Good morning!
Like every Saturday morning, I make myself a coffee and sit down to read the news with the cool breeze from the garden coming through the window. And today I came across something that, my goodness, would be enough to write several newsletters.
But first, an announcement: we now have refrigerated shipping available. We know that the heat is getting more intense and that temperature changes can affect products, which is why, after a lot of hard work, we have found a company to handle refrigerated shipments.
Delivery times will be different, no longer 24 hours, but between one and three days. However, we guarantee that everything will arrive in perfect condition. And, as always, if you have any problems, don't hesitate to write to us; here, together with the team, we will provide you with a solution.
I don't want to forget anything. This is something we are doing for the first time to extend our service with the arrival of summer. We want to continue sending the best of Spanish produce, harvested to order and direct from the garden or tree, but ensuring that everything arrives perfectly.
Now, for something you won't expect: today I stumbled upon the story of Shakira and the Tax Agency, and I was left speechless.
The newspapers reported that the Tax Agency will have to return 60 million euros to her. Quite a sum. What struck me most was not the figure itself, but all the time and money that, apparently, have been invested in what many call a witch hunt for her success... and which ultimately backfired.
Being a simple numbers person, I thought: if someone returned 60 million to me, I'd invite half of Spain to paella and still have enough left over to fix all the potholes on the way to the farm.
Perhaps you're wondering why I'm telling you this. Because it brought up the thought that's been on my mind. How can the State have the time and money for such long persecutions, but not to really work on improving the conditions for those of us who work in agriculture?
And I'm not talking about anything strange. I'm talking about everyday things: passable rural roads so that vans don't bounce around, modernized irrigation where needed, procedures that don't drag on forever, mobile coverage in fields where the only continuous sound is the chirping of cicadas, and policies that protect a fair price for those who sow and harvest.
We, who are farmers from all over Spain, organize ourselves to sell our fruit and vegetables directly from our fields, without intermediaries, to defend them at a fair price.
And even so, the obstacles we have to overcome every week.
I wish all that effort and budget dedicated to certain persecutions were used to genuinely ensure that rural areas can truly continue, not just by inertia, but with a future.
With services, with infrastructure, with a food chain that values those who plant.
As I said, it would be enough for several newsletters, but today I prefer you to remember this simple image: I close the newspaper, take a deep breath, look at the orange trees, and think that, fortunately, here every new sprout reminds me that the important thing is to keep moving forward.
And hey, if the Tax Agency wanted to return 60 million to us, maybe we'd organize a door-to-door orange delivery with a carriage and orchestra included 😂, but for now we manage with the van and a good lunch to continue happily.
Luckily, I always have the countryside close by, which with its tranquility, always invites reflection on daily events, but also helps me not to be affected by them.
I've told you before, but there's nothing like a good breeze rustling the leaves of the orange trees and the orange blossoms to connect with the moment.
I'll leave you with that image, here from my fields. After all, nothing that has happened changes our lives.
Tomorrow, like every day, I will review your orders at dawn, we will go to harvest what you have chosen, and we will prepare it with the same care as always so that it reaches you as if it were freshly picked from the tree.
And so, step by step, we continue building something worthwhile 🍊
A big hug and have a wonderful week. We'll read each other next Saturday.
