Chianti - Day 5 and 6

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Day 5 and 6
Montevarchi was a surprise. Several large shops including a Hypermarket, DIY stores and plant nurseries.
We zoomed around the Hypermarket to get some quick provisions and then headed for the DIY store OBI.
The house owners also showed us around a lovely nursery which displayed some stunning orchids. This is where we will purchase the Geraniums the owners prefer to have planted around the pool every year. – This year the colour theme will be purples and lilacs, my favourite!
We also purchased some lovely smelling lavender and rosemary plants to replace some of the casualties from the cold weather alongside the drive to the house.

In the afternoon Jaime and I headed out to free the rest of the olives trees from the ‘suckers’ and believe it or not the sun came out to see us for an hour.
I really enjoyed taking care of the trees, very therapeutic work.

Jaime then solved the mystery of a non functioning light by the vine terrace (cable mistaken for vine and cut through by the looks of things) and we trimmed a few pines to try and prevent any foliage from entering a drainage channel.
Oh and I forgot to mention that the owners purchased a lovely dual control electric blanket for us – toe curlingly toasty!

Today it has been pouring with rain again. We sat down with the owners to go through a list of questions we had accumulated and discuss what their requirements are for the next two months.
Their list was set out by regular tasks and week by week projects which makes it very clear for us to understand what their expectations are – all outdoor projects are really subject to weather as we are heading for the Tuscan storm season. The house has been struck by lightening previously so Jaime has thought ahead and brought a surge protector for our laptops, but we have been advised that if lightening is on the horizon to unplug any electrical items and keep clear of the pool of course – I’m looking forward to some awesome lightening heading our way, hopefully not too close though.

Apart from that we have spent a little time cleaning the apartment and went for a walk to take some pictures as the rain decided on a short respite.
I have also started on my initial drawings of the flowers I have spotted in the grounds - will try my hand at some landscapes once the weather improves.

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