early winter morning looking across the olive trees to Alcuescar, shrouded in mist.

on the lower side of the finca and behind the house, there is a wonderful wilderness

a maze of dry stone walls

boulder castles

cattle paths – they wander where they will here, shouldering aside all obstacles,

so fallen walls as well

everywhere neglected cork oak scrub

massive granite outcrops

covered in moss and lichen – one of the lichens produces a strong purple dye and used to be exploited for it.

hidden away is this building, still well maintained.

it looks as though it could have been used for raising and fattening iberic pigs

but there’s no activity at the moment, just Joachim’s cows wandering amongst the rocks and trees

trees that are never harvested for their cork.

climbing through the rock piles and trees at the bottom of my finca you find massive boulders

like breaching whales

the sierra always brooding over

and then further over I came across this roofless choza

built against a vertical granite formation

it must have had a roof of poles and perhaps tiles once, though there are no shards or remains

furnished with a stone basin

cupboards

and an external staircase – so did it have a flat roof? or another storey in timber?

a puzzle, but a beautifully built one.

back to the house

through more fincas

some abandoned, some cared for

on my own, wild asparagus berries – very christmasy

and the olives waving a welcome.