Today is San Giovanni day, also known as the holy feast day of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist – and it falls right after the summer solstice. Tradition has it that today is also the day to harvest walnuts for nocino, a delicious coffee-brown walnut liqueur. All the ingredients were assembled
along with good friends. The ancient Nocino tradition holds that green walnuts need to be gathered by barefoot virgins. We got the barefoot part right, anyway.
Checking out Justin’s lush and perfect lawn. Phyl, “I sink in up to my ankle!”
30 walnuts, washed and dried.
Cut in half. Not easy, I needed a big chef’s knife. The walnuts are picked now, just before the hard shell begins to form.
The final product will now sit in a sunny place for 40 days and will be shaken once/day. According to what I’ve read, the liquid will first turn “sinister green” then “the tea-brown of bayou swamp water,” and finally “black as cowboy coffee”. 
We visited the pigs.
A good time was had by all. The first annual E Nicolaus San Giovanni Day was a huge success!
arletelouise 