And then spring arrived…

Sunday morning, 6 o'clock. For the first time, we are woken by the sun in our faces shining in through the bedroom window. It is the first time, because until now, you had to get out of bed to see the sun rise over the land.

With that blue sky, it looks like it's going to be a beautiful day. It seems the wind died down last night. Because that is one thing we have no shortage of here in the countryside: strong winds. In the morning it is usually not too bad, but during the course of the day you feel it picking up, sometimes to stormy levels. 

The weather has been nice for a few days now, around 23 degrees, and the forecasts look good. I have noticed, however, that the weather reports here offer no guarantees. Sometimes you get a notification on your phone that the rain in Cutrofiano will stop within 2 hours, even though not a drop is falling at that very moment. I think this also has to do with the unique location here. We are situated at the very tip of the heel of the boot, and within a 30-minute drive you can reach both the Adriatic and the Ionian Seas, depending on which direction you drive. 

All the trees on the land have now sprouted. Initially, we didn't know which fruit trees were on our land, but it looks like we will be well supplied with various types of fruit in the near future. I have already seen peaches, apricots, pomegranates, cherries, and lots of figs hanging on the trees. Quite a wide assortment, then. That means a lot of sharing and making jam.

The previous owners also turned out to have a fondness for various nut trees. There is a very large walnut tree on the land and several almond trees. I was initially afraid that the walnut tree was dead, but I heard from the neighbor that this tree turns out to be a late bloomer. 

We have put the creation of a vegetable garden on hold for the time being. We have, however, planted 10 pepper plants so that we can preserve the peppers in oil for the winter. A septic tank and a well will need to be installed during the renovations. We do not yet know where these will go, and before you know it, they will be digging in your newly laid-out vegetable garden.

Grass is currently growing like weeds (or is that not what you say about grass?). Due to the recent rain, we couldn't keep up with mowing, so it has now become a huge jungle of all kinds of grasses, weeds, and thistles.

In some places on the land, the grass reaches up to your waist and is virtually impossible to get through. In itself, it looks quite beautiful—those large swaying blades and the many colors of flowers and weeds—but we have been told that if you haven't mowed it before May 1st, you can get a hefty fine. This has to do with the risk of fire, at least, but it seems that the grass can also transmit a disease to the olive trees. 

I had hoped the neighbor could mow the grass with his tractor, because it is a very large area now and the grass is really very high. But the ground is still too wet and waterlogged for the tractor. So there is nothing else to do but take the lawnmower into my own hands. A little bit every day, and we have started on the street side.

When someone drives by, it looks just like we are neatly keeping our lawn tidy. From the road, they cannot see what a jungle it is at the back of the land. We still have some time, although we are starting to feel it physically. Especially tremendous muscle pain in our arms.

In the summer, all the grass disappears again. It is really a spring and autumn thing. That is why these are also my favorite seasons: everything is in bloom, the birds come out of their hiding places, the temperature is pleasant, and it gets light early and dark late. 

We live outdoors almost all day. You can sit in the sun occasionally, but you notice it gaining strength. You really will have to seek out the shade then, because your skin isn't used to it yet. And I'm not thinking about applying SPF 50 just yet, because for me, that's something that belongs to summer.

It is a paradise for the dogs here now. You see them roaming the land all day long, digging holes, and jumping through the tall grass. Sometimes you lose sight of them for a moment, but then they have dug a new hole somewhere to lie in, and you just have to search for them.

What currently keeps Bo, our youngest dog, fully occupied is the lizards that you see coming out of every nook and cranny. Unfortunately, Bo still hasn't managed to get these little critters to be just a bit faster than him and crawl away into anything. 

You can see the streets getting busier again too. Italians often tend to stay indoors during the winter. But now you see the first walkers and cyclists coming out again. Our dogs, but we too, still need to get used to that.

The dogs had a tendency to chase after passersby, and we weren't on guard against that for a moment. But now they are back to normal; they just lift their heads and take note. 

The villages are starting to come to life too; terraces are being occupied again, and the old gentlemen are sitting outside their men's clubs once more. You see people on the street taking the time to have a chat with each other again. There is always something special about a village waking up from its winter slumber like that.

Soon, when it gets hot, the Italians will retreat back into their homes and the tourists will take over. Then you will taste the holiday atmosphere in the villages again. That has its charm too, but I experience it differently now that I live here myself.

According to the Italians, you can also always tell by their clothing who is on holiday here. They are always recognizable by their shorts and T-shirts, whereas at that very moment, the Italians are still walking around in long sleeves and trousers. I often try to explain that if you come from the far north, you have a very different perception of warm and cold. For example, for a Dutchman or a Fleming, 23 degrees is already pleasant weather, whereas an Italian at these temperatures still hesitates whether or not to put on his jacket. In that respect, we are still dressed much more lightly than the average Italian, even though we have been living here for 5 years now. 

What people do find incomprehensible, however, is that we sleep under a duvet with the windows open for six months of the year. They don't know what duvets are, and having the windows open is absolutely 'not done'. In the winter, a blanket goes on the bed and the windows remain closed. The latter, by the way, is the case all year round, because people here are terrified of burglars. 

So the fact that we still sleep with the windows open in the countryside is simply unimaginable to them. But we don't experience that fear so much. The only thing we are sometimes afraid of is a cat accidentally jumping inside. That happened to us once, and I can tell you: our dogs and cats don't get along very well. So that was quite a spectacle at the time. The cat did survive, by the way.

The supply of vegetables and fruit is still nil. Here in the south, people live off what the seasons have to offer. In winter, that is often not much. However, that does mean people have a great deal of imagination when it comes to cooking. When it is artichoke season, they know how to prepare them in so many ways that it is flavorful every time. I have enormous admiration for that. We often ask for the recipe, but actually, there isn't one. They cook with whatever they have on hand at that moment and use their imagination. 

We also had to get used to the supermarkets here at the beginning of our emigration adventure. They don't have the range of products we were used to in the Netherlands. You can forget about strawberries or cucumbers all year round. Here in the south, very little is imported from other countries.

Only then do you realize how spoiled you have become in the Netherlands and what an abundance there is in the supermarkets. More large supermarkets have been opening recently. The arrival of Lidl and Coop, in particular, is an improvement. In the beginning, I found it difficult and took some getting used to that your choices in the supermarket were sometimes very limited. I would sometimes crave a bag of licorice or a smoked sausage so badly. But you get used to that too, and now I can be so happy if I come across a packet of rye bread or rollmops in a jar.

The choice of vegetarian meat substitutes is limited here. As a vegetarian, you really have to be inventive. Italy remains a country where a lot of fish and meat is eaten, and you are sometimes given strange looks if you say that you don't eat either.

Just two more weeks and it will be May. That is when the summer season really begins. The beach bars are opening again, the tourist villages are opening their shops and restaurants, and things are coming back to life.

The months July en August They are the busiest, as always. Then you have to fight for a parking spot by the beach and a place to lay down your towel. Since we’ve been living here, we’ve noticed that these aren’t our favorite months in Southern Italy anymore either, and we prefer to stay home. It is often too hot to do anything, and at home you have everything at hand and the luxury of a small pool.

What is fun, however, is going to the various parties in the villages in the evenings during that period. Because the Italians are good at summer festivals. There is always something to celebrate, whether it is the olive harvest or the season of the snails; they turn everything into a party. 

For now, we are enjoying spring. The winter clothes are in the box, and T-shirts and shorts can be worn again. How the summer will turn out this year is impossible to predict at this point. 

One thing is certain, soon you’ll hear every Italian on the street here complaining again about how hot it is. Because those are the two states they know: it’s either too hot or too cold. In that respect, they can certainly grumble about the weather.

So far, I think the summers aren't too bad. It's a matter of staying calm, just enduring it, and not constantly checking the thermostat to see how hot it actually is. Then it's all quite manageable. But I have noticed that there is definitely a difference in experiencing summer when you are on vacation somewhere or actually live in your vacation country.