Tired of sunset pix? here's dawn

4 ottobre
Happy St. Francis Day! Luisa, our classmate from the master's program and I took a big trip through the northern part of Ascoli Piceno and got comfortably lost and saw lots of cute little towns without meaning too. We also found our prime objective, Fermo and a caseificio or cheese maker near Montebello Piceno. I got up at dawn for reasons unknown and shot a quick couple of fotos for the blog, then cleaned another room so that now we have all rooms ready to go. We have 2 rooms of americans this weekend and of course that means I will be gone! But, I have a good excuse as I am going to Rome to be a one day tour guide for the Sullivans who arrive tomorrow.. I can't wait!
We have started the rippatura or deep plowing of our other 8.6 acres so they will be ready to plant in the Spring.
The cheese producer we visited makes some incredible ricotta and an aged cheese I really like called spina rossa, and a mozzarella from cows, not buffalo, which I actually liked as well. Mozzarrella has never been my favorite type of cheese, but this was very nice.
Yesterday we visited Offida and Luisa got to meet my favorite producer of lace or Merletto as they call it here. The church pic is of the dome of the cathedral of Fermo dedicated to the ascension of Mary and shows her between Gabriel and Michael, I think.
I should mention, unfortunately the cows who make the really nice "unpasteurized" cheese (so far, so good) are kept in stalls and fed hay all year round because the buying public wants their cheese to always taste the same (che peccato- what a sin). If you come visit, I will make sure you get to try some cheese from free range animals whether they be sheep, goats or cows and we will try some cheese from april or may when the mountain flowers are being eaten by the animals and compare that to summer grazing of just grass or december cheese when they are eating hay in the stall and you can really tell the difference.
Oh well, piano a piano or slowly maybe these things will change some more for the better.
ciao, more this weekend after Rome.
dds