A Monastery for Good Fences.

The Monastery of Roriz was founded in the late 11th century by Dom Toure Sernao. Later in the 12th Century (1173) the king of Portugal, Afonso Henriques, donated it to the friars of Santa Cruz of Coimbra, taking therefore the rule of Saint Augustine, and it was in fact these Canons that constructed the monastic church of Roriz, and their work extended throughout the 13th century.

The Monastery of Roriz 

It is classified as a National Monument.
 

We only saw the exterior, but it was well worth a visit...
 

just to see the architecture...
 

and tread the stone paths that people had trodden all those centuries ago...
 

and see what they would have seen.
 

babies being babtized here...
 

and monks passing through this gate.
 

I don't know if there would have been daisy-like flowers growing between the stones!:)
 

But I know the monks made their own wine and vineyards are all around.
 

View from the Monastery
 

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The Lapwing

 

The Lapwing   Vanellus vanellus 

 

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Gate Number Eight for Good Fences.

We visited my sister in-law's quinta, when our friends were here, and then just before leaving, I took these two shots of the gate.




The property is several hundred's of years old, and the extensive grounds inside are beautiful, but the gate is just for Good Fences.

 

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Young Jays at the Feeder

 

 

These shots of the Juvenile Jays were taken moments ago through our lounge window.
 

 

 

 

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A Sow for Good Fences

A huge sow was the focus of attention for these school children, who were on a supervised day out to the nature reserve on one of the days we visited. I think it is wonderful that schools provide this kind of education, and the pig seemed to enjoy the company

 

 

 

 

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The Black Kite a Gate and Fence

Whilst our friends were here we visited a nature reserve with an extensive thirtyfive hectares of woodlands and farms, with rivers and ponds. We took the three kilometre long pathways, seeing many varieties of trees and plants. Along the way, wooden hides with benches to view the wildlife were numerous, as were the benches situated by the ponds and river, and I was thrilled to see so many wonderful species of birds, from raptors to water fowl, and wading birds to pheasants, however today, I would like to share the Black Kite.

The Black Kite   Milvus migrans
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Lesser Stag Beetle

Hello everyone! It's good to be back again, after spending some quality time with our friends.We had been looking forward to this reunion for years, so even the persistant April showers couldn't dampen our spirits as we showed them the local beauty spots, and some other places of interest. I still have loads of photos to go through, and edit, so it might take me a while before I can start sharing the latest photos, but in the mean time, these are some I had already saved.



The Lesser Stag Beetle     Dorcus  parallelopipedus
 






Despite it's name, neither sex of this beetle has antlers, and resembles the female Stag Beetle.



It is smaller than it's cousin the Stag Beetle, but it is still a relatively large beetle. It has a broad head and can be distinguished from the male Stag Beetle, by it's smaller mandibles and knobbed antennae, and from the female Stag Beetle, by it's all black wing cases, and it can be seen flying strongly in the early evening, often attracted to garden lights.The Lesser Stag Beetle feeds on sap and their larve develope in old tree stumps and other rotting wood, and the beetles can also be found  in the soft decaying wood of broad leaved trees, and in gardens where there are orchards, old hedges and trees.

 

The Adults are from 18, to 32mm. in size, and are similar in appearance to the related antelope beetle (Dorcus parallelus) of North America
If you would like to see a previous post of the Stag Beetle to compare click here 

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Gate Number Seven

This will be my seventh quinta gate for Good Fences, not because I can't find other kinds of gates, but because I like to share all things traditional about Portugal. This entrance gate is of a farm, or large country estate, "that is really what quinta means," and they are found in Portugal and Spain.

The initials A and C are entwined at the top, which is unusual for a quinta gate.
 

I will be taking a break from blogging for a while, as friends of ours are staying with us next month. I'll be back some time in May.
GOOD FENCES My thanks to Theresa for hosting Good Fences. Just click on the link to see more gates railings and fences from around the world.

Juvenile Sqirrels and Jays

I have been seeing quite a number of juvenile squirrels in the garden.

It was surpriseing to see such a tiny squirrel. It is not the same as the one in the above photo.

A mature Jay

All these pictures were a little dark, so I
had to lighten them, especially this one, as the sqirrels head was in the shade.

A cute encounter of two juvies, seen and captured through our pateo doors. This squirrel was a different colour.

Playing  Catch me if you can!

A juvenile looking a little perplexed perhaps!

This box measures 10 x 10 cent, yet this cuttie pie fit comfortably inside

The moment she saw me! Hello Baby!:)

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A Mill House for Good Fences.

When the sun shines, the outdoors becken, and we call our jaunts adventures, which they are in a way, because we never know what we will discover on our travels. It doesn't  need to be anything in particular, although I'm always on the lookout for fences and gates, so I was kind of disapointed when I saw that the fence in front of this little mill house is hardly discernible in my photos, but I'm sharing them anyway for Good Fences

 

Two drive by shots of this little mill house.
 



GOOD FENCESMany thanks to Theresa for hosting,and if you would like to join in the fun, just click on the link Good Fences.

Twilit Flycatcher and Long-tailed Tit

The Spotted Flycatcher




The Long.tailed Tit

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