At the beginning of spring in the hills around the city of Safed Israel tiny white flowers blossom on the olive trees When the days start to get hot the flowers fall off and the first tiny green olives appear All summer long I wait for them to ripen This year l'm old enough to help with harvest the
In the fall before Sukkot we pick the first green olives These will be to eat not for pressing into oil But olives right off the tree are bitter They have to be pickled in salt water before they good taste
