When my friend Andreu waved me down in the street a few days ago to tell me about a field of lentils (Lathyrus cicera) that he had discovered nearby I couldn’t believe my luck. I had been trying to find some trace or evidence of that leguminous plant here in Mallorca but so far without any luck. Yesterday I approached the field near Felanitx (photo bottom) and as luck would have it, the payés was there tending his campo. It turned out that Toni, the farmer, is also a part-time poet, video artist, TV producer and, wait, philosopher. Within no time at all, I was enwrapped in the most meaningful conversation I have had for a long time about farming, livestock, nature, the weather, music, art, poetry, the Internet, discos, politics, economy and matters of the mind, health and the spirit. We talked about lentils as well and its traditional importance for the island’s palate during the times of famine and anguish. There seem to be 9 different Lathyrus species on the island but the lentil is not widely farmed any longer since prosperity and affluence have prospered. We also talked about the danger that rabbits present to this plant. Any old farmer without his mind in the right place would shoot the long-ears or put out poison but, not this poet and philosopher. He resorted to tying the bone of a pig’s hind-leg to a wall to attract some cats who in turn would scare off the rabbits (photo top). Problem solved.

The photos were taken near Felanitx, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: May 8th, 2012. The time was 12:53:41 and 13:23:49, respectively.