And so it has been that amidst the olive experience, the persimmon one has blended also and still there are quinces to take care of, for these also are yielding on and on and I enjoy expressing my gratitude by receiving their generosity and transforming them into something edible all year round.

A tremendous gift of country life is the simple joy of silent appreciation, where the seasons cascade upon each other and provide a vastness of colours, tastes, scents, sounds and tactile feelings that warm the heart and the soul and remind us in each breath that we are this. We are all of this. 

Blissful grace. Blessed to be blessed by Life. By the Wholeness in All. This is my permanent state of Grateful Love. Joyfully experiencing Being Here, Now. 

So thank you! Thank you all of the friends who came to participate in this dance. Thank you to Mother Nature. Thank you to our Aliveness, to God, to the Human allowing, to everything and everyone here. Thank you!

My heart constantly beats I Love You and so I offer this to you too. 

A very special thank you to Joana who always dances these waltzes of bounty with me, and to Pedro who offers his love and precious help unconditionally, to Jenni and Pedro who said yes to the whole experience and came along for the full length of the 3 days, to my mum for providing the land and her beautiful presence and help, to Joana's mum for providing her land and help too. Thank you!

And Alice Van Royen who happened to come over with Julie in-between the persimmon saga, thank you for your super delicious suggestions! They sure got my imagination going rogue and a new persimmon jam, cakes, crumbles and upcoming Hoshigaki (Japanese Dried Persimmons) have since been produced or are underway. 

I have not yet mentioned that on the heaviest days of olive picking our SPA moment and what got our body back on track for the following day, were our dives into the nearby lake. There is such bliss to be experienced in this huge body of water that is thriving with life! Such a cleanser, booster and pacifier. I just can't get enough of these swims in my beloved lake so a big big thank you to you too! And to the sunrises and sunsets that kissed our eyesight with feelings of awe before the grandness colouring the skies. Thank youuuuuu!

Thank you to the Lagar de Azeite São Dorninho, Carvalhal Pequeno, for the excellent work too!