These days, one of the things that I am challenging myself to do, every day, is to remember to take time to do the following:
to stop, to be still, to look very closely and to be grateful. Some people call this 'mindfulness'.
At times and from a distance, El Jable around Mozaga can appear to be somewhat barren, but once you've actually entered the paths and fields, on closer inspection it's actually very far from being empty. There is nature and beauty everywhere here. For example, there are always flocks small birds which, again, initially may appear to be somewhat plain, but on close inspection, they are truly beautiful, colourful and magnificent. Some are very rare.
One species we often see when we are there is a tiny pipit, called Berthelot's Pipet. It is a small passerine bird which is found only in the Canary Islands and in Madeira. They are closely related to wagtails. They are commonly found in open countryside, therefore the fields of El Jable suit their needs perfectly.
I have learnt that the Berthelot Pipet is named after a famous French naturalist called Sabin Berthelot, who was once a resident of the Canary Islands.
I also learnt that the collective noun for their genus is 'volery'. A volery of pipets.
Whilst initially they may appear to be undistinguished looking birds on the ground, mainly grey above and whitish below, in close-up these little pipets have incredibly pretty breast streaking. They have a whitish supercilium and eyering, with dark eye and moustachial stripes. A subtly beautiful little bird.
We had the sad opportunity to study how beautiful they are in detail whilst we were walking along the Camino de Jable the other day, when we spotted one lying in the dirt, dead.
There was no clue as to the cause of its death as it was still perfect in its lifelessness. Such a beautiful, delicate creature lying there, once full of life, keeping its subtle beauty a secret.
So in taking time to stop there alongside him, to be still next to him and to look closely at his tiny cold body, this encounter initially filled us with sadness. But then we took the time to quietly reflect and slowly, consciously turned this into a feeling of gratefulness for all that we have in our own lives.
We quietly continued the rest of our walk along the Camino.
Here is my memorial haiku for the little chap:
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