In the dry places of our planet, water takes on a special significance and the inhabitants of the human and non-human realms know all about its vital importance.
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The Moors, who once graced this ancient kingdom of Al Andaluz for a thousand years, made water into some of the greatest works of art that man ever created.
While here, more prosaically in the medicine spot, it is the main reason for the incredible abundance of life in this special place.
Surrounded as I am by the ancient tombs of men, dating to the Stone Age and beyond, it is clear that the importance, or even sacredness, of this grove has been respected and known throughout millennia.
Here the life giving water leaves the mountain and falls via a spring into a rich, wet flush that forms a bright green verdant note across the otherwise dry and desiccated landscape.
Moving in closer, I am drawn into the aquatic other-world, inhabited by strange and unfamiliar life.
Looking into the pool and simply shifting my focus up and down the column of water, the teeming masses of near microscopic life come into sharp focus.
In this miniature world, the delicate discarded feather of the sparrow becomes a giant floating island and the insignificant water fly takes on gargantuan proportions.
There is a seeming universe in front of me that would take a lifetime to contemplate, or on the other hand, it could be bypassed in two short strides.
I personally find it endlessly rewarding to stop and gaze down upon the myriad beauty of nature.
It is just too easy to overlook the rich experiential wild diversity that lies at our very feet calling to us softly to spend some wild and feral time with her.
Photos: Pools and Water Milfoil with the teeming millions. Courtesy of the author.