A rebuild of our swimming pool has been underway since we closed for our harvest in October. What's that saying about the road to hell...

My father was a serious person, una persona seria. That much was clear to all who met him, on both sides of the pond. Some went as far as...

Left to right in the above photo are my sons Elio (20), Sam (4), and Max (6) along with yours truly (soon 59). Behind us is most of...

For some years, well before I took over the day-to-day management of Poggiosole in 2021, the thick aerial telephone line crossing our...

Starting this fall we will be "taking back" about 200 trees from a cooperative that, in exchange for caring for them, has for the past 20...

Last September I decided that every year, 5% of Poggiosole's gross August receipts would go to a good cause. Our first "summer...

In 2021 90% of Poggiosole's bookings came via the eponymous (and ubiquitous) online Dutch travel agency . In 2022 about half our...

Exactly one year ago I kicked off this blog with Hot . I'd always enjoyed writing, and for about 10 years of my life I earned my living...

Stormy skies have been all too rare here this summer. This wouldn’t be a problem were it not for the fact that they’ve been rare since...

Yesterday, from 10:23 AM until just after 6 PM, Poggiosole lost all electric power. For 7 hours and 45 minutes not only were our...

This post is not about central banks, not specifically. But the high inflation and rising interest rates that have been in the news are...

Following news of record temperatures in the UK (hitting 40.2°C at Heathrow airport) and the wildfires devastating land and property in...

Having nearly conquered my entomophobia (in my younger years, most any bug would creep me out ), at age 58 I have not yet found a place...

First of all, apricotti is not Italian for apricots... that word is albicocche . But I'm looking for something to celebrate, and I'm...

Relative to historical averages, rainfall in the Chianti fiorentino (the part of rural Tuscany we are situated in) is down around 65%...

If my dad had lived another year, today he and my mom would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. The above photo, with the...

Yesterday we rolled out 15 metric tons of new gravel in Poggiosole's parking area and driveway. The work followed an even more...

The cuttings from 71 olive trees make for quite a woodpile. Olive wood and in particular olive leaves and buds are extremely flammable;...

Over the past week, we’ve had several days of long-awaited rain. Stretches of steady drizzle building, ebbing, returning. Though not the...

Snip snip snip. It’s pruning time. This year and next we’ll be cutting deeper than most, hoping to goad our plants into pushing back with...