PLANTING TREES AT AWAKELAND, PORTUGAL

While Anita was away for her mother’s funeral I returned to Awakeland for two days awaiting my flight to join her in Poland.

Awakeland is a huge site, I think more than 25 hectares, and much is steep ground which has been terraced. The fertile valley is already idea for planting trees but other areas have needed groundwork and a few kilometres of water pipes to be placed at the surface to irrigate trees as well as to help against potential forest fires. Already fire touched a small part of the site about three years ago. The last traces of it have been removed.
The nights left a frost on the ground.

On my first day of tree planting our small team dragged more than 300 metres of large pipes into position, like playing with large snakes. We also shovelled soil from a pile into a trailer which was driven up and down impossibly steep hills behind a 4 wheel drive car.

On the second day we finally planted some trees, both in the soft valley, and in the harder other locations which needed a base of soil.

Persimon (Kaki), Mulberry, Pine and more.

That was two days of hard labour but physical work in nature is of course good for health and for the soul.