The patchwork "quilt" of the Sibillini hills.

It's that time of year again. The hills surrounding La Mela Rosa are a patchwork of bright yellows, golds, brown and a variety of greens. 

The farmers have cut the herba medica (I think we call it lucerne) and the fields are dotted with the big, round bales.  It's been an average of 30°C for the last 3 weeks so a lot of the cutting and baling has been done at night as not many farmers have a tractor with an air conditioned cab.

In the old days (up to the early sixties so not that long ago), the cutting was done by hand (la Mietitura) and neighbourinìg families got together to help each other.  The cut crop was then collected in piles in the fields. The days came to a close with dinner and music (usually the piano accordion).