There are some places and times of our lives that we never forget.They are embedded in the heart and mind and it only takes a small jog to the memory for images to come tumbling! Almeria in Spain is a region of desert and intense heat. the desert itself though looking barren is alive with plants and animals that have adapted themselves to life in this harsh landscape.I remember the times I had there,the wonderful dawns and the amazing multi coloured evenings.Reading Lorca and Neruda and playing Manuel De Falla. Watching real Flamenco in the candle lit ruin of a Moorish fort and hearing a local poet reading in Spanish. Making a pilgrimage to a mountain top shrine where bonfires of tallow candles blazed and we ate chocolate and churros when all the homages had been made. The images of that skeletal landscape will always, stay with me.It was the first time I ever really saw the stars and realized that they were coloured.  I also felt freer than  I ever had been before as though the bare bones of life were visible.
On the table above is a pot of basil and garlic and a pepper waiting  to be made into supper on a hot July evening.