scorched earth: this place was once green

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yesterday, i was asked to participate in a volunteer reforestation and i agreed, just before setting out to pendeli to get a nice view of an athenian sunset. i had the urge to explore new bits of the area and started up a road i had never seen... when i saw this.



it seems that i had unwittingly gone to the very spot where people will be gathering on sunday to plant new trees.

i drove past the stretch of scorched earth and doubled back when i started seeing houses again -- then i decided to take a dirt road that lead up to a hill, to get a better view.



as i approached the top, the clouds were moving faster and it started drizzling lightly. i began to feel anxious because i didn't want to get my car stuck in the mud in the middle of nowhere, so i quickly took some shots for my little planet, a few more around the area, and made my way back down.









this is what has happened to our fraction of a pale blue dot. good luck to the reforestation project on sunday and their efforts to make pendeli green again.

more information at kathimerini.

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