It’s about 7.30am,
and barely light yet I'm already up, and in the kitchen. It is mid week and
normally I'd still be tucked up in bed, possibly eventually coaxed out a little
before 9 for the need of an intense and rich ristreto.
Yet today
is a public holiday and I'm excited to get out of the house, away from the PC,
and enjoy the countryside before the August heat kicks in.
By the time
I’ve finish making toasted ham and cheese sandwiches for the hike, the sun is
higher in the morning sky, gilding the expansive view from the house.
It's a gift
to have trails all around us. This morning we take the Toyota and head across
the mountains towards Entrerios.
We've
barely left forward our progress is brought to halt.
The local
goat herd is heading to being milked, obediently following the leader, laden as
she is not only with udders almost bursting with milk but with a huge bell
around her neck, regularly punctuating the morning silence with a low, short
metallic rhythm. The huge herd surrounds us, and some break off from the
group to climb the ancient oaks trees, or reach up and grab some thick leaves.
We’ve explored the trails in part of the sierra was back in May when the
entire area was an abundance of wild flowers. It’s remarkable to see the difference that 3 months of summer makes. The wildflowers of May are now a mass of dried seed heads.
Now in
August the light ignited the golden landscape, a mass of tinder dry plants,
except the elegant pines and soaring eucalyptus with their peeling bark.
Since today is a public holiday we weren’t alone in the sierra, with hikers, cyclists and day trippers – and we bumped into a group of bird watched warming up for the coming migration to Africa, much of which passes over these mountains.
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