First, she was introduced to an olive tree - a very very small one - by friend and farm owner, Jean:

Before long, there was no stopping her (or the dogs):

Then she discovered you use a net to catch the olives that you knock from the tree when picking (and for the dog to rest on):

Then you need a refreshment break, a slug of Bianco di Toscana:

Then you flash your 45th basket of picked olives:

Which is nothing compared to a fraction of the load picked yesterday by the pros (slightly out of focus because some nong set the camera to macro):

They pressed the first of this season's olives very recently, and here's the result:

The colour is astonishing. Interestingly, after a dry summer and a wet autumn, the oil doesn't have the customary, pronounced peppery taste associated with Tuscan oil. But, I have to tell you, it still tastes rather nice!

Oh, and while I was out in the fog with the camera, I snapped Jean and Aziz's house that has taken two years, three builders, much anguish and an enormous amount of stress to renovate. They've finally moved in, even if it isn't 100% completed:

Now I'll nick over to the other thread and post some vegie picks.

Ciao!