The orange bell flower is quite typical of these parts—other colors in the
same family won't grow, only the orange one. The archway was quite bare some 15
years ago. It was made to support the vines. The relatively narrow stone pillars
were all cut by hand, which is a work of art in itself. You see, a 12-foot-tall
pillar like this can easily snap if hammered in the 'wrong' place. And, finally,
in the picture, you can see that there are two sister plants, so that one
day they will come together and form a complete loving embrace.
Each year I imagine that moment ...soon perhaps?
I like the colour of the agapanthus here in Portugal, it is such a traditional flower and colour, but what colour is it? Yes, I am attracted to colour like any self-respecting gardener or bee, for that matter, so on a day long ago, I stopped the car on the road side when I saw a crimson red oleander and took a cutting. The cutting took a long time to root in our soil and flower again, but what colour is it? Certainly not crimson! And so I went to look at it again today and, while figuring out the colour, was overcome by the soft sweetened perfume that the flower exuded. Yes, colour is designed to be elusively attractive and draw you into the heavenly nature of the plant.
Well, with a helicopter flying overhead daily putting out implanted fires, the cold solid granite of this stable speaks of other times. values and a sustaining perspective - despite the present nihilism - termed materialism - what a contradiction in terms - this little foal knows the solution - a simple kick in the head!
So yes, I have just created this empty space at the cost of a row of vines. You see, the horses need a space to train in, to learn precision. What I have created are two straight lines at the edge (or hedge), which once crossed represent a figure 4, a rectangle. Within the rectangle, there are two posts, identifying the mid-points of two circles, which, by following the circumferences, together form an '8'. So now I just need to spend some time in this space to fulfill my dream of exercising the horses with a sense of precision. You see, a sense of freedom is only achieved by identifying strengths within limits - limits that can then be extended progressively so that the dream may unfold.
Yes, as you read in the previous post, she was born on April 1 - so here is a flashback to that amazing April day!
Spring has come and our foal, Frida, was born on 1 April, so today she is six weeks old. And has she grown in so many different ways! Yesterday, I noted how she has extended her boundaries. Clearly, her reference point is still her mother, but now she will gallop at top speed up and down and around a big field, dancing, kicking, changing directions at the drop of a leaf. It is easy to see how we associate horses with flying: little Frida dances on air. But MUCH more than that – she already leads and inspires us to follow HER! How wonderful to recognise youth at its best – with a little help from 'her' friends.
Yesterday turned out to be one of surprises... it was the last day of the local Camellia Show, but, because of it, we had a number of visitors here. Graça, Manuela and a couple from Louçada. Graça did us proud by purchasing three of our camellias. With exhibitors from far and wide and so much to choose from, her act was a great vote of confidence for the local grower. You see, conditions here are hard and every plant requires much love attention and the best organic 'food' possible – supplied by our horses. Thank you, Graça.
I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to Spring because now I have three of the best gardeners imaginable working for me. You will be surprised that the great gardeners are HORSES. They began last year by pruning and manuring our old apple trees that were withering away, producing next to nothing, and you can see the results for yourselves. Yes, suddenly we had enormous apples everywhere, but the miracle didn't stop there: the maggots also had disappeared and the leaves themselves remained green, despite the hot sun, and remained on the trees into the depths of winter.
And you know what: there were so many apples that a lot fell to the ground before we could eat them, but that was no problem either. Our gardeners cleared them up at no extra charge. In fact, they charged nothing at all: they work for the sheer joy of it!
Notice the change in flower produced by this camellia. Is this a new direction or a throw back to an old one? It doesn't really matter. What is important is that unforeseen possibilities present themselves. Life is very much about maintaining a readiness to notice qualitative change and benefit from it, to get providence to work in your favor. Hence, I have marked the different branch and will take cuttings from it in April – the best time for cuttings here – and, in this way, a different variety of camellia is created.
When I was a little boy, my father would ask me to help and, like most little boys, there were occasions when I would hesitate and make a face but this didn't last long. He said, quite simply,
'Come with a goodwill or not at all.'
And that was the end of the matter. Or rather the beginning. To be out of favor with those we love makes life meaningless, leaves no life. The choice we all face is that simple; come with a goodwill or not at all.
Now, imagine that I was to discover that this principle is how a lead horse maintains harmony and success for a herd of horses. That is the option he gives to any horse and, given the other horse needs to be part of a community to survive, it must accept it or perish. It is no wonder horses fitted in here so well: we were brothers and sisters all the time, sharing the same vision and rule of life!
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