We have been running non-stop lately. With the warmer weather comes the daily grind of chores in and around the orchard. Everything is growing quickly and profusely and we struggle just to keep up.

The olive bloom is finished for this year. The bloom was very strong with large bunches of flowers on the end of each twig on the tree. I don’t recall any previous flower set that could compare with this year’s. (Well, two years ago, the bloom was very nearly as good, but the weather took that bloom far too quickly.) There are already tiny olives developing on the trees as I write this. Many are about 2mm in diameter and growing quickly.

Tiny Olives

The weather, especially the harsh wind, has been rather unpredictable this year. The timing for the recent rains and our mini heat wave were right in the middle of the bloom, so we’ll see how the crop set goes. If I had to guess, I’d say that we’re in for another small harvest…

Mother Nature sure is making this difficult.