Thursday 23 August 2012

Still pressing!

I have just come back from the grove - Tania and I picked another 120 or so kilos of Mission.  The fruit is still sound, and I really needed some more robust oil to offer to my customers who like that style.  Everything else I have is mild and delicate - lovely oil, but for those that like bite in their salad dressing or for dipping, it isn't strong enough.  I got over 23 kilos of oil - that isn't a bad yield, considering the amount of rain we've had lately.  (you get less oil out of moist fruit).  Tania persuades me that we can get another press done, as she sees plenty of good fruit still.  My problem is storage. All the drums are full.  We are bottling as fast as we can.  I ran out of bottles and had to buy more, at the expensive rate as I couldn't quite afford to get a pallet load.  And now we have run out of labels!  (Though I could make use of the old ones for a while).  Selling the oil at my daughter's new shop is going well - we've had some lovely feed back.  And now daughter in law down in Denmark is going to see if her school market would be a good outlet - a possible choice for people would be sending down a drum which would allow people to buy as much as they like using their own containers.  I look forward to hearing how it goes today.  I think the first market is today...

Tuesday 7 August 2012

a little oasis in a time of uncertainty...

It was good to get down to the grove today for a brief visit.  Even though it was pouring in the morning I was able to open the hive in the afternoon and check on the bees.  They are still not doing much, all crowded over on one side of the brood box, so I won't put another super on top yet.  The grove is looking good, though soon it will be time to get out the slasher and give the lupins a hair cut.  After 10 years of cutting them they are not so vigorous.  I also noted some scale on some of the dryland trees, but it is no use spraying them until we have a few dry days - and after a very dry July, we have had a wet start to August!  Tania has been busy bottling and labelling oil.  We have so much I shall have to come up with some marketing ideas to keep it moving.
I felt at ease and happy down at the grove, by myself and with space and quiet around me.  It hasn't been a good week.  I have started back on chemotherapy, and Mum (nearly 95) died.  It wasn't unexpected, but leaves you shaken and empty.  Being at the grove gives you time for reflection.