part 3 wilderness
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.