Twistedspinster

Gathering oak galls

Up the road a bit from the chamomile, we hiked to these trees. You can't quite see the oak galls in this picture, but they were mostly in reach for the guys. There were quite a few more on the ground.


Demetrio shows us an oak gall. These galls were on the branches - later in the day, we also gathered some that were leaf galls.

I don't have any pictures of the cattle, because the van was moving a bit too fast for a good shot. But the cattle are pretty much free range. As in, no fences AT ALL. And the cattle frequently come down to the roads this time of year, where there's a bit more greenery to eat. Thank goodness there wasn't too much traffic, or they'd be tough to get around. Demetrio said they're accustomed to coming to their owner's whistle, because they bring salt licks.

Once in a while, a cow will get into a cornfield in a neighboring village. As soon as they're found, they get tied up and taken to jail. Well, they get tied up outside the jail, at least. Their owner has to go negotiate fair compensation for the damage to the crop, and then they get their cow back.

posted by Ruth S. @ 7:09 PM