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August Sketch Stories
August Sketch Stories14-Aug-2020 09:37
As plants dry and die back the bones of the land are revealed. Structures once hidden become seen again. A new landscape emerges.
We've been getting up early (when our weary bodies allow) and working on the roof of the new entrance. Awake before 6, a coffee and out into the dawn, the roof is slowly taking shape. Dave has the lions share of the work, the carpentry up on high, using power tools I don't like to touch.
I paint the ceiling planks with borax, an attempt to stop the wood boring insects of the future.
It gives me time to enjoy the sunrise.
And pick the capers that are bursting to be harvested. More than we can eat, thank you bees for your pollinating last month.
I reflect on the contrasts.
A kind of winter descends on this semi-desert at the height of summer. Some plants and trees go dormant, growth halts, leaves fall off, mulch, protecting their roots from the seering sun.
Others bring forth their bounty.
I look up, the moon is full, the burnt sienna of the albaida last month has turned bright red. Gold sparkles as the sun runs down the hills, lighting areas that were, a moment ago, in shadow.
I long to sketch, but work calls. That constant pull between practical and magical.
As soon as I finish I hurry in to record before I forget.
From our seasonal veggie box to the Bee Eaters flying their daily routine and the nightly mouse invasion, here are more Sketch Stories from August.
What a beautiful picture you paint, with your words also - it makes me want to get up earlier! By the way, what you have painted so delightfully are not capers (alcaparras), which are the flower buds, the smaller the better, but the fruits, known in Spain as alcaparrones. As I write, Kevin is bottling this years haul of alcaparras - see Flamingos in the Desert p133 for details ;-). And I love the bee eaters!
Troy
Thanks so much Troy! And Kevin for providing the recipe for preserving the alcaparras which I've used for a few years with good results :-)
Out of interest, there are different names for the caper buds and fruit in Spanish, do you know the word for the fruit in English? L xx
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