Green Fruits Beneath the Sky of Los Guardianes

José Marín walked through the Los Guardianes sector this afternoon with his eyes turned skyward. The coconut palms rose against a blue sky of white clouds, their long, outstretched fronds cradling coconuts at every stage of life: the youngest ones nearly hidden from view, the ripe ones hanging heavy with that quiet certainty belonging only to fruit that has already fulfilled its time. A few steps further, a mamón tree commanded all attention. Its branches bowed beneath the weight of hundreds of green fruits packed tight among glossy leaves, promising the harvest yet to come. Two coordinates, two trees, an afternoon in the field with nothing out of the ordinary — which, at the reserve, is sometimes the finest news of all.