Even more rain had fallen in the
previous weeks so it was no surprise to find the terrain and the
surrounding fields in an astonishing green
colour. There was still a lot of humidity in the air and especially
Sunday was a strange day with thick layers of mist and clouds but
also some longer spells of sunshine.
The massively germinated annual
Alyssymalyssoidesis reaching the end of its flowering cycle. Sunday 19:09
Impressions on Sunday morning 7:55
______________
No
surprise to find some nice surprises in this period of the year.
Saturday still with buttons but on Sunday the first flowers started
to emerge from this Lady orchid (Orchispurpurea),
another characteristic species of dry chalk grasslands (Festuco-Brometea).
I had the impression that all the orchids on the terrain belonged
to
the same species because of their similarity of their rosettes
(compare 10 March
2007). The Lady orchid distinguishes itself nicely from other
local orchids because of its relatively robust size and height (up
to 80 cm; according to the 'Herbario
de Jaca').
______________
The Portuguese oaks (Quercusfaginea) were also starting to bloom although in a much
less conspicuous way.
The Common fig (Ficus
carica) has something architectural about its shape and
unfolding of the leaves. The old Fig I had pruned was budding
promisingly while the buttons of the cuttings of the same tree I had
planted in
February seem to have
dried up. Perhaps some lateral buttons will take over.
Budding
of a Portuguese oak. At the background the wall of branches and the
village.
Saturday 16:06
Budding of the Common
fig.
Saturday 16:35
Another
newcomer, this annual Lathyrussetifolius. Saturday15:51
This
weekend as well as last week I worked quite a lot with stones. I
chose adequate stones from the
stone wall which I
could handle and transport with the
wheelbarrow. For their placement I chose the area on the
highest terrace in the western part where the soil is relatively
bare with little vegetation. There the stones will not be at risk of
being overgrown by plants and at the same time they will offer some
shade and temperature buffering for the vegetation.
Some lessons I learned on the run:
Even these relatively small stones are
extremely heavy
Even the ugliest stones can have an
interesting touch if you choose the right position and angle and
won't make a point of burying in some cases more than 70% of the
stone into the ground.
One corresponding hole in the ground
produces one wheelbarrow load of earth.
This experience leads to some question marks as what to do with the
big ones of the stone wall.
We will need a bulldozer to transport and manipulate the stones and
I am afraid that it will have an enormous impact on the terrain:
soil compaction, big holes, piles of superfluous soil. Perhaps it
won't be possible to manipulate and change the position of the
stones as we want and we get stuck with some really ugly, out of
place monoliths.
So we are seriously considering the option to leave the stone wall
where it is, adding some soil to help vegetation growing there and
planting some rock plants.
Stone group on the highest terrace in the western part, bordering
the wood.
Photography taken on 8 April 16:18
