Celebrated and lauded novelist Stefan Brijs once described himself as an ‘ecological refugee’ and, in search of silence and a beautiful natural landscape, decided to settle in Andalusia. There he observes the world from a writing cabin with a panoramic window. Each of the observations in this book reflects Brijs’ passion for flora and fauna, his curiosity about the unknown and his hunger for knowledge. Despite the sense of decline, Brijs also makes room for observations that demonstrate that with minimal effort, judicious use of knowledge and lots of good will conservation is certainly possible.