Morning View

Morning Glory
 

Tendrils help it to cling on to the nearest leaf or branch.
 

Covering some of our grape vines.
 

Bees love to tunnel inside.
 

Covering an old pear tree on the farm.
  

This fence belongs to a neighbouring farm. 
 

The bright blue of the Morning Glory creeper is a wonderful sight. It grows profusely in certain áreas of the farm and on one wall of my garden. Every year it is cut back to ground level, and produces even more blooms the following year.They are anual climbers with slender stems, heart shaped leaves, and trumpet shaped flowers that can be pink, purple-blue, or white, which open in the sun. The vine quickly reaches a hight of 15 feet in one season, but they can be invasive, and are best trained over a pergola or up a wall or fence.
GOOD FENCES

Two of a Kind 1

 

The Wood Pigeon   Columba palumbus.
 

Looking out of my bedroom window on an extreemly dull morning one day last week, I saw these two birds silhouetted against the sky. I got closer shots of a Collared Dove the next day on the farm. It was still dull and cloudy, so even though it was nearer, they are not very good captures. The weather has been so uncertain, worst August I ever remember.
  

At last a photo of a Collerd Dove. I see them often in the trees, but never near enough to get a good shot. There's a pair of them, but they fly away at the first sign of my approach. Pity I couldn't have got a shot of them both, especially for this post.
 

Sensing I was near, he kept looking from side to side.
 

  Feeling uneasy, he eventually flew away, which was one more  ghost shot to add to my odd collection of strange apparitions.:) 
    

WILD BIRD WEDNESDAYS

Photogenic Peacock.

The Peacock butterfly  Nymphalis io (Nymphalidae)
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fast flying Peacock butterfly flies from June -September. It perches with wings wide open or closed. They are particularly fond of my Statice flowers (Limonium Smuatum Statice) sometimes referred to as Sea Lavender. It's a great alternative or addition to the Buddleias which attract most butterflies. The Staice flower is commonly used in dried flower arrangements, as well as fresh bouquets, and when properly dried they retain their vibrant colours. You can grow them in a variety of colours, then just enjoy the spectacale as the butterflies appear. I prefer the purples and lilacs, but they are all very pretty. 
SATURDAY'S CRITTERS

Traditional Tiles

On one of our outings, we came across this wall, which I thought would be of interest for Theresa's meme Good Fences. It also gives me the opportunity to tell you a little about the Portuguese ( azuleijos) tiles, which can be found on the interior and exterior of palaces, churches, ordinary houses, schools, restaurants, and even railway and subway stations.They constitute a major aspect of Portuguese architecture, and are applied on walls, floors, and ceilings. Here they decorate the exterior wall and entrance to a farm, which was built in 1771. It has seen better times, but the tiles remain intact.

GOOD FENCES

Sweet Sparrows

Juvanile Sparrow

WILD BIRD WEDNESDAYS

Farm Friends

We separate the very young calves with their mothers, from the rest of the herd until they are big enough to join the others.

  

Safe in a quite corner.

Some of our herd grazing near the water.

 

The Saint Antonio Chapel where my son was married, and where my grandchildren were baptised.

 

Side view of same chapel. The dogs belong to my daughter-in-law's sister, and this is where they stand guard every day
 

We pass the chapel on our evening walk as it is situated right next to our farm. There is a Festa in a clearing there, every St António day on the 13th of June.

This post is included in the GOOD FENCES initiative and
SATURDAY'S CRITTERS

Bird Spotting

The Great Spotted Woodpecker      Dendrocopos  major

A juvenile G S Woodpecker outside it's nest.

 

I think he's  watching and listening for his mother's return.

Certainly scratching

Getting a bit fed up of waiting there

He decides to climb the tree,  at which point my batteries ran out. Bother!!

This post is included in the WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY initiative.