Reflections on My 40 Years in Umbria

This has been a wet April, one of the wettest I remember, at least in the number of days of rain, if not in actual total rainfall. As Plinio Il Vecchio wrote over 2000 years ago, Italy is subject to "long, alternate phases of weather". How true this is! It is very unlikely to have a sporadic rainy day interrupt a prolonged stable period of good weather...and the opposite is just as true.

We awakened to a sunny Sunday morning, knowing that with all probability it would soon give way to clouds and rain.

delicate beauty in the garden

adorable Virgola - Little Miss Tag-Along

We ventured out for a walk around our garden, shocked to see the degree and speed of growth of all plants and shrubs...and weeds! Normally we don't pick flowers from our flowering shrubs, leaving them in place to enjoy on walks in the garden. But since this wet weather is expected to continue for at least another week, we decided to bring them in for pleasure.

We picked mostly armfuls of fragrant, dewey-fresh lilacs, gracing various rooms with their beauty and delicate fragrance.

beautiful lilacs

Today's picking so vividly and fondly reminded me of Florence: of bringing home from Il Mercato di Sant' Ambrogio (after lunch at Cibreo) an enormous armful of lilacs which scented Marica's apartment for a week. As we left Cibreo the outdoor market was closing: the vendor called to us, "Belle donne-fiori per voi" and sold them to us for a pittance, something like 2,000 lire. Happy memories. The glories of spring in Umbria...and lilacs.