February is the month to harvest olives. From the terrace of the house where we now stay, we oversee several olive orchards.
The harvest is performed in a standard fashion. A fishing net is spread out on the soil, as you can see under the second tree from the right top of the picture. Some people, in this case, two old men, bash the tree with wooden sticks. The olives that get tired of hanging in the tree and the bashing, drop in the net. The net is pulled up and the olives are thrown in a bag.
After the harvest, the trees are immediately pruned down. The clipped branches are put on a stack and set fire to. Hence the smoke hanging in the valleys during this harvest season.
^tvo