Summer has burst open. Today at the fruit and veg store, the first figs were there and the first wild blueberries. We also bought cherries and peaches and apricots. The first borlotti of the season were there, so we bought some of those, too, as well as asparagus, peppers, leeks, zucchini, cabbage and lettuce. All of this cost us about thirty dollars.

The hydrangeas at home have turned delicate pinks and purples and blues. And the main street street in town, Via Mazzini, has been decorated for summer with hanging umbrellas along the whole two block stretch of it. I sent a picture of it to my brother and he texted back: "Nobody prepares for rain like the Italians. By which, of course, I mean, 'so beautifully, so poetically, in such a visually stunning way.'"

Having waited a full month, we went yesterday to check on Jonathan's driver's license, as we had been directed to do. They told us to come back in July. The little grapes on our vines are starting to plump up and are now the size of peas. Our olives grove is filled with bright red poppies in the tall grass.