healingwords: poetry for the soul

It is a  beautiful weekend in this area of Spain. The sun is warm, the damp of the last few weeks has lifted and the countryside is flushed pink with almond blossom. This is to be enjoyed while it lasts, a windy few days can blow the blossom away and already the hint of green leaf is showing on the trees. Today will see more people out walking, enjoying the show. I wonder how long this lovely sight will last. Almond growers can not compete with American imports and many of the almond groves have been abandoned. Without care and yearly pruning the trees grow wild with less flower. We are living through a time of change in the farming patterns as traditional crops lose value, part time farmers age and a new generation is not working the land.  © 2020 Jacqueline Knight Cotterill.  All rights reserved.  

From my roof terrace I look over the valley pinked with almond blossom. It has been a warm dry January with crisp mornings but no frost, perfect weather for the nuts to set so we should see a good harvest this August, when the nuts are knocked with canes onto waiting nets, exhausting work in Summer heat. The village once hummed with shelling machines, as nuts were bagged for storage, ground for cakes and pastries. Sadly with an aging population and a younger generation who can not make money from agriculture, almond production is in decline, the supermarkets selling cheaper Californian almonds, exploiting their water table in a sad example of the environmental damage of global food production.  This poem describes the 'almendros' particular cycle, leafless in Summer, blooming in Winter when their blossom delights the senses.  WINTER BLOSSOM The ‘almendro’ keeps its own cadence, waxed feather leaves burst emerald green whilst Winter trees sleep through valle...