Diamonds in the Olive Trees

Olive-trees

 

 

Along the winding way to Sacha's BMX track, which weaves through olive orchards, vineyards and goat farms, the road is narrow with spectacular views. Views that I barely notice because the twisty snake of a road is similar to Stelvio pass minus the crazy motorcyclists.

Yet the other day, let's just say the one-millionth time as we climbed the mountain pass, a sparkle, a flicker of light caught my eye…

Olive-trees-france

I looked back trying to detect the sparkle, "What was that?" I asked Sacha, who was listening to the Black Eyed Peas on his I-Pod. I could tell by the nod of his head that he was grooving to Boom Boom Pow which didn't seem to have the same beat as my question.

So I slammed on the brakes, nearly driving the car into the ditch.

Fly-catcher

 

"Mom!" shouted Sacha.

"Boom Boom Pow, do you like my swagger?" I said though Sacha didn't catch my tease. "I saw something sparkle, that I want to investigate."

"Can't you do that on the way back, I don't want to be late." He sighed.

Obediently I drove on, he was right, on the way back I could check out that sparkle that caught my eye.

 

Jar-i-tree

 

Flycatchers in olive trees. One old glass fly catcher per tree.
I wanted to be an olive tree!
I had to slap my hand's desire to pluck off those flycatchers and take them home with me!

 

 

Olive-Orchard-France

 

 

"Diamonds!" I hollered.

"Mom really, aren't you exaggerating a bit?" replied Sacha who think I am nuts most of the time, "They're dirty!"

"Diamonds!" I shouted back listening to the Boom Boom Pow of my own heart.

 

Sitting-in-a-tree

 

French-vineyard

Fly-catchers-in-olive-trees

Flycatchers in olive trees nearby my home.

Diamonds!



Comments

30 responses to “Diamonds in the Olive Trees”

  1. juliette

    So lovely.
    Thanks to see what we don’t anymore in our landscape!
    Thanks to make us watching life through your eyes!
    xoxo

  2. Cool! I haven’t seen those before. Now I’ll be on the look-out.

  3. Beautiful your olive trees…You should see mine hahaha a very tiny one on my balcony on the 8th storey

  4. Marie-Noëlle

    Eye catchers !!!
    Great post !!!

  5. Wonderful photos! I have an old glass fly catcher that I found years ago…it sits in my kitchen…But to see so many and still being used…hanging in those olive trees in that gorgeous countryside….What a treat!
    🙂

  6. Oh, how exciting! I have seen these and not known what they are. They must have truly sparkled in the sun like diamonds. I love olives. I will think about your diamonds in the olive trees each time I eat one and wonder at all those lovely glass bulbs. Thank you.

  7. Those fly catchers are the coolest! We don’t they have those back home?
    If you “snag” some, I want one!!!

  8. Jean(ne) Pierre in MN

    So great to see this actually working, and what beautiful useful sparkles. They are sold here in the US in trendy catalogs as wasp traps, mostly for decoration I think.

  9. Gorgeous! You are right, they are like diamonds. Oh those French!
    I was reading David Lebovitz’ blog yesterday and he was talking about the drinking glasses we Americans call French glasses. He said that French people don’t drink out of them, but they do drink out of mustard glasses. He proceeded to show a very beautiful stemmed mustard jar.
    Such beauty in everyday life! Lucky you! And you have the eye to recognize beauty everywhere you go, even on the road to a BMX match.
    Hope Sacha lands safely and all goes well. Hope you score a diamond in the olive orchard, too.

  10. Linda C.

    I’d love some!!!Are they readily available and what’s in them (can you buy refills)? We have a problem with flies in Australia, especially in the warmer weather and when there’s food around. If they work it would be wonderful because they also look so lovely hanging in the trees…

  11. Linda C.

    Me again, just had a closer look at the photos…I guess we could make our own fly-catchers out of glass jars and wire, but what’s inside them Corey, do you or your readers know?

  12. ok, yeah, now we all want one. Trend setting Corey strikes again.
    Your way with words, your descriptions and your point of view are like no other Corey. You really have a sweet gift and way of describing even the most tiny detail…Magical…

  13. I googled…this is what came up…
    sugar water goes into the jar, the top is capped back up. The flies fly into a hole in the bottom and then can’t get out through the top. TRAPPED you nasty little things.

  14. georgie

    Here they call them wasp traps. You can buy them new. The one I have is about four years old. We use sugar water for the trap but you can use fruit juice with water. They really work!
    David Leibovitz’ story made me feel so gauche-we use French “jelly jar” glasses every day.

  15. They sell the same thing here in Western NC in most of the hardware stores…for catching wasps and yellowjackets. I put a little honey in water, fill the basin and hang it in a tree away from the house. Cleaning all the dead yellowjackets out is a mess!

  16. I love those who see beauty in everything.
    A woman after my own heart!
    And…yes, now I want one of those!

  17. Off to see if I can find them. If they work for wasps, my children will LOVE you. They are terrified of them this year, for some reason, and I can’t even get them out in the yard a lot of the time.

  18. How wonderful to have fly catchers near your home. Like Christmas tree decorations for the olive trees. Lovely!

  19. bramble

    Beauty is all around us if we only look. I love the analogy that they looked like diamonds sparkling in the trees. Twinkle on Corey , you are a gem yourself!!!

  20. We have been using an ugly plastic version this summer and although it is very effective it isn’t half as pretty as your glass diamonds!

  21. Denise Solsrud

    you are right and desirable,also. Bestest,Denise

  22. France’s ‘fly catchers’ would easily pass as chandeliers here in the backwoods of Ontario!

  23. Judy B.

    Not a fly catcher, but does keep flies away…it’s an old Southern (USA) method…restaurants who have outdoor seating have them hanging…I use them and they WORK!!! Here’s how: take a medium to large zip-lock bag and fill it with plain tap water…insert about 6 pennies into the bag…zip bag shut. Hang with clothes pins where you desire close to eating area, or from tree limbs by outdoor furniture, etc. I personally know they work – you can also google this information. They also work indoors. Judy B. Texas

  24. we need some of those to hang by our doors at my work. we like to keep them open when it’s nice out but the flies like to come in, too. they are much prettier than the plastic ziploc bag i was going to use…

  25. SWEET! Sherry

  26. Twice I was lucky enough to be available when your friend Mimi wanted a tag-along to your beautiful country. I loved the South of France, but I never glimpsed diamonds in the olive trees! Before Mimi settled in as your neighbor, my mother visited France with her. She found some fly-catchers that Mimi is sending back to the States. Of course in Texas we call them ???????????????????????? like in today’s post

  27. Cute and lovely. I need about a zillion.

  28. Marie Amaro

    I love the bottles in the trees! I saw a movie where the were hundreds of bottles were in a tree! 🙂 xoxo, Ree

  29. Wow that looks cool! I have never seen something like that…Is that what people do in France? That looks better than a fly strip. lol
    🙂

  30. I love the last picture. I wonder if they use fly catcher’s here, maybe up in the olive trees by Corning. Probably not, but that would be neat. I always thougt catching flies was kind of gross, but this is an attractive way to go about it.

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