If you've been reading this blog for awhile you might remember my report last year on Julia, the African woman who, with her Italian husband, had cleared the churchyard behind San Pietro and started a farm. Since the 1996 earthquake, up until last year, the San Pietro churchyard had been a dump for earthquake debris. Julia and her husband made a deal with the church to clear it (all except for some particularly beautiful fragments, which they kept to use decoratively between the rows) and farm the land. I can see San Pietro and the churchyard from my window up here in 515. The farm's going strong, even stronger than it was last year. The land's all been cleared and planted in lovely straight rows. Beans, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, squash, potatoes (all in more than one variety); plus plums and peaches, which they're starting to coax from trees that had been neglected for years, and herbs, olives, and eggs, are all for sale at the back of the church three mornings a week. At other times, like now in the late afternoon, the gate's locked; but from up here, I can see the farmers slowly walking their rows, back and forth, seeming pleased with their work. They have every right.