A man in nature walks through the first shades of Autumn as they touch the edges of this ecology.
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Already the swifts are massing overhead for their return to Africa and the sky is thick with storks and eagles passing the Straights to that most ancient of continents.
Now in the Andalucian hedgerows a seasonal feast is being prepared.
Pomegranates and Prickly Pears are just weeks away from delivering their sweet bounty and the air is richly scented with the exotic perfume of wild figs.
The birds and mammals within these bushes have finished breeding, their young join the adults in an earnest and intense feeding that will see them through the leaner months.
On the edge of the great Atlantic Poniente wind there is a hint of coolness and above the mountains the first clouds can be seen rising in towering majesty.
All life underneath the Andalucian skydome dares to believe there is an end in sight to the fierce summer heat which has draped the mountain since June.
Once more the wheel slowly turns within the animate hoop of life.
Photo: Prickle Pears and Pomegranates on the mountain. Courtesy of the author.