Festa della Donna (International Women's Day) and a day out

March 8th is International Women's Day when a mutual bond as women is expressed and celebrated.  On this day, La Festa Della Donna, there's been a custom for many decades in Italy of giving a bouquet of mimosa as a sign of respect and solidarity as well as remembering and pledging support for women worldwide who are living in oppressive societies and/or experiencing difficult working conditions.

The mimosa (acacia dealbata) was chosen because the flowers are out in early March and, therefore, easy to gather and give as a gesture of friendship on this day.

On a beautiful sunny day we went for a drive to the local town of Isola del Liri. As the name suggests, Isola del Liri is surrounded by the water of the River Liri so that it's a town on an island. (More pictures of our walk around the town another time). After a walk and a coffee we came back to our village for a lunch at Caio Mario Hotel and Restaurant.

Our time in Italy (1)

Since we had planned to go to Italy this month to do some work around the house, particularly on the land, we were hoping for some good weather.  Having left snowy conditions in Yorkshire, the thought of warmer weather was an attractive one!

We had an unusually foggy start on our first morning, but once the mist had lifted we could get on with what needed to be done in the way of maintenance and gardening.  One of the first priorities was to do some work on the entrance gate which slides across on a runner and needed a replacement wheel.  Fortunately we know folk who work in most trades locally and the job was soon done. We were pleased to see that the grass had not grown over the Winter so the general tidying up on the land was started as well as the pruning of the vines and fruit trees.

During our first week the weather was generally very good, although one night we had very strong winds and rain and work outside had to stop for a day. Apparently other areas in the region and further north were hit by the dangerous storms and many trees and buildings were badly damaged. We ourselves had one tree that had blown over during the Winter and had to be dealt with.  Other fruit trees needed pruning of dead wood, but would become useful firewood.  Whilst the weather was unsuitable for working outside there was another essential job that needed doing inside, which my husband could do himself, which was to replace a wooden beam in the roof space.........

A long way from Henley-on-Thames in the UK, but the umbrella is still useful.

A dead tree leaning near the electric cable needed cutting down.

                                        Pine cones from the fir tree we had cut down in October are good for                                                                               boosting up the fire.