Bah...Bah...White Sheep - Organic Lawn Mowers and “The Scientification of Love”

Salve tutti,
This is a remake of a blog entry that I wrote in April of 2010. It is relevant now as a prelude to my next blog entry entitled, "Jaky's Farm". So, I have taken the liberty.

Organic Lawn Mowers

Our three sheep, Queen Latifa, Lady Gaga and Babs (introduced in blog dated Jan 26th 2011) that Jaky brought home one day, were welcomed guests at Il Convento Mincione, since (as the idea was first presented to me) they would function as organic lawn mowers for the lower levels of the property - thus, saving lots of money.

Jaky promised me that they were not meant to be eaten and I believed him…until the day that he brought home a fourth sheep that we named Pasquale. By his name, you can see why I immediately became suspicious. I am not a vegetarian, but when you see these sweet little babies (as with all little babies) they penetrate your heart instantaneously...

The notion of falling in love with babies has been the subject of scientific study for the past ten years.
                             
In his beautiful book, “The Scientification of Love”, French obstetrician Michel Odent explains how Oxytocin, a hormone released by the pituitary gland stimulates the release of chemical messengers in the heart. Oxytocin,  which is essential during birth, stimulating contractions, and during lactation stimulating the ‘milk ejection reflex’, is also involved in other ‘loving behaviors’.  “It is noticeable that whatever the facet of love we consider, oxytocin is involved.’says Odent..(See referenced article “Science of Mother’s Love” below).

Some of you may be thinking - What about the growing number of stay-at-home Dads who are the primary caretakers of their children? Do men produce Oxytocin, too?  Check Google for numerous articles on the subject.  As always, your comments are welcome.

Back to Mincione and our four sheep...
The quartet grew rapidly in size. Their curly white mantles became dingy. And, they began to smell - no stink!
Our four sheep did such a good job of 'mowing' the lawn on the lower levels of the property that they started venturing up onto our piazza, (non ostante, the fence constructed to keep them out) in search of greener pastures and began to feast on the flowers as well - not to mention the droppings!

This happened once, twice... ten times. And, finally Oxytocin (Shcmoxytoxin - that's a New Yorkism), it was bye-bye girls and boy. We would have to think of another solution for the grass.

The Sheep Get the Boot (just one of many times)!

The awful sound you hear is the technique for moving sheep taught to me by a professional sheepherder. I usually try to speak in a more modulated tone. (My kids may think differently.) 

I am aware that a growing number of people reject any difference between the treatment of animals and people. I am not there yet, but I do understand the concepts behind this mode of thinking. If I were there, I would have to become a vegan. Many people do develop a sense of consciousness that leads them to become vegan; some at an early age - others later.

You never know. By the time you come to visit Il Convento Mincione, I may have made the leap. However, you, our guests, are welcome to do as you please. We have a giant BBQ adjacent to the piazza and there are hibachi BBQ’s available for each apartment.



Giant Wood Burning BBQ - Chicken Kebabs Anyone?

 Ciao for now. A presto!
Joan
References:
"Science of Mother’s Love"

Yesterday's Umbria... and the Inception of the Mediterranean Diet

Salve Tutti,
The weather has been pretty bad here in NYC for the past few days - light slushy snow and now some rain to hopefully wash everything away. I've been thinking about Mt. Acuto and the Etruscan temple at its summit. So, instead of eating too much, I started to do some research (which is so easy on the Internet now-a-days).

I have become fascinated by the question:

Just what’s so important about the Etruscans?

Here is what I have gleaned:
The Etruscans date back to the 11th -10th centuries BC (Notice how the numbers go backwards!).


Mt. Tezio viewed by me  and our guests from our pool (Lucky us!).

And, that is way, way back. That's more than 2,000 years before Il Convento Mincione was started.

The Etruscan city of Perugia, which is no more that 24km from Mincione, just to the other side of Mt. Tezio .

We have a comprehensive book of circular walks, which has been custom tailored for the Umbertide area, available in our guest library.  Mt. Tezio, which you can climb easily, is featured in the book. To let you know how gentle the climb to Mt. Tezio is, I even climbed half way up with my very good and very patient friend Penny and her beloved dogs.  Penny has been living in the area for a long time.  She is the spearhead of the enormously successful Umbrian dog rescue program, "Books for Dogs" .



Penny and her faithful dogs mid-way point Mt. Tezio.

  You can meet Penny and her partners at the Umbertide Market every Wednesday. (The very popular and colorful Umbertide Market is food for another blog post.)

Back to the Etruscans - Perugia sits high on a hill overlooking the Tiber River, and dates back to the 8th century BC. The Etruscans coveted this hill top position as strategic point for military and commercial reasons, and built walls made of blocks of travertine marble to fortify it. These walls, which still stand proudly today as a testament to the Etruscans engineering prowess, were later incorporated into the medieval defense system of the city and now have become an important tourist attraction, since the only thing that menaces the citizens of Perugia today are drugs and there seems to be little defense against them - they are dapertutto (wherever you go).

Okay, so you know that the Etruscans left defense walls. They also left necropoles (Greek plural: necropoleis; Latin plural: necropoles) dapertutto. The brochure from which I 'lifted' all this information, can be accessed by clicking on the History link found on the under our INFO section on Activities Page look for: More of what Umbria has to offer to visitors. (And, I encourage you to do it, because clicking around our website boosts our rankings on search engines).

One of the necropoli mentioned, Tomba del Faggeto, can be found directly across the valley from Il Convento Mincione (The brochure says it is in San Giovanni del Pantano, which is on the road that leads you to us, but the map indicates the position that is seen in the image below. I know the people who own the property on which  the tomba   is located.)

View towards Tomba del Faggeto from the terrace of apartment DIECI (Lucky them!)

Gloria Steinem - FYI (directed to some of my younger readers) -  one of those women who burned their bras in the 1960's, must have been impressed to know that Etruscan women enjoyed higher social status than their ancient contemporaries. Not only were Etruscan women included in festivals and taught to write, those of the aristocratic class were often buried with objects that conveyed the same symbols of power as those of the men, including scepters, thrones, belts, nuptial carriages, horse adornments and shields, as well as precious jewelry, hairpieces and clothing accessories. So, what's new?  They sound just like me and some of my friends, before I simplified my life at Il Convento Mincione. And, according to what I read about them in the article cited below, Etruscan women made our women's liberation movement look like child’s play. I don’t want to quote anything from it because this is a “G” rated blog, but you can go to the website where I found the info using the link below. (And, by the way the comparison with me and Etruscan women stops with the material stuff. And, I never burned a bra, either.)

The title of this entry is "Yesterday's Umbria... and the Inception of the Mediterranean Diet", I had better get to the diet part, before I lose you, my faithful audience. The concept of an Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) emerged in the 1990s, as a counterpart to the World Heritage that focuses mainly on tangible aspects of culture. In November of 2010, UNESCO added 'The Mediterranean Diet' to their list of ICHes.

On pages 23-24 of the History article they talk about Etruscan Cooking, which includes all of todays Umbrian favorites; Torta al testo, Strangozzi (thick pasta of flour and water rolled with a special technique),
Lamb...

...Wild Boar (proof of popularity is the "Oggi Porchetta" sign that hangs in the mini market window 365 days a year),Wine, Chestnuts (venerated every autumn at our very own festival in Preggio nearby - you remember the Luigi story! ( You see how you have to keep up with the blog or you'll feel like you missed something?); Olive Oil (Everybody still makes their own and is really proud of the color); and pulses.  A Pulse ( in Latin "puls" - I hadn't heard of them either) is an annual leguminous crop harvested solely for the dry seed. Pulses are an important food crops due to their high protein and essential amino acid content. Pulses also play a key role in crop rotation due to their ability to fix nitrogen; and, spelt.  Honey was their only sweetener. It has taken us very modern people 2,000 years to figure our what they knew back then.


Same night sky viewed by Etruscans more than 2,000 years back.

Have we made much progress?!? Please let me know what you think.


Ciao for now,
Joan

References:          
Etruscan society:
 Etruscans: An  Emancipated Society - The role of woman

WEDDINGS IN UMBRIA - UNIQUE, UNFORGETABLE …YET AFFORDABLE

Salve tutti,
The Royal Wedding is coming up and we are going to be advertising in BRIDES (UK) magazine's April - May Issue which will feature Weddings Abroad and especially Italy as a #1 destination. But, I just wanted to give you a sneak preview and share a little bit of what we offer couples looking for a uniquely personal wedding celebration. The Royal Couples Wedding will be unique and unforgetable, but certainly not affordable (duh!!).

Allora, at Il Convento Mincione, some couples choose to add a blessings ceremony to their civil ceremony.  These blessings are usually performed in our romantic 12th century medieval courtyard with its panoramic views of the Val Racchiusole.
This video peeking through the 13th century arch into the courtyard was made one Easter Sunday morning at 8:00 AM. I was the only one here. The day was quite overcast, but the thing I like the best about this clip is the sound of the birds chirping.                                                                                

The shot below was taken late one mild afternoon in September.  The couple and guests had a fabulous day and in this shot, the sun is just starting to set over the hills to the northwest.  That's the direction of Preggio about 10km distant (more about Preggio later...please read until the end).

                                         
An  intimate wedding celebration with a sumptuous, Italian country wedding banquet below...

And, yet another banquet table set up on the piazza in a U-shape overlooking the valley...

After the festivities couples like to visit the pool for a photo op...

And, when the big day is done, our California hot tub seems to be 'the' place to be...

 At 927 meters, Mt. Acuto is the tallest mountain in the area and can be seen from near and far. We are located within the 'Ecomuseum Colli del Tezio', in triangle Assisi-Gubbio-Perugia, in a hilly rural area-approximately 450 km2.  An eco-museum is a protected zone. Ours is  in the remote northwestern tip of Umbria which surrounds Mt. Acuto. Multiple walking trails allow guests to explore the natural beauty that and encircles Il Convento Mincione and leads to the top of Mt. Acuto. Arceologists has found the remains of an Etruscan temple at the top and more recently a South American shaman has created a messa at the top. Both are protected by a fence, but you can see them.  I am a little ashamed to devulge that I have never reached the top of Mt. Acuto, nor have I attempted to climb this famous peak.  Maybe this year...
(Who believes me?)

And, Luigi will almost always be there waiting for you in the parking lot, when you get back.

                                                                     
Unless, like he does some days, he decides to accompany you. This very hot day in the beginning of July that I am thinking of in particular, Luigi decided to accompany our guests who were very seasoned  hikers.  They (the father and daughter and Luigi ) set out on a circular walk around 8:00 AM on a route that would take them near Preggio and back - down the valley up the hills and through the fields. Remember I mentioned Pregio at the beginning of this entry?

Well, what they told me when they got back was that everything was going great, until they started on their way back.  By this time, the sun was high in the sky and Luigi had started huffing and puffing. They, the father and daughter, had given him water each time they had taken some themselves, but Luigi just wasn't going to make it back.  So, the father picked Luigi up and carried him home.  I don't remember just how long he carried Luigi, but it must have been at least a kilometer or two.

Luigi never left Jacques side after that.  Here they are together, taking a rest and contemplating their adventure.

Ciao,
And please let me hear from you. Your comments are appreciated.
Joan
Press Release January 17, 2011:
WEDDINGS IN UMBRIA...UNIQUE, UNFORGETABLE...YET AFFORDABLE

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