THE HEATWAVE

Hello again, how have you been coping with the heat? I haven't  been doing well at all . After getting my glasses I have stayed indoors all the time,with blinds closed and curtains drawn but there is no escaping this oppressive heat  Eva had a large industrial fan that someone had given her  so she gave it to me, and it's been in use day and night but it does little to lower the temperaturet in my bedroom which is 35 degrees so  my T-shirts get soaking wet. and the temperature is rising. On the Portuguese news the weather forecast is for temperatures to reach 40 deg within a few days.time, it reached 42 deg in fact for several days. Warm water comes out of the cold tap, and after a shower I hardly need a towel, however that fresh feeling doesn't last long. I try to replace lost liquids by drinking l liter of water a day, ,adding fruit juice and tea, but I have no energy at all. I hear helicopters flying over my house day and night on their way to help firefighters  extinguish nearby fires. To me the buckets full of water always appear  inadequaetly small to help douse the flames, but  apparently they are effective. My lack of energy is the reason I haven't visited anyone or made another post before now. Before the heatwave was at it's peak, both male and female Great Spotted Woodpeckers kept putting in an appearance, but I haven't seen any birds at all lately. They are sheltering from this extreme heat in the foliage of the trees where I see movement  and sometimes birds flying from one tree to another in the early hours of the morning but no visitors to my balcony, so as  I have no wild life to share  I found an old file named "aircraft"and here are a few images of some of them.

This is the lookout helicopter patroling the forest areas for any sign of a fire.

An image of a helicopter with the container of water trailing behind.

A helicopter using another type of container to carry the water.

Working at night.

I was looking through old files yesterday and found one of "Jays in the shade,"

so I am including one here, but there are many more which I will share next time. 

As you have probably guessed it's cooler now, making chores, or any activity easier to acheive. It is 29deg's in my bedroom, still quite hot, but better than before

Please excuse the iregular lines, but for reasons I can't understand, Justify did 'nt work.

UPDATE AND OBSERVATIONS OF CREATURES AND GARDEN FLOWERS.

Dear friends and fellow bloggers, you have all been so kind in sending warm encouraging comments and well wishes for my speedy recovery, thank you so much. For a while I felt as if I had grit in both eyes but was told that in time this would disapear, and it did .However I will still have to wear glasses for watching TV and at the computer. with  Progressive Lenses, I chose some really nice frames, but am still waiting for my new glasses to arrive, which should be within two or three days time, then I will be able to see much better. Pedro's and my birthday were enjoyed by two birthday celebrations, instead of just one. My lovely daughter Eva gave me a new feeder to hang at the bird's feeding station. When it arrived and assembled it was a lot bigger than she had anticipated from looking at the picture in the catalogue and  she was so disappointed but I think that it  doesn't look that bad, and it is squirrel proof which was the main reason for Eva buying it. 

Two photos to show where it hangs from, and also show the bottom of the feeder.

The squirrels step onto the loops and the mecanism closes the feeding places.

The roses around the entrance door gave a good show of blooms this year.

My large Hoya Carnoso came into flower for the first time since it was put outside on my balcony.

I am delighted with the many  blooms it has produced, and there are many in bud

The Trumpet Vine is now in full bloom.

Blue-tit

The Eurasian Jay.

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 Partly hidden Eurasian Jay. 

Sweet pose from this blue-tit.

Always a pleasure to see a robin.

Female great-tit

This wily squirrel is on it's way to the feeder

The Blackbird used to come every day whilst feeding it's chicks. Haven't seen it since.

The Boganvilla gave a wonderful display of flowerrs this year.

The Agapanthus are a lovely shade of blue and so are the Hydrangeas.

The March Frog in the pond.

Two Newts

A  Dachshund metal boot scraper 

Fig leaves are so decorative.

Out of focus female Great Spotted Woodpecker. She comes to my balcony every day.

The Great-tit with a peanut in it's beak

Thank goodness it rained last night, as the temperature has been unbearable, in the high thirties making doing nothing feel exausting.  I was postrate for most of the time. It is still 35 deg outside on the balcony but it seems like a respite after almost 40 deg's I know that we will have to get used to this extreme heat as it's our future

however physically draining  and debilitating it may be.This post was done over a period of a few days but even so, my eyes are suffering the consequences,  they are tired and watery. I will visit you all as soon as i receive my new glasses.

I will be linking up to Saturday's Critters tyou will find the logo on the right, just click on it and it will take you there.

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Hello dear friends and fellow blogger This is an update to let you know that the surgery went well, and I am feeling relieved and thankful that it is all over. My third visit to the surgeon is tomorrow Monday the 25th when I should have more news to impart. Pedro has been putting drops in my eyes, It's a procedure which all together takes 40 minutes  out of your day, but a vital part of your recovery. I have not yet taken any photos, so am sharing a sketch I made of my son's beautiful Malamute dog, Wolfie. She was gemtle and playful and is greatly missed by my son Marco Paulo, and my daughter-in-law Paula. I will be back to blogging soon.

 

Wolfie

I will be linking up with Eileen at "Saturday's Critters" a fantasric  blog where you can see creatures great and small. just click on the icon and it will take you there.

FLOWERS BIRDS and SQUIRRELS

This week was sunny and I spent some time in the back garden with my camera enjoying photographing flowers I also had a siesta after lunch lieing down on my swinging sofa, with my camera close at hand, and I surrepititiously took quite a few photos of the birds and squirrels that frequent my balcony. 

This will be my last post for a while because early next week I am finally going to have the cataract surgery I desparately need. I will be operated on both eyes, which I found to be unusual, but the doctor said it had become common practice  these days.

I have no idea how long it will take for me to recover but should it take longer than a few weeks, you will know the reason why, now back to my post.

The Mountain Laurel will soon be in full flower, but is pretty in bud.

She has seen me but feels fairly safe because I'm lieing down at the other end of

the balcony and squirrels are bolder than most other visitors anyway.

The lizard eats the tiny crumbs on the balcony floor.

I am delighted that the robin is still feeding it's chicks with mealworm.

The Great-spotted Woodpecker is very cautious and shy, and as I don't want it to 

stop coming to my balcony I would rather watch it whilst hiding than risk it flying away if it sees me or my camera move. I managed to take this photo but as it moved onto my balcony, I left it alone.

I never knew until this year that the blackbird picks up a peanut in it's shell 

from the ledge where I place them in a row for the Jays, and flies away with it. I have seen this happen twice, and been amazed as the blackbird usually eats crumbs from the ground where I deliberately sprinkle them especially for the blackbird.

I will be linking up with Eileen at "Saturday's Critters," a fun place to visit if you love all creatures great and small. Just click on the icon , and it will take you there.