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THE OLIVE HARVEST 2012 IN PICTURES


Dressing up the olive trees.
Olive grove during olive harvest


Fishnet tights for everybody in the grove. 
Olive harvest with olive nets in Tuscany


No olive harvest without the proper tools. 
Tools and nets for the olive harvest in Italy


Barefoot picking. October 2012, the hottest olive harvest ever.






Life on the olive tree.


The first case of olives. Now we're talking.
a case with green and black olives ready for the olive press



































Approaching tree number two. 
Combing the trees. Olive harvest in Tuscany


"How to get up there?". The main concern of every serious picker.
Ladder: a must during manual olive picking.


Ladder or straight forward tree climbing? 
Olive picking from on top of the tree


And as a last resort...
Combs: perfect tools for manual olive harvest


After all the hard work - time for contemplation.
Combs, green olives and nets during Tuscany's olive harvest


And more contemplation...
Cat, olives and nets during olive picking in Italy


Things are starting to look good.

Ancient olive tree and cases of olives ready to go



Less than last year, but enough to get us through the next 12 months.
Cases filled with olives waiting to be transported to a Southern Tuscan olive press


Yet another reason for that backache.
The long way to the olive press: Getting the olive cases from grove to lorry


Every tree picked. Time to pack up.
Rolling up the olive nets at the end of the harvest



The end of a long romance.
Weighing in... olives at the olive press.


The olive press. Where technique is taking over.

Night shift at the olive press in Tuscany



The first oil pouring in. Worthy of a Rothko. 
EVOO: olive oil fresh from the press


That color! Sheer Tuscan pride. 
A bottle of Tuscany's incredibly green extra virgin olive oil.


Nothing like that first bruschetta right after picking. 
Bruschetta: Toasted Tuscan bread, garlic and finest extra virgin olive oil.


Looking for a few words explaining the whole process? Read my guide to the olive picking for dummies

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