The Evergreen trees of Navasola and the Evergreen short story anthology.

My story recently published in the anthology Evergreen is partly from within the consciousness of a fir tree grown only for Christmas. But it survives beyond the festive season and connects and inspires a variety of local children until …..The story is called Until We are Ever Green. It contains quite a few ‘untils’!

A variety of christmassy trees in the Fir and Spruce section in Kew Gardens. We were in search of Abies alba but found so many other different kinds of fir.

It is late January and we are finally back at Navasola after dull but changeable temperatures for the UK in the winter. It was a rather frustrating time with so much illness from bad coughs/ colds/ sinus and the worst I have had since leaving the classroom. Here at Navasola it is very cold but the sun is high and bright with andalucian blue skies. We also have our supply of wood from when so many branches of trees came down in the bad storm of 2020.

So thanks to the trees we can keep warm at night when at present the temperatures are falling below zero.

There is also so much green thanks to our own evergreen trees in stark contrast to the denuded old chestnuts. However without the leaves there is much sunshine on the woodland floor. Their leaves will come back later than most in May.

Pollarded old chestnuts supply lots of fallen branches.

View walking down the hill from the gate. Chestnuts and pines on other side of the valley.

Many branches fell from these millennial chestnuts in ‘tormenta Barbara’.

Navasola’s Ever Greens

Olea europaea, Olive Olivo.

The olive trees’ grey green leaves keep dancing in the chilly skies. All the olives need to be picked by end of December but any left will make good food for birds or other animals when fallen to the ground.

Black olives high in tree against Andalusian blue sky

There should be some olives later

Quercus suber, alcornoques, cork oak

The cork oak leaves show different shades of pale grey green. The tree trunks are well insulated and fire resistent. Cork trees can only have their cork cut every 8 years or more.

Cork trees still green in Autumn near Castaño.

Newly corked cork tree on Galaroza path

Two cork trees growing by our house. The bigger one was like the thin one 15 years ago. Both self seeded!

The Holm oak, encina, Quercus ilex or known as the evergreen oak.

encinas or holm oaks are stretching higher to the sky in their self seeded grove. These are the trees of pasture land or dehesa and can be found across vast swathes of Spain evenly spaced out to provide shade for grazing animals. These trees are also excellent for wood burning too.

The common ivy or Hedera helix dresses up many a trunk and keeps its green even when the frost bites. The Mirbeck oak also hangs onto its glorious display of red orange leaves until the new arrive.

Winter trees by the ivy perimeter wall.
Quercus canariensis, mirbeck oak

Pyrenean oak now fully covered in ivy so green in winter and a haven for birds and other insects.

Arbutus unedo, madroño, strawberry tree.

The madroño tree or strawberry tree is very hardy in the frost or heat. And home to the caterpillar of the Two tailed Pasha.

Madrono flowers and fruit

Bullfinch on madrono through kitchen window

Arbutus unedo, madroño, strawberry tree.

Two tailed pasha hatches in July or August

Wild viburnum tinus does not grow into a tree but can grow very tall around the trees. It is usually in flower by the end of January as the bees wake up. But at the moment it is rather frost bitten with the colder icier winter we are having here.

There are many wild pines too. Mainly Pinus nigra or black pine. These grow very tall very quickly and thrive here on sandy soils. These are different to the cultivated umbrella pines found a bit further south towards Huelva. Stone pine, Pinus pinea.

wild viburnum tinus

Blue skies and tall pine for blue sky thinking!

I think many readers of my blog will enjoy the stories under the theme of Evergreen in this Bridge House Publishing anthology. Apologies that it is only easily available on Amazon but we would love you to read, review and share the stories.

Bridge House Publishing’s launch of Evergreen and other Cafe Lit short stories. I finally meet my writing mentor too, author Debz Hobbs Wyatt.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Evergreen-Multiple-ebook/dp/B0BMW5K6GJ/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=2JXZC9KIQI2SY&keywords=evergreen+anthology&qid=1674852585&sprefix=evergreen+anthology%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-1

https://www.bridgehousepublishing.co.uk/

https://debzhobbs-wyatt.co.uk/