A year of plenty

It snows on the high peaks of the province. It's an omen of prosperity. Our elders used to say that a year with snow is a year of plenty. Like so many other sayings and folk wisdom that will be lost in the mental structure imposed by urban life, where white flakes at best cut off roads and cause communication problems; when the correlation between cold, water and the crops that feed us is lost. Those water reserves in solid form from winter will irrigate fields and forests during the spring thaw, plus low temperatures are fundamental for the life of many plants, especially for grapevines. So without winter we wouldn't have good wines, and without good wines... Well, I'd rather not even think about that last part because it makes me feel ill.

These days at the beginning of the new year, the Sierra de las Nieves finally lives up to its name; and the same happens in La Maroma and El Torcal and other places. The sight of white peaks seen from the beaches of El Palo and Huelin leads me to reflect on all the good things we have.

To start with, we have an enviable area, rich in natural resources. Beginning with water, which however much we talk about drought, is not really due to the scarcity of the most precious resource, but to poor management.

Although it's true that even in this we're improving, and now we make much better use of treated water for irrigation. And if we got rid of a few prejudices, we'd have even more, because there are still dams and desalination plants to be built. But we're not doing badly.

We have magnificent forests, and there are the forestry workers and Infoca operatives to protect the jewels of our natural heritage, where the Spanish fir continues its expansion and colonises new parts.

What can we say about the climate, the most envied in Europe... It's true that it's cold now-according to our body thermostat, poorly accustomed to three springs and one summer. Ask a Swede what this is called. But as soon as this short cold snap passes, we'll return to being the branch office of Paradise that we've always been.

And above all we have our way of life: our Mediterranean values, with family and friendship as pillars of a way of understanding the world, which reaches its peak over the next few days. So enjoy the festivities, don't ruin dinner with arguments with in-laws, and toast, of course with a Malaga wine, to all the good things we share... Happy New Year.