Category Archives: Plants

Oranges and Sunshine

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When we first came to Mallorca, it was one of our first ambitions to have a lemon tree in our garden. We pretty soon succeeded in planting our very own specimen.

Only much later we came to realize that the sweet aroma of orange blossoms was an equally important addition to our perfumed garden, if not much more so. You have to smell an orange tree in full bloom to know the fragrant smell; words alone can’t describe it. Orange blossoms are all prim and virginal when the buds are shut tight. But when those petals part and the plump and sticky, frilly and feathery bits of pistil and stamen spill out, orange blossoms look just a bit promiscuous. Pollinating bees everywhere respond to this sensory scent like a moth is attracted to the consuming flame.

Not all that long ago, Mallorcans were busy producing Agua de Azahar or Flor de Taronger, an orange flower water also known as Fleur d’Oranger. I imagine that this stimulant was first initiated by the Maurish settlers on this island, hundreds of years ago. Today, no such tonic water is produced here in Mallorca. One can buy Fleur d’Oranger in a Morrocan corner shop, though, and a cheaper version in one or the other supermarket. Fleur d’Oranger is a welcome ingredient for some baking and patisserie pastries and can also be used in cooking or to flavour drinks. In North Africa you will be offered Fleur d’Oranger to clean your hands as you enter a host’s house.

The photo was taken in Costitx, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: May 1st, 2012. The time was 12:46:59.

The Mallorcan Bindweed

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The Mallorcan Bindweed (Convolvulus valentinus) is an exquisite plant with a rather pretty flower. The bindweed is a hermaphrodite plant which usually comes with a blue flower but, occasionally can also be pink as shown here. The plant is indigenous to Alicante, Valencia, Ibiza and Mallorca, and can also be found in Algeria.

According to Herbarivirtual, the flower is rather rare in Mallorca and can only be found in one place. Well, I happen to disagree; I believe to have seen this flower near the coast line in the South East of the island, and also, in the North, and on quite a number of occasions. The plant flowers now (April, May and June) on sandy terrain near pine forests in coastal areas.

The photos were taken near Ses Salines, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: May 9th, 2012. The time was 16:11:41 and 16:13:26, respectively.

The Salt of the Earth

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I have decided to give up on alcohol, well, almost. There will be no more spirits from now on, no more Cava, no more cocktails, no spritzers, no highballs, no beer, no cider. There will be one exception though, red wine. One cannot live in Mallorca and offer a daily photo blog and not be involved with wine, wine making, wine festivals or wine tasting. So it is going to be Vino Tinto in, everything else out, from now on.

That makes me sound a serious alcoholic when I don’t think I am (that’s what alcoholics tend to say, don’t they). I think I may have ten units during a one month period, when that may be the intake of many people in a night out or two.

I make mention of this because yesterday, I participated in an activity that the Els Amics dels Closos put on in and around Felanitx, a six weeks long Cicle del Vi a Felanitx (Felanitx wine series). It started off three weeks go with a round-table colloquium on the recent changes in vinicultural production, here in Mallorca. Then, last week we could visit the Bodega of Ànima Negra to test their offerings. Yesterday, a group of some 35 interested folks were invited to visit the Celler of 4 Kilos where we heard Francesc Grimalt talk about the most important component of wine making, the soil. We also tasted two different red wines in five different states of evolution (see photo above), albeit not their latest creation, Gallinas & Focas.

Next week, we will visit the Bodega of Vi d’Auba and a week later, that of Armero i Adrover. The wine tasting Bodega visits are open to the public but places are limited. You can put your name down in person at Paperería Ramon Llull in Felanitx; attendance fee is a modest 2 €.

The wine series will conclude in June with a colloquium on the different processes involved in the making and cultivation of wine. I think that one will be offered free of charge. You can check for details on the Amics blog should you want to do so. Salut.

The photo was taken in Felanitx, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: May 5th, 2012. The time was 11:19:59.

Flower Power

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The Fira de ses Flors in Costitx is a bit of a misnomer. More appropriately, it should rather be called a fair of flowers, plants, trees, shrubs, herbs, grasses, ferns and other gardening and horticultural paraphernalia. But then, that would not roll so nicely off the tongue, would it? Anyway, the Fira was held yesterday; I went there with my wife and we thoroughly enjoyed our outing. Of all the Firas and Festes in Mallorca, there is only a handful or so that we really enjoy, and this one is one of them. Not everybody may agree with our choice but not everyone is into flowers and plants and trees and green fingers the way we are. Suum cuique.

The Fira de ses Flors is actually a bit of a peculiarity here in Mallorca. This one is not one of the traditional fairs or markets that has been going for hundreds or at least, dozens of years. This fair was devised with a political motivation. It was conceived by none other than Maria Antònia Munar i Riutort, longstanding Batlessa (mayoress) of Costitx from 1983 to 2007 but probably better known as the erstwhile President of nearly every political office Mallorca has to offer. Her ambition was to put her pueblo on the political map. She achieved that daunting task by instigating the Observatorio Astronómico de Mallorca in Costitx which was inaugurated in May 1991, and by initiating the Fira de ses Flors.

The talented lady was once Mallorca’s most popular and certainly most powerful female before she was seen as the most hated mayoress or indeed, politician amongst her compatriots. She is currently accused of a whole array of political misconduct and will stand in court any time soon, wanting to prove her innocence.

The photo was taken in Costitx, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: May 1st, 2012. The time was 13:43:19.

Wild Gladioluses

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One of my many Mallorcan delights is a small and delicate wild flower with up to twelve soft purple florets. They are wild gladioluses (Gladiolus italicus), also known as Common Sword Lily, a native to all four major Balearic isles. The wild beauty grows on the edge of wheat, rye or oats fields. The flower usually comes out in May and June but this year, everything seems a bit early. Even Summer, if we are lucky.

The photo (top) was taken near Manacor, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: April 26th, 2012. The time was 11:38:04. The photo (bottom) was borrowed from the Internet, courtesy of pbase.com and ftd.

Thank you very much.

Pruning the Vines

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Out there in Mallorca’s vineyards, this year’s first young shoots have appeared. The grapes will start to form in May and will grow and ripen over the Summer, before the Vendimia (wine harvest) starts in September.

The care for a field of vines is one of the hardest and most labour intense physical work I have ever come across. The vines have to be pruned and cleaned of last year’s shoots as early as January, before the earth between the rows of vines is ploughed and cultivated in February and possibly once more in March. The vines have to be pruned again in April and perhaps once more, in June. The varieties of grapes will then be evaluated, combined, married, macerated and fermented in the tank, for a maturation period of several months in the barrel, before the wine is bottled. The vino resulting from the shoot in today’s photo will not be ready for consumption for at least one year from now, and in some cases not for another eighteen months or even two years.

Saying this, the first Mallorcan wines of 2011 have just been presented, earlier this week. Last year was a good one for wine here in Mallorca, or so one hears.

One of the more important annual Mallorcan wine gatherings will be held in Pollença tomorrow and Sunday, the Fira del Vi (Pollença Wine Fair), presenting a hundred plus wines from 36 bodegas from the Balearic Islands. This event will take place at the Claustro de Santo Domingo (Convent), a historic venue opposite the Joan March gardens in Pollença, where cultural activities are organized throughout the year such as the Festival de Pollença. This will be an opportunity to try the first wines from last year and more mature wines from 2008, 2009 and 2010 (Saturday, 10h00-20h30, Sunday 10h00-14h00). Don’t drink when you drive, though.

¡Salut!

The photo was taken near Felanitx, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: April 6th, 2012. The time was 17:30:18.

Wild Flowers

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If you have lived in Mallorca for a number of years, say ten or even longer, you will not fail to have noticed that there are certain patterns, be that cycles in the weather or a certain rhythm in bird sightings or the blooming of flowers or trees. But now and then you will find that suddenly everything is upside down, or out of synch.

This year, for instance, we had much less than the usual amount of rainfall during February and March. Perhaps the rain will come in May. Wildflowers are usually out in massive appearance during April, as they are indeed this year, but the amapolas (red poppies) usually don’t come out in force until May. Well, this year May is April, or so it seems, at least as far as the poppies (Papaver rhoeas) are concerned. And I can’t say that I’ll complain.

The weather pattern is another thing. It was unusually cold over the last few days with even a hint of snow above 1300 metres. Yesterday, the sun came through again with temperatures rising ever so slightly. The outlook is quite good for the next few days with temperatures rising further from today to hit 20º C by the weekend. I won’t complain about that either.

The photo was taken near Palma, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: April 17th, 2012. The time was 14:33:58.

The Art of Grafting

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I am continually amazed about the cleverness and competence of Mallorcan farmers. Agriculture on the island may be on a historic low and in continuous decline but, the few pagesos still around and active can outwit any old stockbroker or computer whiz kid any time.

Take the fine art of grafting as an example. There would be no olive oil in Mallorca, or anywhere else for that matter, if olive trees would not have been cultivated by the art of grafting, at some time in their existence. Or wine. Or tomatoes. Or potatoes. Vines have to be grafted according to the variety wished for, just as fruit trees have to be grafted if a particular species of fruit is wanted, like in the photo here. In Mallorca, it is not uncommon to graft plums or peaches on to an almond tree. The almond tree is particularly prone to act as a mother host for any variety of fruit and sometimes you can find three different fruit varieties on one single almond tree. As long as you know what you are doing, of course.

February is the best time for vine grafting. For tree fruit, March and April are the perfect grafting season.

The photo was taken near Felanitx, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: April 6th, 2012. The time was 17:30:18.

Les Fleurs du Mel

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I am not trying to quote Charles Baudelaire today. The blossoming tree photo has nothing to do with his Fleurs du Mal. Instead, the tree flowers of spring attract bees and insects by the hundreds to collect pollen for the industrious production of honey (Catalan: mel), in the case of the bees, and for instant nourishment in the case of other insects. Luckily, there is the added benefit of pollination which is done in the process to ensure that this tree will give us the plum or apricot or whatever this tree will bear. What a wonderful invention of nature, pleasing all our senses in the act: our eyes, our noses, our ears, our taste buds and our scientific eagerness to learn and to study.

The photo was taken near Felanitx, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: April 6th, 2012. The time was 17:39:43.

24 Hours in the Life of an Island

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(near Felanitx, at 00:40:23)

Twenty-eight years ago today, I orchestrated an exciting photo event in Los Angeles, California, in collaboration with one Red Saunders. Together, we edited the book that covered that event: 24 Hours in the Life of Los Angeles. All those years ago, we had assembled a team of 145 people, including 103 photographers from all over the world plus 16 local school children, to capture the life in this metropolis in the run-up to the 1984 Olympic Games.

Today, I have the pleasure to invite you to sample a similar adventure, somewhat different but nonetheless exciting, albeit without its results ending up in a glossy coffee-table book. I endeavour the making of a comprehensive portrait of Mallorca, my home for the last 25 years, by taking photographs over a period of 24 hours in the life of this island. This time, there is no team and there are no other photographers involved or invited. I will upload photos every few hours, depending on broadband connection, and today’s post will grow bigger and longer as the day progresses. The first photo was taken this morning at 00h40 on top of Puig de Sant Salvador near Felanitx, and the last one will be captured just before midnight in Plaça d’Espanya in Felanitx. Let’s see how it goes and let’s witness, if I will last the Tour de Force.

(Portocolom, at 01:28:42)

(Porto Cristo, at 02:03:46)

(Son Servera, at 02:52:00)

(near Canyamel, at 03:10:01)

(Cala Rajada, at 03:32:23)

(Cala Rajada, at 03:43:12)

(Felanitx, at 04:39:18)

I made a scheduled return to Felanitx to upload the first photos of this self-set challenge. Quite unscheduled, I fell asleep and had a 45 minutes nap. I was still good on time and schedule, though.

(near Petra, at 07:41:13)

(near Petra, at 08:00:33)

(Santa Margalida, at 09:24:54)

(Muro, at 10:44:09)

(near Muro, at 11:35:52)

At this time, I was still running to schedule, more or less. But it began to dawn on me that the task I had set might be a bigger one than I had calculated. I may have underestimated the challenge and the sheer distance between places, and I may have overestimated my abilities as a one-man-band. I decided that Mallorca was, in fact, a continent.

(near Muro, at 12:11:55)

(Port de Pollença, at 13:59:13)

(Pollença, at 14:18:33)

By now, it was quite evident that I was running late, and well behind schedule. I decided to alter my route plan. Instead of returning south via Crestatx, Sineu and Sant Joan, I decided to go up into the mountains of the Serra de Tramuntana to see if I could catch up on time by eliminating some of the planned stops.

(near Pollença, at 14:58:40)

(near Sa Calobra, at 15:23:18)

(near Sa Calobra, at 15:25:40)

(near Sa Calobra, at 15:32:31)

(near Sa Calobra, at 15:33:02)

(near Fornalutx, at 15:37:35)

(near Fornalutx, at 15:43:27)

It now was clear: there was no way I could complete the whole island portrait, and comprehensive at that, within the self-elected time frame of 24 hours. For a start, there was no way that I could upload any photos during the course of my parcours. There were just too many kilometres to be driven from point to point. Mallorca is too big an island to be ticked off in one single day by one individual. I realized that I would have needed to employ the good services of a driver to allow me to concentrate on the scene selection and the location, instead of me minding the business of getting there in the first place. And it would have been wise to seek the support of an assistant to keep my back free from the logistics of the task. Me, on my own, doing the driving, route planning, rescheduling, time keeping, scene selection, setting up the tripod, shooting, editing, copy writing, Lightroom-ing, WordPress formatting and what have you, was just too much for one elderly man. And I was getting tired, sleepy, red-eyed, exhausted and anxious. I needed a hug, or a helpline, or something.

(near Sóller, at 15:51:15)

(Sóller, at 16:45:14)

(Sóller, at 17:03:36)

(Sóller, at 17:11:26)

In Sóller, I accepted the inevitability of defeat. It simply was impossible to cover all of Mallorca or at least, all 48 locations that I had scheduled, in one day and on my own. I would barely manage half that number and not even half the total distance. By now I had done some 300 kms, and I would surely need to do the same again, or more, with more than two thirds of the time already gone. I would need to be fitter (and younger), less mad, better equipped, better supported and assisted, and more realistic. I should simply have listened to my wife.

(Alfàbia, at 17:46:32)

(Alfàbia, at 17:54:46)

In Alfàbia I decided to go home. I needed to upload some of my photos and take stock. I might go out again after that to cover some of the Mallorcan hinterland, Porreres, Campos, Llucmajor, Sant Joan, Villafranca, Sineu, Llubi, and so on. For now, I certainly would not be able to cover the western parts of the island, Andratx, Estellencs, Banyalbufar, Valldemossa, Deià, Orient, Alaró, Bunyola; I might have to have another go at the region at some later stage. Palma, I was pretty sure that I would skip Palma for now.

(Felanitx, at 23:43:43)

Having aborted the project and not having gone out again once I arrived back home after 20 hours on the road and in the hot sun, I was busy photo editing, photo optimizing and uploading. I now did not need to do that final shot just before midnight that I had scheduled from earlier this morning. But I wanted to do it anyhow to have a pair of bookends, so to speak. As it happens, I met my friend John and he kindly agreed to pose as another mad hatter for mad me. No. This is not me sitting there, just in case you wondered.

Good night, and thank you for joining me on this ride and this very long day indeed. I need some sleep now.