In summer, male drones travel great distances in search of proteins to feed their shiny, white squirming larvae. Their work is a frantic, compulsive toil, and a poet may explain this as the only response to a fast approaching death. The males never survive even a single winter. Only the inseminated queen curls up, motionless,… Read More Vespula vulgaris
In the Royal Gardens of San Ildefonso in La Granja, the leaves have just begun to turn and the ravens are making strange, new calls that portend the coming of the cold and the solemn quietness that most often blankets the village throughout the year. But for now, the winds are warm and the villagers are… Read More Beans and clatter on the town
Two small streams, the Arroyos de Los Carneros and del Morete flow through the thick pine forests of the Sierra de Guadarrama into the palace gardens of La Granja de San Ildefonso. The water collects into a mirror-smooth lake, then pours down an intricate system of canals and piping, and on special occasions, the water… Read More It Tolls for Thee because of the Queen
“The population of Madrid, led astray, has given itself to revolt and murder. French blood has flowed. It demands vengeance. All those arrested in the uprising, arms in hand, will be shot.” French General Joachim Murat, brother-in-law of Napoleon, on May 2nd, 1808. In March of 1808, the city of Madrid began to endure occupation… Read More El 2 de Mayo: A Day for Madrid
In the main plaza, children and elderly men and women stand on the cobblestones, going through a rehearsal for the Holy Week processions. The children wait, holding staffs with ornate candelabra, candles lit, and a few teenagers stand around talking with drums strapped to their necks. A group of five men–husbands or grandfathers or bachelors–carry… Read More A Brief Peek at Spring, La Granja
Casual Notebook 