spain – Page 85 – don't confuse the narrator

‘tranquilo’

I went outside on Thursday morning before the sun was up, and what struck me most was how quiet it was. It felt like an autumn morning in the UK: chilly, with a slight blur to the air. In the UK, that would have been from bonfires; here, of course, it was from wildfire smoke.

The helicopters started again soon after 8am, and a walk to the village showed that all was not over: the polideportivo was ‘occupied’ by soldiers and firemen, and the fire was still the main topic of conversation everywhere.

firetrucks & military vehicles at the sports centre

location, location, location…

And we are fortunate about our location: the wind has carried the fire north, away from us. Not only that, but we are within spitting distance of a natural swimming pool where the fire trucks can come and refill with water, and not much farther from a pantano where the ‘watercopters’ can top up.

another sunny day in paradise

Well, that’s the impression you’d get from looking out of my study window. A bit breezy, but unbroken blue skies.

That’s because the window faces southeast.

To the north, the fires are still uncontrolled. And although I can’t see any of it, I can’t forget it’s happening as there are helicopters and aeroplanes going directly overhead every few minutes.
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is it a cloud…?

an early image of the Gredos fire — an early image of the local fire

No, it’s smoke from the fire on the land just above my house.
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not perfect, but plentiful

There’s something disconcerting about how our yellow plums seem to be slightly luminous, like small, solar-powered lightbulbs, even when they’re covered in the silver bloom that’s typical of the plum family.

Between gold and silver, they can’t seem to make up their minds whether they want to be suns or moons.

Apparently, its early blossoming makes the plum a symbol of vitality in Japanese culture: our tree here in Spain certainly seems to be full of life.

(Fortunately, although they aren’t perfect, the fruits aren’t too full of insect life this year.)