This is one of the last great wild forests of Europe, stretching from here all the way to Portugal where it becomes the Montado.
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Oaks and olives, hay meadows and shrubs all managed gently by the hand of man for thousands of years.
Here on the mountain, in my small corner of this place, an ancient olive tree has twisted and curled as it followed the daily and annual paths of the sun.
For centuries, it has stood in this place, providing shade, food, home, firewood, and beauty for all the inhabitants.
Now in late autumn the understory of this woodland is burgeoning with flower and herb; a rich source of sustenance for both the soul and the grazers that live here.
This is what farming could and perhaps should look like – a glorious symbiosis of all organisms, each benefiting from the other, each a part of each other and the end result a thriving and magnificent ecology.
Photo: Wild olive in the Dehesa at Saladaviciosa. Courtesy of the author.