
It is 7 years from when I first started this blog, January 2014 and as it is the last day of January I am looking back and wondering how to go forward.
7 years ago I gave the blog the catch line ‘nature needs nurture’. I was both amazed by my new experiences of living in the Sierra Aracena in Southern Spain and dismayed by how much was being lost. My wonderful discoveries of the vast biodiversity of Mediterranean regions kept me busy with key wild flower books and local bird books. My eyes and mind felt opened with a sense of wonder at this incredible range of life.

I have tried to record my experiences with photography and words. I found being ‘just botanical’ didn’t seem to attract a readership. I hope I have managed to add in the personal as it has been a personal journey for me but I have not always added in the nitty gritty of daily life and relationships and the strain when you live at a distance from family. These Covid times certainly emphasised that and the dilemma of no easy and quick return to be with family.
January 2014
January 2015
The growing understanding of how our natural world is at such a dangerous point has made me think and read more about climate and economic factors. One of my interests because of living in a rural community has been the delicate balance between how we farm and the possibility to be environmentally kind. There is much more discussion and action for those who own land to become stewards for nature. However, at our farm or finca we do not have to worry about finances in the same way as younger people and those without a supplementary income. There is no money in really farming our chestnuts, although we try and collect them each year. It is a back breaking task and not possible for just me. With paid help and about 200 chestnut trees we have never earnt more than 300 or so euros. It is true we could diversify and also be more self sufficient and would be so if younger. How do we go forward with our woodland home while under the shadow of no longer being European citizens, health and virus issues and climate changes.
January 2016
In 2020 Borrassca Barbara arrived as one of the strongest storms in years. The ancient chestnuts had branches torn from them all over the area. This also affected the chestnut harvest and many did not get any income from their chestnuts in a year where it would have been so welcome. There is a lot of ‘healing’ work to be done with the trees but also the longer and hotter droughts affect the size of the chestnuts too. My plan is to have a mosaic of different areas to help with the biodiversity of plants and pollinators and in the hope this will help the birds too. Our pond has also kept enough water in it over the long summer months but we have at times topped it up from our underground water.

Our enjoyment of our woodland finca and the area is in the wild flora and fauna and I hope to go forward with more writing about this and being involved in more local conservation issues. The wildfires nearby brought this home to many people in our area. Eucalyptus and other pine plantations spread fires more quickly than native cork and holm oak forests.
January 2017
Looking abroad now there is so much more scope for hope especially if the Biden administration can manage the climate crisis well. Unfortunately I hope that they will also handle all the ‘denial’ and misinformation with careful skill. I think I wrote when Trump came into power that the way we look after our planet should be a cross political party effort. I have closely followed American sites like Eco Watch and seen the many environmental protections for both wildlife and human societies stripped away . Well, with shamans entering the heart of democracy and ‘using’ the antlers of a dead beast I hope that many more may see into the heart of our existential crisis; a disconnect with nature and a disconnect with how we perceive what is right action in the 21st century.
January 2018
7 years on and there seems to be a growing movement to protect the world we live in. I hope that we will be able to put the restoration of nature, wild and biodiverse places at the centre of all our actions. We have to hold our democratic governments to account as they are the best we have and they must act in the interests of future planet worth living on for all.
January 2019
In David Attenborough’s recent book ‘ A Life on Our Planet’ he presents his witness statement to the importance of biodiversity as the heart of maintaining stable climactic conditions. Restoring nature and conserving biodiversity to create optimum conditions can help mitigate effects of climate change.
He uses some facts at the beginning of each year he remembers
1960 World population 3 billion, Carbon in atmosphere 315 parts per million, Remaining wilderness 62 per cent
2020 World population 7.8 billion, Carbon 415 parts per million, Remaining wilderness 35 per cent
One point about biodiversity importance Attenborough noted was how whales create the conditions for an abundance of sea life. There is a delicate balance that we started destroying very early on in our economies of free enterprise. His book is full of the warning signs which were apparent from the 1960s and the repeated failures to act. But Attenborough has a two visions for the future, one where there will be a poor outcome for all species, including ourselves and another where we may just turn the tide and will be able to maintain a planet with a more stable climate conducive to all life. Restoring nature is at the heart of this.
January 2020 ( I celebrated biodiversity with my photos so not all taken in January!)
And for 2021
Snow arrives as a first in all of our 8 years of living at Navasola
Below is about the importance of woodland in Spain for both economic activity and biodiversity.
Summary – In Spain the woodland coverage is the third largest in Europe with 18 million of hectares and sheltering over 6oo different species.
En España, la superficie forestal (es decir, lo que estrictamente no es agrícola ni urbano) ocupa 26,28 millones de hectáreas, lo que supone el 52 % del territorio nacional. Su superficie arbolada aumenta con una tasa anual de 2,19 %. Después de Suecia y Finlandia, España es el tercer país de Europa con mayor superficie forestal arbolada (en torno a 18 millones de hectáreas).
Según el avance del Informe de la situación de los bosques y el sector forestal en España (ISFE 2017), en nuestro país apenas existen bosques primarios (no intervenidos) debido a actividad humana sobre el territorio durante siglos.
En cuanto a las especies que nos encontramos, el 55,5 % de la superficie forestal arbolada está ocupada por especies de frondosas, el 37 % por especies de coníferas y el 7,5 % restante está ocupado por masas mixtas.
Los bosques y otras formaciones vegetales en España constituyen un importante hábitat para la biodiversidad, ocupando el 68 % de la superficie terrestre protegida y albergando 615 especies silvestres bajo el régimen de protección especial (40,2 % de ellas son aves y 27,6 % son especies de flora).
I hope everyone is coping with our current surge of infections and very bleak January weather. And a big thank you to all who have followed me so loyally and with so many comments and interactions over the years. I think I will continue in some form and we still hope to have good enough health to live at Navasola for a few more years.
Happy blogiversary – keep up the good work!
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Thanks, Eliza, will try to!
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💕💕💕
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An interesting and thoughtful piece. While I’d long had sympathy with the aims of those fighting to keep the natural world healthy and vibrant for the good of the whole planet, it was living in a rural community in France that helped me really to understand our interconnectedness with all aspects of the planet we live on. I hope indeed that you’ll be able to sustain living as you do, where you do, for many years yet.
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Thanks Margaret, yes life in a rural community does bring a lot of complex issues together. Working together locally for conservation seems to have the best outcomes. Hope all going well on your side of the Pennines.
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Yes, ok thanks. But we should be in Spain as like you in England, we were due to be there for New Baby Time. But then, the pandemic makes the rules… And the new granddaughter is doing fine without us!
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Congratulations. My daughter’s father has not seen his grandchild yet because of restrictions. Photos and video calls help eventually when baby more awake!
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Congratulations on the 7 years. It would be good to have land and be able to use it to contribute towards biodiversity. Wishing you well with your plans for the future and many more blog posts to come!
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Thanks Andrea, I will plod on as find it keeps me writing in different ways. We were fortunate to buy our place some years ago. The UK was far too expensive and too much land here owned by the super rich.
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Happy anniversary and long may you continue!
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Thanks Peter, I guess I will keep pondering too!
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It is the future. We are the future!
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Indeed, all of our actions and even thoughts!
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The future deserves, and demands, that we always act wisely. That is very philosophical for 11.30 pm! (but I am listening to Enya!)
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Oh gosh late, the future deserves a rest! Some sleep to rejuvenate!
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But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep!
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SMiles 2020
Like No
Other
Year
By Far
Yes took
me A Whole
Month To Review
It Until The Last
Day Of
Janus
Backward
LooKinG
Forward For
A February
Day
A Month
A Year
More
From: 2020
Vision
2021 To:
BREaTHE Love🌊
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Great response Katiemia and good to hear from you. Unfortunate my iPad often crashes going on your site but soon might have a new lap top. Keep safe and well in these crazy times.
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Thanks So Much
Navasolanature
Hehe The Last
Free Verse Poem
Blog Post Yesterday
56 Thousand
Words
Long
A Bit
Heavy
Indeed With SMiles
Yet It Didn’t Crash
The Word Press Reader
On my Mobile Phone
As i Compressed the
Photos Finally to about
10 Percent of Original Size
Before that
It Was Really
Almost Impossible
To Open on Any
Mobile Device With The
Reader i Finally Changed That😊
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Amazing post, well done on 7 years! Keep well, stay safe! 🙏
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Thanks, Ashley, and keep well and safe too. These are strange times,
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Theres still so much work to be done encouraging the poor dispossessed to value the nature that surrounds them even on their sky high balconies and public verges. Unfortunately nature is still a luxury valued predominantly by the privileged and educated .
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Yes, there needs to be a lot of outreach to all communities. And lately there has been this ecosystem benefit drive to look at the value in terms of economics. I guess I like the Green Party approach that tries to link climate and economic justice.
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I love your continued enthusiasm and efforts on behalf of the planet, hon. Sad about the chestnuts! I love seeing your photos and getting updates when you have time to write them, but I don’t think that detailed information will attract a large audience here. The world is a little too ‘fly by night’ and there are other platforms. Sometimes you just have to write for yourself and make it your personal account of the changes and challenges. 🙂 🙂 We are both lucky to be surrounded by beauty but the imposed separation is painful.
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Thanks Jo, the separation is difficult. I never used to feel I was far away from family but this virus has proved a barrier. Even difficult now to get to my daughter in London.
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Happy Blog Anniversary ! So many interesting things to read about and lots of beautiful photos. Stay safe !
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Congratulations on seven years of blogging, Georgina! I feel like blogging is like having a child – you don’t realise where the time goes!😀 This is a fascinating all-encompassing post and you have worked tirelessly over the years and I learn so much from your posts.
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Thanks Annika, and I hope to keep going. Yes, like a child and we have to persevere!
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We definitely have to rethink our relationship with nature. Being stewards like you point out so beautifully is more important than simply taking and taking without a second thought. It is sad that small scale farming, with all its backbreaking work, has little income to offer. No wonder young people do not want to be on the land.
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Indeed, Jolandi, we have many younger people living in the Sierra who wish to live off the land organically but they cannot afford to buy the land and much is abandoned, but that seems to serve the wildlife! Hope all going well for you. We enjoyed your Monsanto post.
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So glad to hear that, Georgina.
Yes, the dream of living organically off the land does not come cheap. It is interesting that in Central Portugal there are a lot of foreigners and younger Portuguese, who buy land for exactly that reason, although I do think land prices here are cheaper than in Spain.
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Congratulations on your 7 years .. wonderful! May there be many more. Lovely photos .. thanks for sharing them with us ..
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That frog looks like a pickle!
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Am sure the French would pickle it. And some of the lizards used to be eaten as a delicacy.
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