Looking like an excited cat that has swallowed the canary, Jody gave us her news. The orto in the middle of town, right outside their house, which has been neglected for the past 2 years, the garden we’ve all had our eyes on, the little piece of outdoor space that we’ve coveted and schemed over, well, we could go ahead and use it.
What???
The Bruschi family owns the little piece of land in the center of the village and word is that Signor Quinto Bruschi (he was the fifth child and his name is really Quinto) couldn’t sell or part with the plot until his mother and aunt departed this world. Although they are both in their nineties they are still strong as tree trunks, so the garden was a distant dream, a scheme for the future.
The day before Jody and Tom were leaving Montone, Jody ran into Quinto and just casually asked him if we could cultivate or use the plot. He said sure. Jody said we would rent it from him, and how much did he want for it. He said he didn’t want anything…and just like that we have an orto.
It’s completely overgrown and sorely in need of a goat or two to mow it down, and it’s late in the growing season, but we have an orto! I think we are all in a state of disbelief that we have such good fortune and that whoa! it is one fine mess right now. 
Of course this being a medieval village and Signor Bruschi having medieval roots, I think as share croppers we have to give him a good share of our yield. And we need to get something in the ground before John and Libby show up. Yes, the orto is big enough that sharing the work is a great idea!
We’ve been watching the sun patterns on the plot for the past few days, and any day now we’re going to get in there and start whacking some of those intimidating weeds.
An orto. That’s amazing.
See, don’t we just look the part of gentleman farmers??
